Small size ultrahigh Q polymer microrings working at near visible wavelength have been experimentally demonstrated as ultralow noise ultrasound detectors with wide directivity at high frequencies ͑Ͼ20 MHz͒. By combining a resist reflow and a low bias continuous etching and passivation process in mold fabrication, imprinted polymer microrings with drastically improved sidewall smoothness were obtained. An ultralow noise-equivalent pressure of 21.4 Pa over 1-75 MHz range has been achieved using a fabricated detector of 60 m diameter. The device's wide acceptance angle with high sensitivity considerably benefits ultrasound-related imaging. © 2011 American Institute of Physics. ͓doi:10.1063/1.3589971͔Ultrasound-related medical imaging is a noninvasive modality and has become increasingly popular. Highresolution ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, achieved by operating at high frequencies ͑Ͼ20 MHz͒, can provide accurate analysis and diagnosis in medical imaging. Such noninvasive modality is an excellent tool for small animal studies and intravascular imaging.1,2 To detect highfrequency ultrasound wave, a detector with both wideband response and small element size is needed. Small device size minimizes the spatial averaging effect for high-frequency waves, which is essential for high-resolution imaging. For example, phased-array imaging systems working at a center frequency of 30 MHz require / 2 element size and spacing on the order of 25 m, where is the acoustic wavelength. Another example is that the small device size for tomographic imaging provides high resolution and high contrast over a large imaging region.3,4 Although the piezoelectric material polyvinylidene fluoride ͑PVDF͒ based needle hydrophones can reach the requirement of wide bandwidth and small element size ͓e.g., 40 m ͑HPM04/01, Precision Acoustics, Dorchester, Dorset, UK͔͒, the device has poor sensitivity: the noise-equivalent pressure ͑NEP͒ is relatively high ϳ10 kPa, which seriously limits the imaging depth. Moreover, arrays with small element size and spacing and large element count, required for real-time imaging, are very difficult to realize using piezoelectric transducers because of the increased noise level, complexity of electrical interconnects, and fabrication challenges.Optical detection of ultrasound 5-9,15 could potentially address the above issues. It can achieve a low NEP ͑Ӷ1 kPa͒ with relative small element size and wideband response, 8 and would be easier to create dense arrays with small element size. 17 We have been exploiting polymer microring resonators as ultrasound detectors, and have demonstrated a low NEP of ϳ230 Pa over a wide bandwidth of 1-75MHz even with a relatively low cavity Q factor of 6000 in the past. 8 Besides, a flat frequency response from dc to over 90 MHz at Ϫ3 dB was calibrated by a wideband photoacoustic source. 8 With improved fabrication, further reduction in device's NEP ͑ϳ88 Pa͒ has been realized using a higher Q factor microring device.9 However the device diameter ͑D͒ was still around 100 m, limiting...