0000000000248568
AUTHOR
George Dabos
Plasmonics co-integrated with silicon nitride photonics for high-sensitivity interferometric biosensing
We demonstrate a photonic integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensor, utilizing a plasmonic stripe waveguide in the sensing branch and a photonic variable optical attenuator and a phase shifter in the reference arm to optimize the interferometer operation. The plasmonic sensor is used to detect changes in the refractive index of the surrounding medium exploiting the accumulated phase change of the propagating Surface-Plasmon-Polariton (SPP) mode that is fully exposed in an aqueous buffer solution. The variable optical attenuation stage is incorporated in the reference Si3N4 branch, as the means to counter-balance the optical losses introduced by the plasmonic branch and optimize interfe…
Bringing Plasmonics Into CMOS Photonic Foundries: Aluminum Plasmonics on Si$_{3}$N$_{4}$ for Biosensing Applications
We present a technology platform supported by a new process design kit (PDK) that integrates two types of aluminum plasmonic waveguides with Si $_{3}$ N $_{4}$ photonics towards CMOS-compatible plasmo-photonic integrated circuits for sensing applications. More specifically, we demonstrate the fabrication of aluminum slot waveguide via e-beam lithography (EBL) on top of the Si $_{3}$ N $_{4}$ waveguide and an optimized fabrication process of aluminum plasmonic stripe waveguides within a CMOS foundry using EBL. Experimental measurements revealed a propagation length of 6.2 μm for the plasmonic slot waveguide in water at 1550 nm, reporting the first ever experimental demonstration of a plasmon…
Plasmonic-assisted Mach-Zehnder Interferometric photonic sensor using aluminum waveguides
We demonstrate a CMOS compatible interferometric plasmo-photonic sensor exploiting SisN4 photonic and aluminum (Al) plasmonic stripe waveguides. Experimental evaluation revealed bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU, holding promise for ultra-sensitive and low cost sensing devices.
Plasmonic Waveguides Co-Integrated with Si3N4 Waveguide Platform for Integrated Biosensors
Integration of plasmonic waveguides with low-loss photonic platforms have attracted research efforts as the means to benefit from the extra-ordinary features of plasmonics while enhancing the functional portfolio of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). In this work, we review a technology platform that integrates water cladded plasmonic waveguides integrated in a low-loss Si 3 N 4 photonic platform, targeting biosensing applications. Results obtained experimentally and numerically will be presented with respect to propagation losses, interface coupling loss and accumulated phase change per unit length, showing how Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) waveguides can be effectively combined with p…
CMOS plasmonics in WDM data transmission: 200 Gb/s (8 × 25Gb/s) transmission over aluminum plasmonic waveguides
We demonstrate wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) 200 Gb/s (8 × 25 Gb/s) data transmission over 100 μm long aluminum (Al) surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waveguides on a Si3N4 waveguide platform at telecom wavelengths. The Al SPP waveguide was evaluated in terms of signal integrity by performing bit-error-rate (BER) measurements that revealed error-free operation for all eight 25 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulated data channels with power penalties not exceeding 0.2 dB at 10−9. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of WDM enabled data transmission over complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) SPP waveguides fueling future development of CMOS compatible …
Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform
Optical refractive-index sensors exploiting selective co-integration of plasmonics with silicon photonics has emerged as an attractive technology for biosensing applications that can unleash unprecedented performance breakthroughs that reaps the benefits of both technologies. However, towards this direction, a major challenge remains their integration using exclusively CMOS-compatible materials. In this context, herein, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a CMOS-compatible plasmo-photonic Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (MZI) based on aluminum and Si3N4 waveguides, exhibiting record-high bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU with clear potential to scale up the bulk sensitivity value…
Plasmonic Stripes in Aqueous Environment Co-Integrated With Si3N4 Photonics
We demonstrate the design, fabrication, and the experimental characterization of gold-based plasmonic stripes butt-coupled with low-pressure-chemical-vapor-deposition (LPCVD)-based Si3N4 waveguides for the excitation of surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) modes in aqueous environment. Plasmonic gold stripes, in aqueous environment, with cross-sectional dimensions of 100 nm × 7 μm were interfaced with 360 nm × 800 nm Si3N4 waveguides cladded with low-temperature-oxide, exploiting linear photonic tapers with appropriate vertical (VO) and longitudinal (LO) offsets between the plasmonic and photonic waveguide facets. An interface insertion loss of 2.3 ± 0.3 dB and a plas…
Scaling the Sensitivity of Integrated Plasmo-Photonic Interferometric Sensors
We present a new optical biosensing integration approach with multifunctional capabilities using plasmonic and photonic components on the same chip and a new methodology to design interferometric b...
Gold based plasmonic stripes co-integrated with low loss Si3N4 platform in aqueous environment
We demonstrate a butt-coupled interface between LPCVD Si 3 N 4 and gold based plasmonic waveguides in aqueous environment, exhibiting 2.3dB coupling loss and 75μm propagation length at 1550nm, towards future employment in biosensing applications.