Miniature spectrometer and beam splitter for an optical coherence tomography on a silicon chip.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has enabled clinical applications that revolutionized in vivo medical diagnostics. Nevertheless, its current limitations owing to cost, size, complexity, and the need for accurate alignment must be overcome by radically novel approaches. Exploiting integrated optics, we assemble the central components of a spectral-domain OCT system on a silicon chip. The spectrometer comprises an arrayed-waveguide grating with 136-nm free spectral range and 0.21-nm wavelength resolution. The beam splitter is realized by a non-uniform adiabatic coupler with its 3-dB splitting ratio being nearly constant over 150 nm. With this device whose overall volume is 0.36 cm(3) we demonstrate high-quality in vivo imaging in human skin with 1.4-mm penetration depth, 7.5-µm axial resolution, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 74 dB. Considering the reasonable performance of this early OCT on-a-chip system and the anticipated improvements in this technology, a completely different range of devices and new fields of applications may become feasible.

Broad-spectral-range synchronized flat-top arrayed-waveguide grating applied in a 225-channel cascaded spectrometer.

We present a new synchronized design for flattening the passband of an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) over a broad wavelength range of 90 nm. A wavelength-insensitive 3-dB balanced coupler is designed to be used in duplicate in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI); the phase deviation created by one of the balanced couplers is cancelled by flipping the other coupler around. This MZI is arranged in tandem with the AWG such that the output signal of the MZI is the input signal of the AWG. We demonstrate a 5-channel, 18-nm-spacing AWG with a 0.5-dB bandwidth of 12 nm over a 90-nm spectral range. A low-loss cascaded AWG system is demonstrated by using the MZI-synchronized flat-top AWG as a primary filter.

Photonic generation of stable microwave signals from a dual-wavelength Al2O3:Yb3+ distributed-feedback waveguide laser.

We report the fabrication and characterization of a dual-wavelength distributed-feedback channel waveguide laser in ytterbium-doped aluminum oxide. Operation of the device is based on the optical resonances that are induced by two local phase shifts in the distributed-feedback structure. A stable microwave signal at ~15 GHz with a -3 dB width of 9 kHz was subsequently created via the heterodyne photodetection of the two laser wavelengths. The long-term frequency stability of the microwave signal produced by the free-running laser is better than ±2.5 MHz, while the power of the microwave signal is stable within ±0.35 dB.

Tuning a racetrack ring resonator by an integrated dielectric MEMS cantilever.

The principle, fabrication and characterization of a dielectric MEMS cantilever located a few 100 nm above a racetrack ring resonator are presented. After fabrication of the resonators on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers in a foundry process, the cantilevers were integrated by surface micromachining techniques. Off-state deflections of the cantilevers have been optimized to appropriately position them near the evanescent field of the resonator. Using electrostatic actuation, moving the cantilevers into this evanescent field, the propagation properties of the ring waveguide are modulated. We demonstrate 122 pm tuning of the resonance wavelength of the optical ring resonator (in the optical C-band) without change of the optical quality factor, on application of 9 V to a 40 µm long cantilever. This compact integrated device can be used for tuning/switching a specific wavelength, with very little energy for operation and negligible cross talk with surrounding devices.

Highly efficient, low-threshold monolithic distributed-Bragg-reflector channel waveguide laser in Al2O3:Yb3+.

We report the fabrication and performance of a highly efficient, monolithic distributed-Bragg-reflector channel waveguide laser in ytterbium-doped aluminum oxide. The 1 cm long device was fabricated on a standard thermally oxidized silicon substrate and was optically pumped with a 976 nm laser diode. Single-longitudinal-mode and single-polarization operation was achieved at a wavelength of 1021.2 nm. Continuous-wave output powers of up to 47 mW and a launched pump power threshold of 10 mW resulted in a slope efficiency of 67%.

Raman spectroscopy with an integrated arrayed-waveguide grating.

An integrated arrayed-waveguide grating fabricated in silicon-oxynitride technology is applied to Raman spectroscopy. After its validation by reproducing the well-known spectrum of cyclohexane, polarized Raman spectra are measured of extracted human teeth containing localized initial carious lesions. Excellent agreement is obtained between the spectra of healthy and carious tooth enamel measured with our integrated device and spectra recorded using a conventional Raman spectrometer. Our results represent a step toward the realization of compact, hand-held, integrated spectrometers, e.g. for the detection of dental caries at an early stage.

Ultra-narrow-linewidth, single-frequency distributed feedback waveguide laser in Al2O3:Er3+ on silicon.

We report the realization and performance of a distributed feedback channel waveguide laser in erbium-doped aluminum oxide on a standard thermally oxidized silicon substrate. The diode-pumped continuous-wave laser demonstrated a threshold of 2.2 mW absorbed pump power and a maximum output power of more than 3 mW with a slope efficiency of 41.3% versus absorbed pump power. Single-longitudinal-mode and single-polarization operation was achieved with an emission linewidth of 1.70+/-0.58 kHz (corresponding to a Q factor of 1.14 x 10(11)), which was centered at a wavelength of 1545.2 nm.

Closure of the stop-band in photonic wire Bragg gratings.

Photonic Wire Bragg Gratings, made by periodic insertion of lateral rectangular recesses into photonic wires in silicon-on-insulator, can provide large reflectivity with short device lengths because of their large index contrast. This type of design shows a counter-intuitive behaviour, as we demonstrate - using experimental and numerical data - that it can have low or null reflectance, even for large indentation values. We provide physical insight into this phenomenon by developing a model based on Bloch mode theory, and are able to find an analytical expression for the frequency at which the grating does not sustain the stop-band. Finally we demonstrate that the stop-band closing effect is a general phenomenon that may occur in various types of periodic device that can be modeled as transmission line structures.

Far-field scattering microscopy applied to analysis of slow light, power enhancement, and delay times in uniform Bragg waveguide gratings.

A novel method is presented for determining the group index, intensity enhancement and delay times for waveguide gratings, based on (Rayleigh) scattering observations. This far-field scattering microscopy (FScM) method is compared with the phase shift method and a method that uses the transmission spectrum to quantify the slow wave properties. We find a minimum group velocity of 0.04c and a maximum intensity enhancement of ~14.5 for a 1000-period grating and a maximum group delay of ~80 ps for a 2000-period grating. Furthermore, we show that the FScM method can be used for both displaying the intensity distribution of the Bloch resonances and for investigating out of plane losses. Finally, an application is discussed for the slow-wave grating as index sensor able to detect a minimum cladding index change of 10(-8), assuming a transmission detection limit of 10(-4).

Nano-mechanical tuning and imaging of a photonic crystal micro-cavity resonance.

We show that nano-mechanical interaction using atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to map out mode-patterns of an optical micro-resonator with high spatial accuracy. Furthermore we demonstrate how the Q-factor and center wavelength of such resonances can be sensitively modified by both horizontal and vertical displacement of an AFM tip consisting of either Si(3)N(4) or Si material. With a silicon tip we are able to tune the resonance wavelength by 2.3 nm, and to set Q between values of 615 and zero, by expedient positioning of the AFM tip. We find full on/off switching for less than 100 nm vertical, and for 500 nm lateral displacement at the strongest resonance antinode locations.