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Bonneville DB, Albert M, Arbi R, Munir M, Segat Frare BL, Miarabbas Kiani K, Frankis HC, Knights AP, Turak A, Sask KN, Bradley JDB. Hybrid silicon-tellurium-dioxide DBR resonators coated in PMMA for biological sensing. BIOMEDICAL OPTICS EXPRESS 2023; 14:1545-1561. [PMID: 37078058 PMCID: PMC10110299 DOI: 10.1364/boe.485824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
We report on silicon waveguide distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) cavities hybridized with a tellurium dioxide (TeO2) cladding and coated in plasma functionalized poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for label free biological sensors. We describe the device structure and fabrication steps, including reactive sputtering of TeO2 and spin coating and plasma functionalization of PMMA on foundry processed Si chips, as well as the characterization of two DBR designs via thermal, water, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein sensing. Plasma treatment on the PMMA films was shown to decrease the water droplet contact angle from ∼70 to ∼35°, increasing hydrophilicity for liquid sensing, while adding functional groups on the surface of the sensors intended to assist with immobilization of BSA molecules. Thermal, water and protein sensing were demonstrated on two DBR designs, including waveguide-connected sidewall (SW) and waveguide-adjacent multi-piece (MP) gratings. Limits of detection of 60 and 300 × 10-4 RIU were measured via water sensing, and thermal sensitivities of 0.11 and 0.13 nm/°C were measured from 25-50 °C for SW and MP DBR cavities, respectively. Plasma treatment was shown to enable protein immobilization and sensing of BSA molecules at a concentration of 2 µg/mL diluted in phosphate buffered saline, demonstrating a ∼1.6 nm resonance shift and subsequent full recovery to baseline after stripping the proteins with sodium dodecyl sulfate for a MP DBR device. These results are a promising step towards active and laser-based sensors using rare-earth-doped TeO2 in silicon photonic circuits, which can be subsequently coated in PMMA and functionalized via plasma treatment for label free biological sensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawson B. Bonneville
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
| | - Mitchell Albert
- Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Ramis Arbi
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
| | - Muhammad Munir
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
| | - Bruno L. Segat Frare
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
| | - Khadijeh Miarabbas Kiani
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
| | - Henry C. Frankis
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
| | - Andrew P. Knights
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
| | - Ayse Turak
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Kyla N. Sask
- Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Jonathan D. B. Bradley
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7,
Canada
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Naraine CM, Miller JW, Frankis HC, Hagan DE, Mascher P, Schmid JH, Cheben P, Knights AP, Bradley JDB. Subwavelength grating metamaterial waveguides functionalized with tellurium oxide cladding. OPTICS EXPRESS 2020; 28:18538-18547. [PMID: 32680051 DOI: 10.1364/oe.393729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We report on the design, fabrication and characterization of subwavelength grating metamaterial waveguides coated with tellurium oxide. The structures are first fabricated using a standard CMOS compatible process on a silicon-on-insulator platform. Amorphous tellurium oxide top cladding material is then deposited via post-process RF magnetron sputtering. The photonic bandstructure is controlled by adjustment of the device geometry, opening a wide range of operating regimes, including subwavelength propagation, slow light and the photonic bandgap, for various wavelength bands within the 1550 nm telecommunications window. Propagation loss of 1.0 ± 0.1 dB/mm is reported for the tellurium oxide-cladded device, compared to 1.5 ± 0.1 dB/mm propagation loss reported for the silicon dioxide-cladded reference structure. This is the first time that a high-index (n > 2) oxide cladding has been demonstrated for subwavelength grating metamaterial waveguides, thus introducing a new material platform for on-chip integrated optics.
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