A microfiber cavity with minimal-volume confinement

We demonstrate a type of microcavity with minimal-volume confinement using a high-contrast phase-shifted Bragg grating in a microfiber. While waveguiding by the air-silica boundary provides a diffraction-limited two-dimensional confinement, the grating introduces the third degree of confinement. Theoretical simulations verified the microfiber cavity confinement while the experimental demonstration, carried out in samples nanostructured by focused ion beam, showed a good agreement with theoretical predictions. This cavity can be used for a variety of applications ranging from sensing to quantum dynamic experiments.