Chip based common-path optical coherence tomography system with an on-chip microlens and multi-reference suppression algorithm.

We demonstrate an integrated optical probe including an on-chip microlens for a common-path swept-source optical coherence tomography system. This common-path design uses the end facet of the silicon oxynitride waveguide as the reference plane, thus eliminating the need of a space-consuming and dispersive on-chip loop reference arm, thereby obviating the need for dispersion compensation. The on-chip micro-ball lens eliminates the need of external optical elements for coupling the light between the chip and the sample. The use of this lens leads to a signal enhancement up to 37 dB compared to the chip without a lens. The light source, the common-path arm and the detector are connected by a symmetric Y junction having a wavelength independent splitting ratio (50/50) over a much larger bandwidth than can be obtained with a directional coupler. The signal-to-noise ratio of the system was measured to be 71 dB with 2.6 mW of power on a mirror sample at a distance of 0.3 mm from the waveguide end facet. Cross-sectional OCT images of a layered optical phantom sample are demonstrated with our system. A method, based on an extended Fourier-domain OCT model, for suppressing ghost images caused by additional parasitic reference planes is experimentally demonstrated.

Waveguide-coupled micro-ball lens array suitable for mass fabrication.

We demonstrate a fabrication procedure for the direct integration of micro-ball lenses on planar integrated optical channel waveguide chips with the aim to reduce the divergence of light that arises from the waveguide in both horizontal and vertical directions. Fabrication of the lenses is based on photoresist reflow which is a procedure that allows for the use of photolithography for careful alignment of the lenses with respect to the waveguides and enables mass production. We present in detail the design and fabrication procedures. Optical characterization of the fabricated micro-ball lenses demonstrates a good performance in terms of beam-size reduction and beam shape. The beam half divergence angle of 1544 nm light is reduced from 12.4 ° to 1.85 °.

Flat-focal-field integrated spectrometer using a field-flattening lens.

We present a new flat-focal-field arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) design that utilizes an integrated field-flattening lens placed in the second star coupler. The effective index difference between slab and lens region is obtained by introducing a thin silicon nitride (SiN) layer to a silicon oxynitride environment. Depending upon the SiN layer position, two different lens designs are implemented. As a proof of concept two 81-channel AWGs, one with and one without the lens, are designed, fabricated, and characterized for each lens design. The measurements show that the adjacent crosstalk at the peripheral channels is improved by 2 dB, an improvement which is predicted to become more pronounced for AWGs with higher number of output waveguides (e.g., ~16 dB for 200 output waveguides). Only 0.4 dB of extra excess loss is introduced by the lens.

Mechano-optical wavelength tuning in a photonic crystal microcavity with sub-1 V drive voltage.

A micro-bimorph cantilever with self-aligned nanotips is monolithically integrated with a photonic crystal based device using optical and deep UV lithography techniques. Upon electrostatic actuation, the dielectric nanotips perturb the optical field, providing electromechano-optical modulation of light. Static tuning of the optical transmission spectra by more than 600 pm is measured with a sub-1 V drive voltage, resulting in a modulation as high as 21 dB. The observed strong electromechano-optical effect may find application in power efficient devices for optical communication networks, such as wavelength routing elements.

Improved arrayed-waveguide-grating layout avoiding systematic phase errors.

We present a detailed description of an improved arrayed-waveguide-grating (AWG) layout for both, low and high diffraction orders. The novel layout presents identical bends across the entire array; in this way systematic phase errors arising from different bends that are inherent to conventional AWG designs are completely eliminated. In addition, for high-order AWGs our design results in more than 50% reduction of the occupied area on the wafer. We present an experimental characterization of a low-order device fabricated according to this geometry. The device has a resolution of 5.5 nm, low intrinsic losses (< 2 dB) in the wavelength region of interest for the application, and is polarization insensitive over a wide spectral range of 215 nm.

Micromechanically tuned ring resonator in silicon on insulator.

We demonstrate a monolithically integrated micromechano-optical device where the resonance wavelength of a silicon ring resonator is tuned by perturbing the evanescent field with an electrostatically actuated silicon nitride microcantilever. The resonance wavelength can be tuned over 125 pm.

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography imaging with an integrated optics spectrometer.

We designed and fabricated an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) in silicon oxynitride as a spectrometer for spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). The AWG has a footprint of only 3.0 cm × 2.5 cm, operates at a center wavelength of 1300 nm, and has 78 nm free spectral range. OCT measurements are performed that demonstrate imaging up to a maximum depth of 1 mm with an axial resolution of 19 µm, both in agreement with the AWG design parameters. Using the AWG spectrometer combined with a fiber-based SD-OCT system, we demonstrate cross-sectional OCT imaging of a multilayered scattering phantom.

Efficiency of integrated waveguide probes for the detection of light backscattered from weakly scattering media.

A semianalytical model for light collection by integrated waveguide probes is developed by extending previous models used to describe fiber probes. The efficiency of waveguide probes is compared to that of different types of fiber probes for different thicknesses of a weakly scattering sample. The simulation results show that integrated probes have a collection efficiency that is higher than that of small-core fiber probes, and, in the particular case of thin samples, also exceeds the collection efficiency of large-core highly multimode fiber probes. An integrated waveguide probe with one excitation and eight collector waveguides is fabricated and applied to excite and collect luminescence from a ruby rod. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation and validate the semianalytical model.

Integrated approach to laser delivery and confocal signal detection.

We present an on-chip arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) sensor based on the confocal arrangement of two AWGs, one acting as focusing illuminator and one as signal collector. The chip can be close to, or in direct contact with, a sample, e.g., biological tissue, without the need of external optics. The collection efficiency of our device can be more than 1 order of magnitude higher than that of a standard AWG, in which light is collected by one input channel. Experimental results on the collection efficiency and volume are presented, together with a demonstration of multiwavelength imaging.