Broadband mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy applications could greatly benefit from today’s well-developed, highly scalable silicon photonics technology; however, this platform lacks broadband transparency because of its reliance on absorptive silicon dioxide cladding. Alternative cladding materials have been studied, but the challenge lies in decreasing losses while avoiding complex fabrication techniques. Here, in contrast to traditional assumptions, we show that silicon photonics can achieve low-loss propagation in the mid-IR from 3 to 6 μm wavelength, thus providing a highly scalable, well-developed technology in this spectral range. We engineer the waveguide cross-section and optical mode interaction with the absorptive cladding oxide to reduce loss at mid-IR wavelengths. We fabricate a microring resonator and measure an intrinsic quality (Q) factor of 106 at wavelengths from 3.5 to 3.8 μm. This is the highest Q demonstrated on an integrated mid-IR platform to date. With this high-Q silicon microresonator, we also demonstrate a low optical parametric oscillation threshold of 5.2 mW, illustrating the utility of this platform for nonlinear chip-scale applications in the mid-IR.

Low-loss silicon platform for broadband mid-infrared photonics

Chalcogenide glass mid-infrared on-chip sensor for chemical sensing

The integrated photonic devices used in imaging and sensing are usually built through multiple microfabrication steps. These may include film deposition, lithographic patterning, or etching on a substrate. The selected substrate stipulates the fabrication methods and processing compatibility requirements. For example, silicon photonics has long relied on standard CMOS processing technologies developed by computer chip makers, whereas inkjet printing offers a versatile integration route compatible with the thermal and mechanical characteristics of soft polymers. These substrate-specific constraints mean that photonic device design rules and fabrication protocols often cannot be transferred between different platforms. Consequently, photonic integration technologies on common substrates are well advanced, but their counterparts on unconventional materials are still in their infancy. Examples of these less commonly used bases include plastics, metals, and optical crystals, which potentially offer new functionalities for renewable energy, imaging, sensing, and display applications. Colleagues and I aimed to transcend these limitations by developing ‘substrate-blind’ platform technology. Our approach enables photonic integration on a variety of unconventional materials and leverages a well-established knowledge base and technical know-how derived from semiconductor photonics. As a result, our technique may in future streamline component design and improve fabrication throughput and yield. Furthermore, such technology also leads to large degrees of freedom in photonic design without compromising device performance. For example, stacked multilayer structures with tailored dielectric permittivity profiles (where the material can be polarized by an external electric field) are pivotal to devices operating on slot enhancement (the field concentration effect in a thin, low-index layer or ‘slot’ between two highindex strips),1 photonic band gap effects,2 or metamaterials with Figure 1. A mid-IR chalcogenide (ChG) glass microdisk resonator fabricated on calcium fluroide (CaF2) crystals using the ‘substrate-blind’ approach. (a) Top-view optical micrograph of the device. The inset shows part of the coupling region between the resonator and the bus waveguide. (b) Mid-IR transmission spectrum of the microdisk resonator. (c) The same spectrum near an optical resonance peak (the red box in b). Measured data was fitted by coupled mode theory, and the intrinsic quality factor is about 4 105. k: Coupling coefficient. R: Reflection coefficient. Qin: Intrinsic quality factor.

A substrate-blind platform for photonic integration

Broadband mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy applications could greatly benefit from today's well-developed, highly scalable silicon photonics technology; however, this platform lacks broadband transparency due to its reliance on absorptive silicon dioxide cladding. Alternative cladding materials have been studied, but the challenge lies in decreasing losses while avoiding complex fabrication techniques. Here, in contrast to traditional assumptions, we show that silicon photonics can achieve low-loss propagation in the mid-IR from 3 - 6 um wavelength, thus providing a highly scalable, well-developed technology in this spectral range. We engineer the waveguide cross section and optical mode interaction with the absorptive cladding oxide to reduce loss at mid-IR wavelengths. We fabricate a microring resonator and measure an intrinsic quality (Q) factor of 10^6 at wavelengths from 3.5 to 3.8 um. This is the highest Q demonstrated on an integrated mid-IR platform to date. With this high-Q silicon microresonator, we also demonstrate a low optical parametric oscillation threshold of 5.2 mW, illustrating the utility of this platform for nonlinear chip-scale applications in the mid-IR.

pdf/low-loss-silicon-platform-for-broadband-mid-infrared-2btasho532.pdf

Low-Loss Silicon Platform for Broadband Mid-Infrared Photonics

We report the record on-chip quality(Q)-factor for diverse chalcogenide glasses, reaching the loss of optical fibers on near- and mid-infrared. The maximum Q-factor is 2.15×10 7 and 2.91×10 7 in 1.55 μm and 3.67 μm wavelength, respectively. 

Chalcogenide Glasses Microresonators with Ultra-high Q-factor in Near- and Mid-infrared Regions

We fabricated and characterized chalcogenide glass on CaF2 resonators with a record intrinsic quality factor of 6 × 105, and applied these devices to demonstrate cavity enhanced chemical sensing near 5.2 μm wavelength.

High-Q Mid-Infrared Chalcogenide Glass Resonators for Chemical Sensing

We experimentally demonstrated for the first time on-chip cavity-enhanced mid-infrared spectroscopic sensing of chemical molecules, performed near 5.2 μm wavelength using Ge23Sb7S70 resonators monolithically fabricated on CaF2 substrates.

Cavity-enhanced mid-infrared on-chip chemical sensing using high-Q chalcogenide glass resonators

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High-Q Mid-Infrared Chalcogenide Glass Resonators for Chemical Sensing

Cavity-enhanced mid-infrared on-chip chemical sensing using high-Q chalcogenide glass resonators