The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) must remove waste heat generated by electronics on the telescope to prevent overheating and reduce their impact on dome seeing. Traditionally, chilled water-glycol cooling loops have been used for this purpose. However, the potential (and realization on existing telescopes) for damage and disruption due to glycol leaks at the telescope top end has prompted a shift to a refrigerant system, where any leaking refrigerant vaporizes immediately. Additionally, a refrigerant system is needed to cool adaptive optics enclosures to -30°C and cool the telescope hydrostatic bearing oil to -21°C, below the operating range of a chilled water system. This paper discusses the refrigerant services infrastructure in development for the observatory, including the cooling requirements, the trade study that led to the choice of carbon dioxide as the refrigerant, the conceptual design, and the concept of operations.
NFIRAOS (Narrow-Field InfraRed Adaptive Optics System) will be the first-light multi-conjugate adaptive optics system for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). NFIRAOS supports three Near Infrared (NIR) client instruments, and provides exceptional image quality across the 2 arcminute field of view. In 2018, NFIRAOS passed the Final Design Review (FDR), but there have been several substantial changes more recently. The optical enclosure (ENCL) refrigeration design was updated for CO2 refrigerant, and an enclosure wall panel was prototyped. The polar-coordinate CCD for the laser guide star (LGS) wavefront sensor camera was replaced with a commercial C-Blue camera from First Light Imaging. More recently, the NFIRAOS Science Calibration Unit (NSCU), which was previously a separate Canadian contribution, was incorporated into the scope of NFIRAOS, and has progressed to the Conceptual Design level. In addition to these changes, the team has been working to bring the last of the low-risk subsystems to final design level in preparation for the beginning of construction.
A novel wideband orthomode transducer (OMT) featuring a folded-arm turnstile junction covering a 2:1 frequency band is employed to achieve an effective structure while meeting the strict OMT requirements for radio astronomy applications. The turnstile junction is designed with two symmetry planes to ensure separation between perpendicular polarizations and the effective management of higher order modes. Within the throat of the turnstile junction, stepped cylinders serve as scattering elements and matching stubs to ensure efficient impedance matching between the quad-ridge circular waveguide at the input and the single-ridge rectangular waveguides at the output. The folded arms play a pivotal role in achieving excellent matching while significantly reducing the overall size. Considering the significance of developing wideband radio astronomy receivers with minimal noise, this design demonstrates a precisely engineered compact OMT, with tuned bends, junctions, and delivers simulated return loss better than 20 dB while maintaining cross-polarization performance well below 65 dB within the specified 20-40 GHz frequency range.
In the effort to push the boundaries of radio astronomy observations, technological innovations are essential for future generations of observatories. This paper introduces an innovative design for future radio receivers in major observatories like ngVLA, ALMA, and SKA. The concept centers around an Octave Band Quad Ridge Feed Horn and Vacuum Window, designed to operate within the 25 to 50 GHz (2:1) frequency range. This cutting-edge feed model uses dielectric loading to enhance phase and polarization efficiency, thereby significantly increasing the overall aperture efficiency across the bandwidth. The dielectric rod, features a solid construction with comb-shaped ridges located in the throat of the feed horn. To complete the entire optic model an HDPE vacuum window with three custom designed antireflection layers to minimize the signal reflections, is designed and presented. To confirm the performance of the proposed model, we use two different 3D full-wave electromagnetic simulators, CST Studio Suite and HFSS. The results showcase a return loss exceeding 25dB with exceptional beam symmetry across the entire bandwidth.
Integrated photonics can be used for stable, cost-effective and precision instruments in astronomy. We present our development and testing of a silicon ring resonator as a tunable correlation filter, facilitating real-time gas contrast for specific molecules with low cross-sensitivity. Ring resonators for various gases in H-band, polarization-selective filters, and fiber-coupled prototypes are described. We present the first on-sky demonstration of silicon-on-insulator astrophotonics, and telluric CO2 absorption feature detection as a proof-of-concept using the 1.2m DAO telescope and REVOLT adaptive optics instrument. Comparisons with traditional spectrographs inform discussions on improving performance and extensions towards an observatory-class instrument for exoplanet biosignature detection.
