Ultra-sensitive slot-waveguide-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for aqueous solutions of non-polar compounds using a functionalized silicon nitride photonic integrated circuit.

We demonstrate an ultra-sensitive waveguide-enhanced Raman sensor for low concentration organic compounds dissolved in water. The spectra are obtained using silicon nitride slot waveguides coated with a thin film of hexamethyldisilazane-modified mesoporous silica. Enriched locally by 600-fold within the coating, a micromolar level of cyclohexanone is probed. The sensor is also capable of simultaneous quantification of multiple analytes, and the adsorbed analytes can be completely released from the coating. These properties make this on-chip Raman sensor promising for diverse applications, especially for the monitoring of non-polar organics and biomolecules in aqueous environments.

High extinction ratio on-chip pump-rejection filter based on cascaded grating-assisted contra-directional couplers in silicon nitride rib waveguides.

We present an on-chip filter that is based on the grating-assisted contra-directional coupler (GACDC) implemented on a silicon nitride rib waveguide platform. This filter enjoys the benefit of an unlimited free spectral range (FSR) on the red side of the stop/passband. Unlike a Bragg reflector, the GACDC filter has the advantage of coupling the rejected light contra-directionally into a bus waveguide, instead of reflecting it back to the input. This property makes it an add/drop filter suitable for pump rejection and allows effective cascading to provide an even higher extinction ratio compared to the single-stage version. In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate that a 16-stage cascaded GACDC filter can provide a stop band with a bandwidth smaller than 3 nm and an extinction ratio as high as 68.5 dB.