No description available.

Integrated Silicon Photonics has emerged as a powerful platform in the last two decades amongst high-bandwidth technologies, particularly since the adop- tion of CMOS compatible silicon-on-insulator(SOI) substrates. Microring res- onators are one of the fundamental blocks on a photonic integrated circuit chip o ering versatility in varied applications like sensing, optical bu ering, ltering, loss measurements, lasing, nonlinear e ects, understanding cavity optomechanics etc. This thesis covers the design and modeling of microring resonators for biosensing applications. The two applications considered are : homogeneous biosensing and wrist pulse pressure monitoring. Also, the designs have been used to fabricate ring resonator device using three different techniques. The results obtained through characterization of these devices are presented. Following are the observations made in lieu of this: 1) Design modeling and analysis - The analysis of ring resonator requires the study of both the straight and bent waveguide sections. Both rib and strip waveguide geometries have been considered for constructing the device as a building block by computing their respective eigen modes for both quasi-TE and quasi-TM polarizations. The non-uniform evanescent coupling between the straight and curved waveguide has been estimated using coupled mode theory. This method provided in estimating the quality-factor and free spec- tral range (FSR) of the ring-resonator. A case for optimizing the waveguide gap in the directional coupler section of a ring resonator has been presented for homogeneous biosensing application. On similar lines, a model of applying ring resonator for arterial pulse-pressure measurement has been analyzed. The results have been obtained by employing FD-BPM and FDTD including semi- vectorial eigen mode solutions to evaluate the spectral characteristics of ring resonator. The modeling and analytical results are supported by commercial software tools (RSoft). 2) Fabrication and Characterization - For the fabrication, we employ the design of ring resonator of radius 20 m on SOI substrate with two different waveguide gaps of 350 and 700 nm. Three different process sows have been used for fabricating the same device. The rst technique involved using negative e-beam resist HSQ which after exposure becomes SiO2, acts as a mask for Reactive-Ion Etching (RIE); helping in eliminating an additional step. The second technique involved the use of positive e-beam resist, PMMA for device patterning followed by metal deposition with lift-o . The third tech- nique employed was Focussed Ion-beam (FIB) which is resist-less patterning by bombarding Ga+ ions directly onto the top surface of the wafer with the help of a GDS le. The characterization process involved estimation of loss and observing the be- havior of optical elds in the device around the wavelength of 1550 nm using near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) measurement. The estimation of roughness-induced losses has been made by performing Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements. In summary, the thesis presents novel design and analysis of SOI based microring resonators for homogeneous biosensing and wrist pulse pressure sensing applications. Also, the fabrication and characterization of 20 m radius ring- resonator with 500 500 nm rib cross-section is presented. Hence, this study brings forth several practical issues concerning application of ring resonators to biosensing applications.

<p>In this Thesis I report on my work done in replicating the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) laser stabilization technique as well as applications of PDH to microring resonators and generated Optical Frequency Combs (OFC). These works have been broken down into three sections. First, I replicated the PDH method with a continuous wave (CW) laser along with a Fabry-Pérot Cavity (FPC). Second, I applied the same technique to a 25 GHz Free Spectral Range (FSR) microring resonator fabricated in Silicon Nitride. Third, I applied the PDH technique to a high Quality Factor (Q) high Free Spectral Range (FSR) microring resonator in preparation to lock the repetition rate of two soliton combs beat together. The last experiment was for an application towards a compact optical clock system; such systems will have a wide impact on the infrastructure of our navigation and communication structures in use today.</p>