The Narrow Field InfraRed Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS) in the Thirty Meter Telescope faces challenges with its Visible Natural guide star Wavefront (VNW) sensor's linear stages and encoders. Initial tests revealed deficiencies in magnetic encoders impacting pupil motion calculations at -30°C. Retrofitting with inductive encoders by AMOSIN showed improvement, but fell short. A compensation algorithm was developed to reduce the error to acceptable levels. This paper presents insights from testing different encoders, exploring methods for qualification and troubleshooting, crucial for optimizing NFIRAOS performance in ground-based astronomy.
NFIRAOS, the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System, is the first light AO System for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). It performs wavefront correction in the near infrared spectrum using various optomechanical components operating under strictly controlled conditions. The NFIRAOS Optical Enclosure (ENCL) is designed to provide a housing that maintains an ideal clean sub-zero environment (-30 ±0.5 C) for such components. To manage this, the ENCL provides a multi-leveled control system that accurately manages the environment using low-level hardware control to ensure that internal systems are not subjected to environmental effects that may adversely affect operation, while coordinating with the telescope operation. We will analyze the aspects of the operational constraints to allow the ENCL Control System to communicate with low level sensors and controllers as well as with the high-level Controller management system to ensure all operational conditions are fully met.
Bulk optical astronomical instruments face significant cost, complexity, flexure and alignment challenges with increasing next generation telescope sizes. Astrophotonics can mitigate these issues by using compact optical fiber or chip-based instruments. Here we present the design and development of a single-mode fiber coupled optical telescope system (ARTEMIS) designed for the demonstration of novel integrated astrophotonic instrumentation. Using a 4 cm fiber collimator as a telescope, we show on-sky measurements from an integrated astrophotonic chip. We have demonstrated the ability to detect <0.002% absorption depth changes of telluric CO2 lines using a sub-centimeter scale astrophotonic correlation spectroscopy chip with the sun as a background light source. These results provide a route towards demonstrating astrophotonic instrumentation on the larger 35 cm ARTEMIS telescope for the atmospheric characterization of smaller, fainter targets such as planets.
High sensitivity spectroscopy of astronomical targets is used for determining stellar radial velocities, exoplanet detection, and even exoplanet atmosphere sensing. However, high resolution spectrographs are bulky, highly complex and expensive instruments. While this bulk optical approach is versatile, fiber optic photonic instruments can be lower cost, more compact, and simpler to parallelize for multiple targets. Here we present a low-cost fiber-based correlation spectroscopy technique which can be used for simultaneously measuring radial velocity and molecular/atomic composition of astronomical targets. The correlation is achieved using a commercial, piezoelectrically tunable fiber Fabry-Pérot (FFP) filter that can be tuned from 1520 to 1620 nm. The output of the filter is measured using a single channel photodetector and processed using a lock-in amplifier. By adjusting the bias and modulation amplitude of the transmission spectrum of the FFP filter, the device can be optimized for maximum sensitivity to a certain absorption/emission line. We perform an on-sky demonstration using a 4.25 cm telescope to detect telluric CO2 with the sun as a background light source.
The Gemini High-Resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) instrument is the next generation high resolution spectrograph for the Gemini telescope. The GHOST instrument was developed for the Gemini telescope as a collaboration between Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) at Macquarie University, the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics (HAA) in Canada and the Australian National University (ANU). The instrument is a fiber fed spectrograph with R<50,000 in two-object mode and R<75,000 in single object mode. The bench spectrograph was integrated at Gemini South from April to June 2022. This paper presents the final integration and alignment of the spectrograph at Gemini South and the measured spectrograph performance at the telescope.
Using photonic devices, we developed a new approach to traditional spectroscopy where the spectral cross-correlation with a template spectrum can be done entirely on-device. By creating photonic devices with a carefully designed, modulated transmission spectrum, the cross-correlation can be carried out optically without requiring any dispersion, vastly simplifying the instrument and reducing its cost. The measured correlation lag can be used for detecting atomic/molecular species within and determining the radial velocity of a particular astrophysical object. We present an overview of two design approaches that are currently being developed that use different photonic platforms: silicon and fibre-based photonics. The silicon photonic approach utilizes ring resonators that can be thermo-optically modulated to carry out the cross-correlation. The fibre approach uses customized fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) with transmission spectra that can be strain-modulated. Both approaches have been able to detect molecular gas in a lab setting, and we are now in the process of on-sky testing. Lastly, we discuss the future for these types of devices as their simplicity opens up the possibility of developing low-cost, purpose-built multi-object or integral field spectroscopic instruments that could make significant contributions to scientific programs requiring stellar RV measurements and exoplanet detections.
