Integrated broadband dual-polarization Ge-rich SiGe mid-infrared Fourier-transform spectrometer

High-resolution on-chip spatial heterodyne Fourier transform spectrometer based on artificial neural network and PCSBL reconstruction algorithm

A novel compact on-chip Fourier transform (FT) spectrometer has been proposed based on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform with wide operating bandwidth and high resolution. The spectrometer consists of a 16-channel power splitter and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) array of 16 MZIs with linearly increasing optical path length (OPL) difference. We have also developed a spectral retrieval algorithm based on the pattern-coupled sparse Bayesian learning (PCSBL) algorithm and artificial neural network (ANN). The experimental results show that the designed spectrometer has a flat transmission characteristic in the wavelength range between 1500 nm and 1600 nm, indicating that the device has a wide operating bandwidth of 100 nm. In addition, with the assistance of the spectral retrieval algorithm, our spectrometer has the ability to reconstruct narrowband signals with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.5 nm and a triple-peaked signal separated by a 3-nm distance.

Mid-infrared Fourier-transform spectrometer based on metamaterial lateral cladding suspended silicon waveguides

Integrated mid-infrared micro-spectrometers have a great potential for applications in environmental monitoring and space exploration. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) is a promising platform to tackle this integration challenge, owing to its unique capability for large volume and low-cost production of ultra-compact photonic circuits. However, the use of SOI in the mid-infrared is restricted by the strong absorption of the buried oxide layer for wavelengths beyond 4 µm. Here, we overcome this limitation by utilizing metamaterial-cladded suspended silicon waveguides to implement a spatial heterodyne Fourier-transform (SHFT) spectrometer operating at wavelengths near 5.5 µm. The metamaterial-cladded geometry allows removal of the buried oxide layer, yielding measured propagation loss below 2 dB/cm at wavelengths between 5.3 and 5.7 µm. The SHFT spectrometer comprises 19 Mach-Zehnder interferometers with a maximum arm length imbalance of 200 µm, achieving a measured spectral resolution of 13 cm^-1 and a free spectral range of 100 cm^-1 at wavelengths near 5.5 µm.

Broadband Fourier-transform silicon nitride spectrometer with wide-area multiaperture input

Integrated microspectrometers implemented in silicon photonic chips have gathered a great interest for diverse applications such as biological analysis, environmental monitoring, and remote sensing. These applications often demand high spectral resolution, broad operational bandwidth, and large optical throughput. Spatial heterodyne Fourier-transform (SHFT) spectrometers have been proposed to overcome the limited optical throughput of dispersive and speckle-based on-chip spectrometers. However, state-of-the-art SHFT spectrometers in near-infrared achieve large optical throughput only within a narrow operational bandwidth. Here we demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a broadband silicon nitride SHFT spectrometer with the largest light collecting multiaperture input (320×410µm²) ever implemented in an SHFT on-chip spectrometer. The device was fabricated using 248 nm deep-ultraviolet lithography, exhibiting over 13 dB of optical throughput improvement compared to a single-aperture device. The measured resolution varies between 29 and 49 pm within the 1260-1600 nm wavelength range.

Dual Tunable MZIs Stationary-Wave Integrated Fourier Transform Spectrum Detection

In order to resolve spectral alias due to under sampling in traditional stationary-wave integrated Fourier transform (SWIFT) spectrometers, an all-on-chip waveguide based on dual tunable Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) stationary-wave integrated Fourier transform technology (DTM-SWIFT) is proposed. Several gold nanowires are asymmetrically positioned at two sides of zero optical path difference and scatter the interference fringes information, which can avoid aliasing of spectral signals and help to gain high spectral resolution. A systematic theoretical analysis is carried on in detail, including the optical distribution characteristics based on multi-beam interference, stationary-wave theorem and signal reconstruction method based on the FT technology. The results show that the method can complete a resolution of 6 nm for Gauss spectrum reconstruction using only 6 gold nanowires, and a resolution of 5 cm^-1 for Raman spectrum reconstruction using 25 gold nanowires.

Silicon photonic on-chip spatial heterodyne Fourier transform spectrometer exploiting the Jacquinot's advantage

Silicon photonics on-chip spectrometers are finding important applications in medical diagnostics, pollution monitoring, and astrophysics. Spatial heterodyne Fourier transform spectrometers (SHFTSs) provide a particularly interesting architecture with a powerful passive error correction capability and high spectral resolution. Despite having an intrinsically large optical throughput (étendue, also referred to as Jacquinot's advantage), state-of-the-art silicon SHFTSs have not exploited this advantage yet. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, an SHFTS implementing a wide-area light collection system simultaneously feeding an array of 16 interferometers, with an input aperture as large as 90µm×60µm formed by a two-way-fed grating coupler. We experimentally demonstrate 85 pm spectral resolution, 600 pm bandwidth, and 13 dB étendue increase, compared with a device with a conventional grating coupler input. The SHFTS was fabricated using 193 nm deep-UV optical lithography and integrates a large-size input aperture with an interferometer array and monolithic Ge photodetectors, in a 4.5mm² footprint.