Os estados emaranhados da luz são de grande importância para protocolos de comunicação quântica. Uma das principais fontes que vem sendo estudada no Laboratório de Manipulação Coerente de Átomos e Luz - LMCAL é o oscilador paramétrico ótico (OPO) no qual, através de processos paramétricos não lineares de segunda e terceira ordem (x(2) e x(3)), são produzidos feixes intensos que apresentam correlações quânticas. Recentemente, o LMCAL vem explorando o processo de mistura de quatro ondas (fenômeno derivado da susceptibilidade de terceira ordem x(3)) como fonte geradora de feixes emaranhados. Inicialmente, foi realizado a partir de células de rubídio e agora, em colaboração com o grupo de pesquisa da Profa. Michal Lipson da Universidade de Columbia, em chips de nitreto de silício (Si3N4); permitindo assim possibilidades de modulação ultra-rápida, confinamento de luz em volumes muito reduzidos, além da ótica não-linear do OPO. O presente projeto visa estudar as propriedades quânticas da luz nos OPOs em chips de silício, permitindo que sistemas muito eficientes em informação clássica possam ser usados também para implementação de protocolos de informação quântica. / Entangled States of light beams are of great importance for quantum communication protocols. One of the most relevant source of such states which is being studied at the Laboratory of Coherent Manipulation of Atoms and Light - LMCAL (in portuguese) is the Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) which through second and third order nonlinear parametric processes (x(2) and x(3)) produces intense fields that have quantum correlations. Recently, LMCAL is exploring four-wave mixing (FWM), a third-order nonlinear parametric process, as a source of entangled beams. Initially, on rubidium cells and now, in collaboration with Prof. Michal Lipson from the Columbia University, on silicon nitride (Si3N4) chips; opening a new avenue for ultrafast modulation, light confinement in reduced light volumes, as well as the nonlinear optics of the OPO. This project is intended to study quantum properties of light of on-chip OPOs in order to achieve the integration of these highly efficient devices for implementations of quantum information protocols.

Os estados emaranhados da luz são de grande importância para protocolos de comunicação quântica. Uma das principais fontes que vem sendo estudada no Laboratório de Manipulação Coerente de Átomos e Luz - LMCAL é o oscilador paramétrico ótico (OPO) no qual, através de processos paramétricos não lineares de segunda e terceira ordem (x(2) e x(3)), são produzidos feixes intensos que apresentam correlações quânticas. Recentemente, o LMCAL vem explorando o processo de mistura de quatro ondas (fenômeno derivado da susceptibilidade de terceira ordem x(3)) como fonte geradora de feixes emaranhados. Inicialmente, foi realizado a partir de células de rubídio e agora, em colaboração com o grupo de pesquisa da Profa. Michal Lipson da Universidade de Columbia, em chips de nitreto de silício (Si3N4); permitindo assim possibilidades de modulação ultra-rápida, confinamento de luz em volumes muito reduzidos, além da ótica não-linear do OPO. O presente projeto visa estudar as propriedades quânticas da luz nos OPOs em chips de silício, permitindo que sistemas muito eficientes em informação clássica possam ser usados também para implementação de protocolos de informação quântica. / Entangled States of light beams are of great importance for quantum communication protocols. One of the most relevant source of such states which is being studied at the Laboratory of Coherent Manipulation of Atoms and Light - LMCAL (in portuguese) is the Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) which through second and third order nonlinear parametric processes (x(2) and x(3)) produces intense fields that have quantum correlations. Recently, LMCAL is exploring four-wave mixing (FWM), a third-order nonlinear parametric process, as a source of entangled beams. Initially, on rubidium cells and now, in collaboration with Prof. Michal Lipson from the Columbia University, on silicon nitride (Si3N4) chips; opening a new avenue for ultrafast modulation, light confinement in reduced light volumes, as well as the nonlinear optics of the OPO. This project is intended to study quantum properties of light of on-chip OPOs in order to achieve the integration of these highly efficient devices for implementations of quantum information protocols.