The Gemini High-Resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) is the next in line instrument being integrated for the Gemini south telescope, in a collaboration between the Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) at Macquarie University, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics (HAA) at the National Research Council Canada, and the Australian National University (ANU). This paper will discuss shipping considerations and data taken by the NRC-Herzberg and Gemini team to preserve and protect the instrument during a two year hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Determining the radial velocity and atmospheric composition of exoplanets is typically performed using dispersive spectroscopy. However, while this approach is versatile, spectrometers for such applications are complex, expensive and are bulky instruments. In contrast, tunable fiber-based filters are commercially available and can be used for low cost, passive remote gas sensing. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate Fabry-Pérot based correlation spectroscopy in a simple, low-cost, compact, and stable instrument package for astrophotonic gas sensing. We also show via simulation that exoplanet radial velocities can be determined simultaneously.
Exoplanetary biosignatures, molecular compounds which indicate a likelihood of extraterrestrial life, can be detected by highly sensitive spectroscopy of starlight which passes through the atmospheres of exoplanets towards the Earth. Such sensitive measurements can only be accomplished with the next generation of telescopes, leading to a corresponding increase in cost and complexity spectrometers. Integrated astrophotonic instruments are well-suited to address these challenges through their low-cost fabrication and compact geometries. We propose and characterize an integrated photonic gas sensor which detects the correlation between the near-infrared quasi-periodic vibronic absorption line spectrum of a gas and a silicon waveguide ring resonator transmittance comb. This technique enables lock-in amplification detection for real-time detection of faint biosignatures for reduced observation timescales and rapid exoplanetary atmosphere surveys using highly compact instrumentation.
The Gemini High-Resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) is the newest instrument being integrated for the Gemini telescopes, in a collaboration between the Australian National University (ANU), the NRC-Herzberg in Canada and the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO). The GHOST outer enclosure consists of 20 heated thermal panels, forming an encompassing structure with a stationary ‘bridge’ assembly and two removable sections for access. The outer enclosure provides an ultra-stable, dark environment for the bench spectrograph. This paper reviews the outer enclosure construction from a practical standpoint, examining how environmental requirements are met through the thermal panel construction, light seal and dry air system designs. This paper also describes thermal panel production workflow, enclosure assembly methodology, alignment and cable routing challenges. Results of the enclosure's thermal stability verification tests are presented and a list of lessons learned.
Recent changes to the Montreal Protocol have led to the eventual phase-out of hydrofluorocarbon-based refrigerants due to their high global warming potential (GWP). TMT has thus transitioned from R507 (GWP ~ 3900) to CO2 (GWP =1) as the primary observatory supplied refrigerant. Thus, the cooling system for NFIRAOS (TMT’s first light adaptive optics system) was redesigned to work with this high pressure refrigerant. In this paper, we describe the key refrigeration requirements and present the updated design of the NFIRAOS cooling system, including its overall architecture, main components and safety related features. To de-risk aspects of the design and to assess vibration levels of the system (critical for the AO system performance) a prototype CO2 cooling system was built and characterized. Key measurement results are presented.
