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In this paper, we demonstrate an optical filter using cladding modulated anti-symmetric long-period grating in a two-mode silicon waveguide. The filter consists of a two-mode waveguide connected with an input and output single-mode waveguide through two linear tapers. The anti-symmetric grating is formed by placing two periodic arrays of silicon squares offset by half of a grating pitch along the two-mode waveguide. Light coupling occurs between two co-propagating modes at the coupling wavelength through the grating and results in a rejection band at the output. The grating pitch, coupling coefficient, transmission spectrum and 3-dB bandwidth of the grating are investigated with the coupled-mode theory. By using a cladding modulated grating, the grating coupling strength can be controlled over a wide range by the two-mode waveguide width or separation distance between the grating and waveguide. Band-rejection filters are experimentally demonstrated in 1-μm, 0.8-μm and 0.7-μm wide two-mode silicon waveguides and rejection bands with different bandwidths and maximal attenuation contrasts larger than 15 dB (~97% coupling efficiency) have been achieved.

We propose and demonstrate a single-channel Mach-Zehnder interferometric (MZI) biochemical sensor consisting of two single-mode waveguides connected by a two-lateral-mode spiral sensing waveguide through two discontinuous junctions. The use of a two-lateral-mode waveguide offers the advantage of simple fabrication using single-step lithography and etching process. Meanwhile, the two-mode waveguide folded in a spiral layout can achieve high sensitivity of a long sensing waveguide while providing a compact sensing area compatible with commercial spotting machine and requiring small volume of sample. The sensor is demonstrated in silicon waveguides and the effect of the discontinuity offset distance on the interference visibility is studied. The bulk and surface sensitivity of a fabricated sensor with a 4582-μm-long two-mode spiral waveguide folded within a 185 μm diameter spot are characterized to be 461.6 π/RIU (refractive index unit) and 1.135 π/ng mm(-2), respectively. The biosensing capability of the sensor is verified by the measurement of biotin-streptavidin interaction of different concentrations.

We demonstrate a silicon-based optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) for label-free bio/chemical sensing application. Such on-chip OEIC sensor system consists of optical grating couplers for vertical light coupling into silicon waveguides, a thermal-tunable microring as a tunable filter, an exposed microring as an optical label-free sensor, and a Ge photodetector for a direct electrical readout. Different from the conventional wavelength-scanning method, we adopt low-cost broadband ASE light source, together with the on-chip tunable filter to generate sliced light source. The effective refractive index change of the sensing microring induced by the sensing target is traced by scanning the supplied electrical power applied onto the tracing microring, and the detected electrical signal is read out by the Ge photodetector. For bulk refractive index sensing, we demonstrate using such OEIC sensing system with a sensitivity of ~15 mW/RIU and a detection limit of 3.9 μ-RIU, while for surface sensing of biotin-streptavidin, we obtain a surface mass sensitivity of Sm = ~192 µW/ng·mm−2 and a surface detection limit of 0.3 pg/mm2. The presented OEIC sensing system is suitable for point-of-care applications. Published version

In this paper, we present a design of a refractive index sensor based on grating-assisted light coupling between a strip waveguide and a slot waveguide. The slot waveguide serves as the sensing waveguide while the strip waveguide is used for light launching and detection. The wavelength at which the light is coupled from the strip waveguide to the slot waveguide serves as a measure of the refractive index of the external medium. The sensitivity of the sensor is ~1.46 × 10(3) nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and can be almost doubled by isolating the strip waveguide from the external medium. The effects of the slot-waveguide parameters on the sensitivity have also been investigated. In particular, it is found that the sensor can achieve extraordinarily high sensitivity (on the order of 10(5) nm/RIU) when the group indices of two waveguides are close. The temperature dependence of the sensor is also investigated and a sensor with very low temperature dependence can be achieved with a polymer isolation layer.

We have designed, fabricated and characterized poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) with four-channel output for operation in the visible light wavelength range. The PDMS AWG was realized based on the single-mode PDMS rib waveguide. The device was designed for 1 nm channel spacing with the wavelength ranging from 639 to 644 nm. The measured insertion loss is 11.4 dB at the peak transmission spectrum and the adjacent crosstalk is less than -16 dB. The AWG device occupies an area of 7.5 × 15 mm(2). PDMS AWG has the potential for integration with microfluidics in a monolithic PDMS lab-on-a-chip device for visible light spectroscopy applications.