Patent ID: 8139227

Claim:
A method of detecting acoustic waves, the method comprising: providing an acoustic sensor comprising: an optical resonator having an optical resonance with a resonance lineshape that is asymmetric as a function of wavelength, wherein the resonance lineshape has a minimum reflectivity at a resonance wavelength, a first side with wavelengths below the resonance wavelength, and a second side with wavelengths above the resonance wavelength, the second side less steep than the first side; and a housing substantially surrounding at least a portion of the optical resonator and mechanically coupled to the optical resonator, wherein the optical resonance is responsive to acoustic waves incident upon the housing; exposing the acoustic sensor to acoustic waves; and detecting a change of the optical resonance induced by the acoustic waves, wherein said detecting comprises irradiating the optical resonator with a first light signal having a first wavelength on the first side of the resonance lineshape and irradiating the optical resonator with a second light signal having a second wavelength on the second side of the resonance lineshape.