The Narrow Field InfraRed Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS) for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will use a natural guide star (NGS) Pyramid Wavefront Sensor (PWFS). A 32-mm diameter Fast Steering Mirror (FSM) is used to modulate the position of the NGS image around the tip of the pyramid. The mirror traces out a circular tip/tilt pattern at up to 800 Hz (the maximum operating frequency of NFIRAOS), with a diameter chosen to balance sensitivity and dynamic range. A circular dither pattern at 1/4 the modulation frequency is superimposed to facilitate optical gain measurements. The timing of this motion is synchronized precisely with individual exposures on the PWFS detector, and must also be phased with other wavefront sensors, such as Laser Guide Star Wavefront Sensors (LGSWFS) and the On-Instrument Wavefront Sensors (OIWFS) of NFIRAOS client instruments (depending on the observing mode), to minimize latency. During trade studies it was decided to pursue a piezo actuator from Physik Instrumente (PI) using a monocrystalline piezo material, as more conventional polycrystalline devices would not meet the lifetime, stroke, and frequency requirements. Furthermore, PI claims excellent stability and hysteresis with similar piezo stages, rendering sensor feedback unnecessary. To characterize the performance of this mechanism, and to verify that it can function acceptably in open-loop, we have operated the stage on a test bench using a laser and high-speed position sensing devices (PSDs) both at room temperature and at the cold -30C operating temperature of NFIRAOS. We have also prototyped the software and hardware triggering strategy that will be used to synchronize the FSM with the rest of NFIRAOS.
The Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre has established a comprehensive and versatile vibration measurement capability. In recent years, HAA personnel have executed a number of diverse vibration measurement projects, including recent vibration transmission measurements at Gemini South. In this paper we describe the HAA’s vibration measurement capabilities, including the equipment and experimental approaches that have been used. We will provide some illustrative examples of recent applications and results, and highlight plans for further development of our capabilities.
The instrument group of the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics has been subcontracted by Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) at Macquarie University to design and build the bench spectrograph for the Gemini High-Resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) instrument. The GHOST instrument is being developed for the Gemini telescope and is a collaboration between AAO, the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics (HAA) in Canada and the Australian National University (ANU). The instrument is a fiber fed spectrograph with R<50,000 in two-object mode and R<75,000 in single object mode. This paper presents the i ph and the performance results for the laboratory testing of the spectrograph.
Astronomical instrumentation is traditionally costly, large, and alignment-sensitive owing to the use of bulk optics. The use of integrated photonic devices in astronomical instrumentation can mitigate such drawbacks in certain applications where high light throughput and spectral bandwidth are less crucial. In this work, we present an ultra-compact carbon dioxide detection scheme using a single silicon waveguide ring resonator. The comb-like absorption line spectrum of CO2 around 1580 nm wavelength can closely match the comb spectrum of an appropriately designed ring resonator. By actively correlating such a ring spectrum with the CO2 absorption lines, a specific detection signal can be generated. We design the free spectral range of a ring resonator to match the absorption line spacing of carbon dioxide lines in the range from 1575 to 1585 nm. Using thermo-optic modulation, the ring resonator drop or through port transmission spectrum can be shifted back and forth across the incoming CO2 light spectrum, resulting in a modulated signal with an amplitude proportional to the CO2 absorption line strength. Furthermore, high frequency modulation and lock-in detection can result in a significant improvement in the signal to noise ratio. We demonstrate that such a device can provide real-time carbon dioxide detection for applications in ground- and satellite-based astronomy, as well as remote atmospheric sensing, in a compact package. In future work, such a sensor can be adapted to a range of gases and used to determine radial velocities and compositional maps of astronomical objects.
NFIRAOS (Narrow-Field InfraRed Adaptive Optics System) will be the first-light multi-conjugate adaptive optics system for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). NFIRAOS houses all of its opto-mechanical sub-systems within an optics enclosure cooled to precisely -30°C in order to improve sensitivity in the near-infrared. It supports up to three client science instruments, including the first-light InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Powering NFIRAOS is a Real Time Controller that will process the signals from six laser wavefront sensors, one natural guide star pyramid WFS, up to three low-order on-instrument WFS and up to four guide windows on the client instrument’s science detector in order to correct for atmospheric turbulence, windshake, optical errors and plate-scale distortion. NFIRAOS is currently preparing for its final design review in late June 2018 at NRC Herzberg in Victoria, British Columbia in partnership with Canadian industry and TMT.