Ge-rich graded SiGe waveguides and interferometers from 5 to 11 µm wavelength range

The mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelength range hosts unique vibrational and rotational resonances of a broad variety of substances that can be used to unambiguously detect the molecular composition in a non-intrusive way. Mid-IR photonic-integrated circuits (PICs) are thus expected to have a major impact in many applications. Still, new challenges are posed by the large spectral width required to simultaneously identify many substances using the same photonic circuit. Ge-rich graded SiGe waveguides have been proposed as a broadband platform approach for mid-IR PICs. In this work, ultra-broadband waveguides are experimentally demonstrated within unprecedented wavelength range, efficiently guiding light from 5 to 11 µm. Interestingly, losses from 0.5 to 1.2 dB/cm are obtained between 5.1 and 8 µm wavelength, and values below 3 dB/cm are measured from 9.5 to 11.2 µm wavelength. An increase of propagation losses is seen between 8 and 9.5 µm; however, values stay below 4.6 dB/cm in the entire wavelength range. A detailed analysis of propagation losses is reported, supported by secondary ion mass spectrometry measurement, and different contributions are analyzed: silicon substrate absorption, oxygen impurities, free carrier absorption by residual doping, sidewall roughness and multiphonon absorption. Finally, Mach-Zehnder interferometers are characterized, and wideband operation is experimentally obtained from 5.5 to 10.5 µm wavelength.

On-chip polarization-insensitive Fourier transform spectrometer

Chip-scale monolithic Fourier transform spectrometers (FTSs) offer great potential for inexpensive, high-resolution, and robust spectroscopic applications in a wide variety of scenarios. Having attracted considerable attention, spatial heterodyne FTSs (SH-FTSs) are featured with a simple and stable configuration composed of an array of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) with linearly increasing optical path differences. Owing to the strong waveguide birefringence, MZIs on the popular silicon-on-insulator platform are polarization-sensitive, raising the challenge of polarization control of incident light. We propose and demonstrate a polarization-insensitive SH-FTS using a two-dimensional grating coupler to split an arbitrary state of polarization into two orthogonal polarization components that are both coupled into the TE mode but propagate in opposite directions in the arrayed MZIs. The two orthogonal polarization components are finally recombined in photodetection without polarization-dependent losses. An edge-coupling configuration using a polarization splitter-rotator is also proposed.

On-chip Fourier-transform spectrometer based on spatial heterodyning tuned by thermo-optic effect

Miniaturized optical spectrometers providing broadband operation and fine resolution have an immense potential for applications in remote sensing, non-invasive medical diagnostics and astronomy. Indeed, optical spectrometers working in the mid-infrared spectral range have garnered a great interest for their singular capability to monitor the main absorption fingerprints of a wide range of chemical and biological substances. Fourier-transform spectrometers (FTS) are a particularly interesting solution for the on-chip integration due to their superior robustness against fabrication imperfections. However, the performance of current on-chip FTS implementations is limited by tradeoffs in bandwidth and resolution. Here, we propose a new FTS approach that gathers the advantages of spatial heterodyning and optical path tuning by thermo-optic effect to overcome this tradeoff. The high resolution is provided by spatial multiplexing among different interferometers with increasing imbalance length, while the broadband operation is enabled by fine tuning of the optical path delay in each interferometer harnessing the thermo-optic effect. Capitalizing on this concept, we experimentally demonstrate a mid-infrared SiGe FTS, with a resolution better than 15 cm⁻¹ and a bandwidth of 603 cm⁻¹ near 7.7 μm wavelength with a 10 MZI array. This is a resolution comparable to state-of-the-art on-chip mid-infrared spectrometers with a 4-fold bandwidth increase with a footprint divided by a factor two.

Ultra-wideband Ge-rich silicon germanium mid-infrared polarization rotator with mode hybridization flattening

In this work we investigate the implementation of ultra-wideband polarization rotator in the mid-infrared spectral region. A new design method of the rotation section is proposed, yielding a polarization rotator with an extinction ratio of at least 15 dB in a wavelength range of 2 µm. For a spectral range wider than 3.8 µm, an extinction ratio of at least 10 dB is achieved for this design. The device is 1660 µm long and the associated insertion loss is below 1.2 dB on the full operational wavelength range. The influence of geometrical parameters with respect to the design method to obtain such a broadband behavior is discussed. Finally, to increase the tolerance to fabrication errors, a tapered rotator design is proposed. Such a device can support up to ± 100 nm fabrication errors and still guarantees remarkable broadband behavior. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time an integrated polarization rotator is designed to operate for the wavelength range of 4 to 9 µm with a bandwidth exceeding 2 µm.

Broadband integrated racetrack ring resonators for long-wave infrared photonics

Long-wave infrared photonics is an exciting research field meant to revolutionize our daily life by means of key advances in several domains including communications, imaging systems, medical care, environmental monitoring, or multispectral chemical sensing, among others. For this purpose, integrated photonics is particularly promising owing to its compactness, mass fabrication, and energy-efficient characteristics. We present in this Letter, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, broadband integrated racetrack ring resonators operating within the crucial molecular fingerprint region. Devices show an operation bandwidth of Δλ≈900  nm with a central wavelength of λ≈8  μm, a quality factor of Q≈3200, and an extinction ratio of ER≈10  dB around the critical coupling condition. These resonant structures establish the basis of a new generation of integrated building blocks for long-wave infrared photonics that opens the route towards miniaturized multitarget molecule detection systems.