Samuel M. Hörmann;Gandolf Feigl;Jakob W. Hinum-Wagner;Alexander Bergmann
{"title":"Rigorous Design Optimization of a Fiber-Enabled Polarimetric Waveguide Interferometer for Biosensing","authors":"Samuel M. Hörmann;Gandolf Feigl;Jakob W. Hinum-Wagner;Alexander Bergmann","doi":"10.1109/JPHOT.2024.3472896","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Integrated photonic sensors have gained significant attention for biosensing applications. An especially potent design is the polarimetric waveguide interferometer, which utilizes polarization diversity for effective self-referencing. However, its implementations are held back by the need for bulky free-space optics or unreliable waveguide junctions for polarization handling. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel concept for a compact photonic system that employs edge couplers to excite both polarizations from an optical fiber and an in-line polarizer to obtain the phase information in the fiber-based readout. Additionally, we improve the waveguide design methodology to minimize the limit of detection through balancing sensitivity with optical loss. To this end, we create a unified perturbative approach based on atomic force microscopy and ellipsometry data to model sensitivity, surface-roughness-induced scattering, absorption, and radiation. We then incorporate the coupling efficiency into a figure of merit for the combined system. Thus, we optimize the geometry of a strip waveguide on a CMOS-foundry-sourced silicon nitride platform for biosensing. Through exhaustive screening of the design space, we discover that polarization diversity simultaneously leverages high sensitivity and low overlap with sidewall roughness. Further, we present designs that eliminate the phase signal from two major noise sources: thermal and bulk refractive index fluctuations. Finally, we provide design recommendations and achieve a 5.2-fold improvement over a comparable bimodal waveguide interferometer. Thus, our aim is to design a robust, compact, sensitive, and cost-effective polarimetric waveguide interferometer through an efficient concept and an optimized design.","PeriodicalId":13204,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Photonics Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=10704058","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"IEEE Photonics Journal","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10704058/","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Integrated photonic sensors have gained significant attention for biosensing applications. An especially potent design is the polarimetric waveguide interferometer, which utilizes polarization diversity for effective self-referencing. However, its implementations are held back by the need for bulky free-space optics or unreliable waveguide junctions for polarization handling. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel concept for a compact photonic system that employs edge couplers to excite both polarizations from an optical fiber and an in-line polarizer to obtain the phase information in the fiber-based readout. Additionally, we improve the waveguide design methodology to minimize the limit of detection through balancing sensitivity with optical loss. To this end, we create a unified perturbative approach based on atomic force microscopy and ellipsometry data to model sensitivity, surface-roughness-induced scattering, absorption, and radiation. We then incorporate the coupling efficiency into a figure of merit for the combined system. Thus, we optimize the geometry of a strip waveguide on a CMOS-foundry-sourced silicon nitride platform for biosensing. Through exhaustive screening of the design space, we discover that polarization diversity simultaneously leverages high sensitivity and low overlap with sidewall roughness. Further, we present designs that eliminate the phase signal from two major noise sources: thermal and bulk refractive index fluctuations. Finally, we provide design recommendations and achieve a 5.2-fold improvement over a comparable bimodal waveguide interferometer. Thus, our aim is to design a robust, compact, sensitive, and cost-effective polarimetric waveguide interferometer through an efficient concept and an optimized design.
期刊介绍:
Breakthroughs in the generation of light and in its control and utilization have given rise to the field of Photonics, a rapidly expanding area of science and technology with major technological and economic impact. Photonics integrates quantum electronics and optics to accelerate progress in the generation of novel photon sources and in their utilization in emerging applications at the micro and nano scales spanning from the far-infrared/THz to the x-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. IEEE Photonics Journal is an online-only journal dedicated to the rapid disclosure of top-quality peer-reviewed research at the forefront of all areas of photonics. Contributions addressing issues ranging from fundamental understanding to emerging technologies and applications are within the scope of the Journal. The Journal includes topics in: Photon sources from far infrared to X-rays, Photonics materials and engineered photonic structures, Integrated optics and optoelectronic, Ultrafast, attosecond, high field and short wavelength photonics, Biophotonics, including DNA photonics, Nanophotonics, Magnetophotonics, Fundamentals of light propagation and interaction; nonlinear effects, Optical data storage, Fiber optics and optical communications devices, systems, and technologies, Micro Opto Electro Mechanical Systems (MOEMS), Microwave photonics, Optical Sensors.