The Narrow Field InfraRed Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS) will be the first-light facility Adaptive Optics (AO) system for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). NFIRAOS will be able to host three science instruments that can take advantage of this high performance system. NRC Herzberg is leading the design effort for this critical TMT subsystem. As part of the final design phase of NFIRAOS, we have identified multiple subsystems to be sub-contracted to Canadian industry. The scope of work for each subcontract is guided by the NFIRAOS Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and is divided into two phases: the completion of the final design and the fabrication, assembly and delivery of the final product. Integration of the subsystems at NRC will require a detailed understanding of the interfaces between the subsystems, and this work has begun by defining the interface physical characteristics, stability, local coordinate systems, and alignment features. In order to maintain our stringent performance requirements, the interface parameters for each subsystem are captured in multiple performance budgets, which allow a bottom-up error estimate. In this paper we discuss our approach for defining the interfaces in a consistent manner and present an example error budget that is influenced by multiple subsystems.
Athermal operation of silicon waveguides for the TM and TE mode is achieved using the bridged subwavelength grating (BSWG) waveguide geometry. For the TM mode the experimental results show that the temperature-induced wavelength shift (dλ/dT) is an order of magnitude smaller for the BSWG waveguides with grating duty cycle, waveguide and bridge widths of 42%, 490 nm and 220 nm, respectively, as compared to standard photonics wires (PW). For the TE mode similar results are achieved by using the bridge width of 200 nm and similar duty cycle and waveguide width. A temperature-induced shift of only -2.5 pm/°C is reported for the TM polarized light. Propagation losses of BSWG waveguides for both polarizations were measured to be about 8 dB/cm, comparable to that of PWs.
In this paper, athermal subwavelength grating (SWG) waveguides are investigated. Both numerical simulations and
experimental results show that a temperature independent behaviour can be achieved by combining two materials with
opposite thermo-optic coefficients within the waveguide. SU-8 polymer with a negative thermo-optic coefficient (dn/dT
= -1.1x10-4 K-1) is used in our silicon SWG waveguides to compensate for silicon's positive thermo-optic coefficient of
1.9x10-4 K-1. The grating duty ratio required to achieve an athermal behavior is reported to vary as a function of the
operating wavelength and the waveguide dimensions. For example, for athermal waveguides of 260 nm in height, duty
ratios of 61.3% and 83.3% were calculated for TE and TM polarized light respectively for a 450 nm wide waveguide,
compared to ratios of 79% and 90% for a 350 nm wide waveguide. It is also reported that with increasing width, and
increasing height, a smaller grating duty ratio is necessary to achieve an athermal behaviour. A smaller fraction of silicon
would hence be needed to compensate for the polymer's negative thermo-optic effect in the waveguide core.
Subwavelength sidewall grating (SWSG) waveguides are also proposed here as alternatives to high duty ratio SWG
waveguides that are required for guiding TM polarized light. Assuming a duty ratio of 50%, the width of the narrow
segments for temperature-independent behavior is found by numerical simulations to be 125 nm and 143 nm for TE and
TM polarized light, respectively.
We are developing a photonic wire evanescent field (PWEF) sensor chip using 260 nm x 450 nm cross-section silicon
photonic wire waveguides. The waveguide mode is strongly localized near the silicon surface, so that light interacts
strongly with molecules bound to the waveguide surface. The millimeter long sensor waveguides can be folded into tight
spiral structures less than 200 micrometers in diameter, which can be arrayed at densities up to ten or more independent
sensors per square millimeter. The long propagation length in each sensor element gives a response to molecular binding
much better than currently available tools for label-free molecular sensing. Cost of instrumentation, cost per
measurement, ease-of-use, and the number of sensors that can be simultaneously monitored on a sensor array chip are
equally important in determining whether an instrument is practical for the end user and hence commercially viable. The
objective of our recent work on PWEF sensor array chips and the associated instrumentation is to address all of these
issues. This conference paper reviews our ongoing work on the photonic wire sensor chip design and layout, on-chip
integrated fluidics, optical coupling, and chip interrogation using arrays of grating couplers formed using sub-wavelength
patterned structures.
