Eight-channel SiNx microring-resonator based photonic biosensor for label-free fluid analysis in the optical C-band.

A lab-on-a-chip multichannel sensing platform for biomedical analysis based on optical silicon nitride (SiNx) microring-resonators (MRR) was established. The resonators were surface functionalized and finally combined with a microfluidic chamber for validation using an avidin-biotin ligand-binding assay. The results with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.3∙10-5 and a mean intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) of ±10.0 %, also under consideration of FDA guidelines, show promising future applicability for a wide variety of targets in the field of outpatient medical diagnostics and life science.Clinical Relevance- Biomarkers play a crucial role in physiological processes of the human body. To enable instantaneous and decentralized analysis of these markers, systems are needed that can be used in a laboratory-independent environment with minimal amounts of biofluid. An example is the utilization of such systems for neonates or infants.

Switchable dual-polarization external cavity tunable laser.

An external cavity laser is demonstrated based on the hybrid integration of an InP-based gain element, a half-wave plate, and thermally drivable polymer waveguide circuits. The laser has one oscillation region but two outputs for TE and TM emissions. The central wavelength can be tuned 20 nm at 20 mW heater electrical power. The TM path undergoes a 1.4 dB power penalty due to the presence of the half-wave plate. However, the on-chip thermo-optic switch (TOS) can compensate for this imbalance and steer the laser into an equal TE and TM output power. The TOS can also be adjusted to prefer one polarization path over the other with ∼10 dB extinction ratio.

301-nm wavelength tunable differentially driven all-polymer optical filter.

An optical filter based on all-polymer grating-assisted directional coupler is demonstrated. The wavelength tuning is differentially driven. The heater-electrodes created on the sidewalls of the polymer ridge can either blue- or red-shift the central wavelength. A total tuning range of 301 nm is achieved experimentally. The maximal local temperature gradient introduced across the coupler region is only 55°C-68°C. The filter is also insensitive to uniform ambient temperature change. Central wavelength jitter of ±3 nm is observed when the chip holder temperature cycles between 20°C and 80°C.

Polarization insensitive 25-Gbaud direct D(Q)PSK receiver based on polymer planar lightwave hybrid integration platform.

We report a direct DPSK receiver based on polymer planar lightwave circuit technology, which incorporates a 2x25 GHz photodiode (PD) array hybridly integrated via 45° mirrors. In this direct DPSK receiver, a half-wave plate and heating electrodes are implemented to eliminate the polarization-dependent frequency-shift (PDFS) of the delay-line interferometer (DLI). By applying a proper heating current, a residual PDFS of practically zero at 1550 nm and within ±125 MHz was achieved over the full C-band. Integrated with the PD array, the peak responsivity is ~0.14 A/W for orthogonal polarizations over the C-band. To characterize this direct receiver, we introduce an adapted common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR), which takes into account the unequal responsivities of the PDs, the uneven split of the input power by the DLI, the phase error and the extinction ratio of the DLI. The measured CMRR under DC condition is below -20 dB over the C-band.

Dual-quadrature coherent receiver for 100G Ethernet applications based on polymer planar lightwave circuit.

A dual-quadrature coherent receiver based on a polymer planar lightwave circuit (PLC) is presented. This receiver comprises two separate optical 90°-hybrid chips made of polymer waveguides and hybridly integrated with InGaAs/InP photodiode (PD) arrays. The packaged receiver was successfully operated in 112 Gbit/s dual-polarization quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) transmission experiments. In back-to-back configuration the OSNR requirement for a BER value of 10(-3) was 15.1 dB which has to be compared to a theoretical limit of 13.8 dB.