Group IV Mid-Infrared Photonic Devices and Applications

• Published in: 2023 23rd International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON) pp. 1 - 4
• Main Authors: Rowe, David J., Reid, Lauren, Wei, Chen, Stirling, Callum J., Mitchell, Colin J., Du, Han, Yan, Xingzhao, Tran, Dehn T., Wu, Yangbo, Banakar, Mehdi, Qi, Yanli, Osman, Ahmed, Li, Ke, Penades, Jordi Soler, Zhou, Longqi, Groom, Kristian M., Heffernan, Jon, Littlejohns, Callum G., Nedeljkovic, Milos, Mashanovich, Goran Z.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 02.07.2023
• Subjects: biomedical applications; bolometers; defect detectors; Detectors; mid-infrared photonics; Sensors; Silicon photonics; Silicon-on-insulator; Spectroscopy; System-on-chip; Waveguide lasers; waveguide sensors
• ISSN: 2161-2064
• DOI: 10.1109/ICTON59386.2023.10207235

We present our recent results on mid-infrared photonic devices, including component optimisation, circuit design and their application to sensing. We show the performance of an on-chip FTIR microspectrometer implemented in silicon-on-insulator. A self-referenced switching sensor improves noise rejection by a factor of 11 compared to a regular waveguide sensor. We demonstrate waveguides with single-moded guidance over an octave of frequency at mid-infrared wavelengths to enable on-chip spectroscopy by suppressing higher-order modes. We apply a noise model to evaluate the performance of our waveguide sensors for therapeutic drug monitoring. Flip-chip bonding has been used to integrate quantum cascade lasers onto a GoS platform and we report further advances in coupling efficiency, structural integrity, process design and real-time laser monitoring. Finally, we discuss recent progress on detectors, included bolometers and defect-mediated methods.