We review recent advances in subwavelength and diffractive structures in planar waveguides. First, we present a new
type of microphotonic waveguide, exploiting the subwavelength grating (SWG) effect. We demonstrate several
examples of subwavelength grating waveguides and components made of silicon, operating at telecom wavelengths. The
SWG technique allows for engineering of the refractive index of a waveguide core over a range as broad as 1.5-3.5
simply by lithographic patterning using only two materials, for example Si and SiO2. This circumvents an important
limitation in integrated optics, which is the fixed value of the refractive indices of the constituent materials in the absence
of an active tuning mechanism. A subwavelength grating fibre-chip microphotonic coupler is presented with a loss as
low as 0.9 dB and with minimal wavelength dependence over a broad wavelength range exceeding 200 nm. It is shown
that the SWG waveguides can be used to make efficient waveguide crossings with minimal loss and negligible crosstalk.
We also present a diffractive surface grating coupler with subwavelength nanostructure, that has been implemented in a
Si-wire evanescent field biological sensor. Furthermore, we discuss a new type of planar waveguide multiplexer with a
SWG engineered nanostructure, yielding an operation bandwidth exceeding 170 nm for a device size of only 160 μm ×
100 μm.
As a result of the evolution semiconductor fabrication tools and methods over several decades, it now possible to
routinely design and make optical devices with features comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of the light that
propagates through these structures. This paper will review some silicon optical structures with critical features at these
extremely short length scales. For example it becomes possible to create segmented waveguide structures with optical
properties that can be tuned continuously between those of the cladding and waveguide core, using lithographic
patterning rather than varying etch depth. Using thin high index contrast waveguides and the correct polarization, the
optical electric field profiles can be shaped to maximize the coupling to molecular monolayers or cladding layers with
specific functionality. Examples are given from our recent work on optical biosensors chips which employ grating
couplers made by sub-wavelength digital patterning, and use waveguides optimized for coupling to molecular
monolayers.
We present an SOI biosensor microarray chip that allows multiple molecular binding reactions to be simultaneously
monitored. The individual biosensors are formed using 0.26 × 0.45 μm2 silicon photonic wire waveguides, which are
arranged in compact Mach-Zehnder interferometer geometries with near temperature independent response. The sharp
bend radius permitted by the photonic wires is exploited to form dense spiral waveguide structures that provide several
millimeters of path length in a compact 130 μm diameter circular area. This design provides the high sensitivity of a long
waveguide, while maintaining compatibility with commercial microarray spotting tools. For low volume analyte delivery
the sensor array chip contains a monolithically integrated microfluidic channel formed in an SU-8 overlayer. Multiple
antibody-antigen reactions are observed in real-time by using an infrared camera to monitor the optical powers emerging
from the sensor array output waveguides.
We calculate the π-power and rise time for several 1×1 y-branch MZI SOI thermo-optic switches as a function of device
size. These switches consist of waveguide core thickness ranging from 10 to 0.22 μm. Upon scaling the core thickness,
the best power and speed performance occurs at 0.7 μm. Further miniaturization results in an increased power and
reduced speed, mainly due to the mode expansion from the core into the cladding. We show that varying the MZI arm
separation is an effective approach to improve the performance of miniaturized thermo-optic switches.
We discuss several applications of both resonant and non-resonant subwavelength gratings (SWGs) for silicon
photonics. We present results of evanescent field molecular sensing using the transverse magnetic mode of a 0.22 μm
thick silicon slab waveguide with a resonant SWG, which couples a free space laser beam to the silicon waveguide
mode. The optical readout of this configuration is almost identical to the established surface plasmon resonance sensing
technology. Using calibrated sucrose solutions, we demonstrate a bulk refractive index sensitivity of 111 nm/RIU in
good agreement with rigorous coupled wave analysis calculations. The binding of a monolayer of streptavidin protein on
the waveguide surface is monitored in real time with a signal-to-noise ratio of ~500. In another application, non-resonant
SWGs are used to create effective dielectric media with a refractive index that can be tuned between the values of silicon
(3.48) and SU-8 polymer used for the cladding (1.58). For example, we present SWG waveguides with an effective core
index of approximately 2.65, which exhibit lower propagation loss than photonic wire waveguides of similar
dimensions. We use these SWG waveguides to demonstrate highly efficient fiber-chip couplers.
