ABSTRACT
Photonic crystal (PhC) nanobeams (NB) patterned on porous silicon (PSi) waveguide substrates are demonstrated for the specific, label-free detection of oligonucleotides. These photonic structures combine the large active sensing area intrinsic to PSi sensors with the high-quality (Q) factor and low-mode volume characteristic of compact resonant silicon-on-insulator (SOI) PhC NB devices. The PSi PhC NB can achieve a Q-factor near 9,000 and has an approximately 40-fold increased active sensing area for molecular attachment, compared to traditional SOI PhC NB sensors. The PSi PhC NB exhibits a resonance shift that is more than one order of magnitude larger than that of a similarly designed SOI PhC NB for the detection of small chemical molecules and 16-base peptide nucleic acids. The design and fabrication of PSi PhC NB sensors are compatible with CMOS processing, sensor arrays, and integration with lab-on-chip systems.
ABSTRACT
We present a computational design for an integrated electro-optic modulator based on near-field plasmonic coupling between gold nanodisks and a thin film of vanadium dioxide on a silicon substrate. Active modulation is achieved by applying a time-varying electric field to initiate large changes in the refractive index of vanadium dioxide. Significant decrease in device footprint (200 nm x 560 nm) and increase in extinction ratio per unit length (9 dB/µm) compared to state-of-the-art photonic and plasmonic modulators are predicted.
ABSTRACT
An integrated silicon photonics coupler for fiber to waveguide conversion was designed employing a transformation optics approach. Quasi-conformal mapping was used to obtain achievable material properties, which were realized by a distorted hexagonal lattice of air holes in silicon. The coupler, measuring only 10 µm in length and fabricated with a single-step lithography process, exhibits a peak simulated transmission efficiency of nearly 100% for in-plane mode conversion and a factor of 5 improvement over butt coupling for fiber to waveguide mode conversion in experimental testing.