Optical polymers are a subject of research and industry implementation for many decades. Optical polymers are inexpensive, easy to process and flexible enough to meet a broad range of application-specific requirements. These advantages allow a development of cost-efficient polymer photonic integrated circuits for on-chip optical communications. However, low refractive index contrast between core and cladding limits light confinement in a core and, consequently, integrated polymer device miniaturization. Also, polymers lack active functionality like light emission, amplification, modulation, etc. In this work, we improved a performance of integrated polymer waveguides and demonstrated active waveguide devices. Also, we present novel Si QD/polymer optical materials. In the integrated device part, we demonstrate optical waveguides with enhanced performance. Decreased radiation losses in air-suspended curved waveguides allow low-loss bending with radii of only 15 µm, which is far better than &gt;100 µm for typical polymer waveguides. Another study shows a positive effect of thermal treatment on acrylate waveguides. By heating higher than polymer glass transition temperature, surface roughness is reflown, minimizing scattering losses. This treatment method enhances microring resonator Q factor more than 2 times. We also fabricated and evaluated all-optical intensity modulator based on PMMA waveguides doped with Si QDs. We developed novel hybrid optical materials. Si QDs are encapsulated into PMMA and OSTE polymers. Obtained materials show stable photoluminescence with high quantum yield. We achieved the highest up to date ~65% QY for solid-state Si QD composites. Demonstrated materials are a step towards Si light sources and active devices. Integrated devices and materials presented in this work enhance the performance and expand functionality of polymer PICs. The components described here can also serve as building blocks for on-chip sensing applications, microfluidics, etc. / <p>QC 20171207</p>

In this thesis, we have designed and optimized strip waveguide based micro-ring and micro-ring and micro-racetrack resonators for biosensing applications. Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) platform which offers several advantages over other materials such as Lithium Niobate, Silica on Silicon and Silicon nitride is considered here. High index contrast enables us to miniaturize the biosensor devices and monolithic integration of source and detectors on the same chip. We have considered the dispersive nature of the waveguide and proceeded towards optimization. Finite difference schemes and Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) methods are the primary tools used to model the biosensor. Various structures such as channel waveguides and beam structures are analyzed on the basis of their suitability for sensing applications. Strip and Rib waveguides are the two geometries considered in our studies. In an optical guiding structure, effective index of the propagating optical mode can be induced by two different phenomena: i. Homogeneous Sensing In this category, effective index of a propagating optical mode changes with uniformly distributed analytes extending over a distance well exceeding the evanescent field penetration depth. The sample serves as the waveguide cover. ii. Surface Sensing In the case of surface sensing, analytes bound to the surface of the waveguide. The effective index of an optical mode changes with the refractive index as well as the thickness of an adlayer. A thin layer of adsorbed or bound molecules transported from liquid or gaseous medium serving as waveguide cover is referred as an adlayer. Both homogeneous and surface sensing schemes are addresses in this work. By bulk sensing method, the characteristics of bioclad covering the device are studied. Optimization of the resonator structure involves the analysis of following parameters: • Gap between the ring and bus waveguides • Free spectral range • Extinction ratio • Quality factor We have achieved a maximum bulk sensitivity of 115 nm / RIU with ring waveguide width of 450 nm and bus width of 350 nm which is better than an earlier reported value of 70 nm/ RIU. We have proposed a novel detection scheme consisting of a micro-racetrack resonator formed over a cantilever structure. The devoice works on the principle of opto-mechanical coupling to detect conformational changes due to biomolecular adherence. BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin) and IgG ( Immuno Globulin G) are the two proteins considered in the work. Mechanical analysis of the beam for tensile and compressive stresses and corresponding spectral responses of the racetrack resonators are analyzed both by semi-analytical and method and numerical analyzes. We compared various aspects of rib and strip waveguide racetrack resonators. We have proved by numerical simulation, that the device is capable of distinguishing tensile and compressive stress. Two strip waveguides of dimensions : 450 nm X 220 nm and 400 nm X 180 nm, former supporting both Quasi-TE and Quasi-TM modes where as the second configuration allows only Quasi-TE mode alone. Sensitivity of the cantilever sensor is : 0.3196 x 10-3 nm/ µɛ at 1550 nm wavelength.