We review our work developing label-free molecular sensors using silicon nanophotonic waveguides. We show that the high index contrast of these waveguides provides high surface sensitivity and enables compact sensor designs to be realized. We also describe new waveguide circuit geometries that allow photonic wire waveguide sensors to be conveniently arrayed in two dimensions for compatibility with commercial spotting tools, while simultaneously providing long interaction length and improved molecular capture efficiency. These sensor designs are shown to provide a practical route to the development of label-free, microarrayed biochips for multiparameter analysis.
We demonstrate Mach-Zehnder interferometer and ring resonator evanescent field sensors fabricated on the silicon-on-insulator
material platform. These devices exploit the strong evanescent field of the transverse magnetic mode of a high
index contrast, submicron dimension waveguide to obtain strong interaction of the guided mode with biomolecules
adsorbed to the waveguide surface. We utilize the extremely small bend radius achievable with silicon photonic wire
waveguides to fabricate spiral and folded waveguide sensors that maintain the high sensitivity of a long waveguide,
while providing compact footprint. These devices offer a suitable geometry for the development of sensor arrays and
provide compatibility with commercial spotting functionalization systems. We demonstrate sensors containing
waveguides of up to 5.5 mm length that are contained within a 150 μm × 150 μm area.
We demonstrate experimentally and by simulations the use of subwavelength grating patterns on the facets of planar
waveguides as a means of modifying facet reflectivity over a wide range of values, from antireflective to highly
reflective. An antireflective structure can be obtained from a gradient index effect with triangular gratings. Square
gratings can be used to obtain either antireflective or highly reflective facets by an interference effect. Finite difference
time domain simulations and calculations based on effective medium theory show that reflectivities well below 1% can
be achieved with triangular gratings. Experimentally, facet reflectivities as low as 2.0% and 2.4% for the fundamental
TE and TM waveguide modes, respectively, are demonstrated for light of 1.55
μm wavelength in silicon-on-insulator
ridge waveguides. The experimental results are in good agreement with both effective medium theory and finite
difference time domain simulations. The polarization dependence of the effects is also discussed in detail.
We exploit the unique properties of the silicon-on-insulator material platform to demonstrate a new series of planar
waveguide evanescent field sensors for biological / chemical sensing. These sensors, combined with state-of-the-art
surface functionalization chemistries, offer a sensitive, label-free means for the specific detection of biomolecules,
without the need for fluorescent tags employed in conventional fluorescence-based biochips. The use of silicon photonic
wire waveguide technology allows sensors with extremely small footprint and small radius of curvature to be fabricated,
facilitating the development of densely packed sensor arrays for multi-parameter analysis, particularly attractive for drug
discovery, pathogen detection, genomics and disease diagnostics.
We show that high index contrast silicon photonic wire waveguides not only provide the above stated advantages but
also offer increased sensitivity over that of evanescent field sensors constructed on other common waveguide material
platforms. This results from the unique properties of the optical modes of silicon photonic wire waveguides, which
exhibit very large surface electric field magnitude and strong localization near the waveguide surface. We discuss the
design and fabrication of silicon-on-insulator-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer sensors and experimentally
demonstrate their performance to detect bulk solution refractive index change and to monitor the specific adsorption of
streptavidin to biotinylated waveguides.
We show that thin silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microphotonic waveguides offer significant advantages over other material
platforms for the applications of biological and chemical sensing. The high index contrast inherent to SOI waveguides
allow an extremely large yet highly localized electric field to be supported in the evanescent tail of the waveguide mode,
ideal for the probing of thin biological layers.
Various sensing geometries including Mach-Zehnder interferometers and high quality factor ring resonators have been
designed and fabricated and their performance is presented. SOI sensors are shown to be capable of providing higher
intrinsic sensitivity over comparable sensor designs reported in all other lower index contrast planar waveguide material
systems. Finally, the device design conditions for optimized sensitivity are examined for the sensing of both bulk
solutions and thin adsorbed biomolecular layers.
The advantages of monolithic integration of passive and active optoelectronic components into multifunctional PICs (photonic integrated circuits) are numerous and well known. In WDM transmission systems, where up to hundreds of wavelength channels may be present and must be manipulated on a per wavelength basis, the advantages of PICs containing wavelength (de)multiplexers and arrays of active components rapidly multiply. This has been exploited in our earlier reported SurePath family of InP-based PICs for optical channel monitoring / equalization, which contain an echelle grating demultiplexer and single-mode vertically integrated waveguide photodetectors / electroabsorption attenuators inserted into each of its output channels. Now, the same design principles and fabrication techniques have been utilized for the development of a dense WDM data receiver. This paper concentrates on the key building block of such a component, the single-mode vertically integrated waveguide photodetector. A detailed characterization and analysis of the device performance are presented.
