Numerical Aperture Dependence of Mie Modes in Low Refractive Index Particles and Enhanced Collection Using Metallic Substrates

Abstract Advancements in utilizing low refractive index dielectric particles have implications for sensing, lasing, and strong‐coupling at nano and microscopic scales. These cavities offer benefits like ease of fabrication and biocompatibility, making them promising for a wide range of technologies by utilizing their narrow linewidth modes. However, optical modes sustained in these dispersive systems can show distinct behaviors depending on the detection configuration. This study shows the influence of numerical aperture (NA) of the objective lens on the detection of Mie modes in a dielectric microsphere under far‐field excitation and collection. It is demonstrated experimentally and numerically that Mie modes from microspheres outcouple at different angles, with variations in mode amplitudes contingent on the NA of the objective lens, thus leading to distinct linewidths while probing with different NA objectives. Furthermore, it is shown that metallic substrates can facilitate efficient detection of Mie modes by redirecting scattered modes towards low angles. This enables mode detection with low NA lenses and further preventing the inclusion of incident scattered light from higher angles which otherwise perturb the modes. The results underline the importance of careful detection strategies to fully harness dielectric particles as optical platforms for applications in particle detection and characterization.