Spot-size converter (SSC) is an important building block of InP-based photonic integrated circuits since it allows a standard single-mode fiber with a large and symmetric mode spot to be efficiently coupled with high displacement tolerance to a semiconductor waveguide with a small and asymmetric mode spot. Having an on-chip SSC integrated with a semiconductor waveguide is practically advantageous since such an element greatly simplifies the packaging process while increasing its reliability. In this paper, a SSC utilizing two-step lateral tapering is proposed for converting the semiconductor waveguide device mode into that suitable for fiber coupling without compromising the designs of the device and coupling waveguides. This is achieved by inserting a transient taper between the device and coupling waveguide as an impedance matcher.
This paper describes the design principles and characterization results for such a two-step SSC, compatible with earlier reported InP-based photonic integrated circuits for WDM. Transmission, Fabry-Perot fringes and photoresponsivity measurements (the last - by using an on-chip waveguide photodetector monolithically integrated with the SSC) show excellent performance of the two-step SSC. In good agreement with simulations, it was experimentally demonstrated that using this integrated component for fiber coupling can reduce the coupling loss to below 1dB, which includes the taper radiation loss of ~0.2 dB.
In WDM optical networks, signals have to be manipulated and monitored on a per wavelength basis. This requires that (de)multiplexing and wavelength processing functions are combined in the same optical component. The most efficient solution from a footprint size, cost and reliability point of view would be a combination of both functions in one photonic integrated circuit (PIC), fabricated by photolithography. Given that processing / detecting of individual wavelengths is an active function, in S, C and L communication bands naturally realized by InP and related semiconductor materials, InP-based PICs are widely agreed to be the superior choice.
This paper reports a practical design of such InP-based PICs. It is based on a building block approach, which allows a large variety of WDM optical components to be built from relatively few monolithically integrable elements, by using standard semiconductor fabrication technologies. These include: (i) (de)multiplexer based on a planar echelle diffractive grating with polarization compensation in the slab waveguide region; (ii) single-mode vertically integrated waveguide active devices with detecting, attenuating, amplifying and switching features, inserted in every (in)output waveguide channel of a planar (de)multiplexer, and (iii) passive waveguide circuitry required for coupling the light to and directing it through the InP-based photonic chip. Design and characterization examples of the building blocks and PICs for channel monitoring, variable attenuation / equalization and spatial switching are presented.
In-line pairs of InGaAs quantum well waveguide photodiodes are used to function as sensitive wavelength monitors near the absorption band edge of the detector material. These devices displayed an average wavelength sensitivity of 3 pm over a useful operating range of 1535-1570 nm for optical input powers as low as 5 (mu) W. In this paper, we demonstrate the simultaneous monitoring of several wavelengths using an array of in-line detectors and a wavelength demultiplexer. Some methods to improve the performance of the device are examined. By tailoring the lengths of the waveguide sections or by the application of a reverse bias, the individual channels of the array can be optimized for a particular wavelength range. Using a fixed reference wavelength and the quantum confined Stark effect, an effective temperature compensation scheme is proposed. As a demonstration of the technique, a multiplexed Bragg gratin strain senor was constructed. The sensor contained four in- fiber Bragg gratings with a 6 nm center wavelength spacing. Using a broadband wavelength demultiplexer, the photodetector array is used to track the small wavelength shifts induced in the gratings that result from the application of strain. An average strain sensitivity of 6 (mu) (epsilon) was obtained for the four channels.
Quantum well waveguide photodetectors that contain two inline segments have been used as wavelength monitors with sensitivities in the picometer range. Multi-segment detectors can also be configured as wavelength demultiplexers to separate up to four optical communications channels. We review recent work in this area and report on the use of a wavelength monitor for the 1.55 micrometers region in a fiber optic strain sensor application.
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