Over the past few years, surface plasmon photodetectors have been of renewed interest. This is due to their unique double functionality of combining an SPP waveguide structure with a photodetection structure. This thesis investigates the performance of a Schottky nano-photodetector integrated into a finite width metal stripe which is covered by air on top and supported by silicon at the bottom, supporting the propagation of bound SPP modes. Properties of surface plasmons, including the sub-wavelength confinement, were exploited to increase the efficiency of the detector. The detector performance was explored via applying end-fire coupling to the fundamental supported mode, then the results were used to calculate the devices responsivity, dark current, minimum detectable power, and photocurrent for various metal lengths. End fire coupling to a Schottky mode supported by a nano-structured metal was done for what is believed to be the first time.

[pt] Neste trabalho obtém-se a matriz de espalhamento de obstáculos cilíndricos em guias de ondas retangulares. O método de análise utilizado é o método dos momentos juntamente com o método das imagens. São analisadas descontinuidades formadas por um poste vertical inteiro, postes verticais contendo um gap central, postes horizontais contendo um gap central e postes localizados nas quatro paredes do guia de ondas retangular. Os resultados obtidos são comparados com valores experimentais para as 4 geometrias descritas acima. Além disso é feita a comparação dos resultados obtidos com os do método variacional para o caso do poste vertical inteiro. / [en] In this work the scattering matrix of cylindrical obstacles in rectangular wavwguides is obtained. The analysis method adopted is the moment method in junction with the image method. Discontinuities formed by a single vertivcal post, vetical posts with a central gap, horizontal posts with a central gap, and posts on the four waveguides walls are analyzed. The results are compared with experimental data for the four geometries described above. Moreover the results are also compared with those obtained by variational method in the case of the single vertical post.

<p>Ubrzan razvoj bežičnih komunikacionih sistema postavlja zahtev za razvojem novih kompaktnih kola visokih performansi, na visokim učestanostima u mikrotalasnom i milimetarskom opsegu, koja će zadovoljiti potrebu za većim brzinama za prenos velike količine podataka. U okviru ove disertacije su predstavljena pasivna kola projektovana u tehnologiji mikrostrip talasovoda na bazi procepa, koja mogu da zadovolje zahteve postavljene od komunikacionih sistema.Predstavljeno je šest filtarskih topologija i jedan sprežnik. Prve četiri filtarske topologije zasnovane su na novim minijaturnim rezonantnim šupljinama u tehnologiji mikrostrip grebenastog talasovoda na bazi procepa. Filtri su projektovani na centralnim učestanostima u okolini 13,5 GHz i pokazali su odlične performanse u poređenju sa filtrima predstavljenim u literaturi. Druge dve filtarske topologije zasnovane su na dual-mod rezonatorima projektovanim za rad na milimetarskom opsegu učestanosti. Predloženim rezonatorima projektovan je filtar sa jednim i sa dva pola, na učestanostima većim od 30 GHz, realizovan u tehnologiji mikrostrip grebenastog talasovoda na bazi procepa. Sve filtarske topologije su fabrikovane u standardnoj tehnologiji štampanih ploča. Takođe, u disertaciji je predložen direkcioni sprežnik sa 0-dB odlaznim talasom realizovan u tehnologiji mikrostrip grebenastog talasovoda na bazi procepa. Sprežnik se odlikuje dobrim osobinama i postavio je osnove za dalja istraživanja.</p> / <p>The rapid changes in wireless communications systems establish the need for devices that operate at high frequencies in microwave and mm-wave region, provide higher performances and utilize higher frequency bands to deliver higher data rates. Within this thesis six bandpass filters have been developed and one forward-wave 0dB coupler has been designed. Firstly, bandpass filters have been designed based on novel cavity resonators with mushroom inclusions in microstrip-ridge gap waveguide technology (MS-RGW). Filters have been designed to operate at the frequencies around 13.5 GHz and have shown excellent performances. Next two bandpass filters have been designed to operate at frequencies above 30 GHz, based on dual-mode resonators designed in MS-RGW technology. The filters have been designed with two and four poles. All filter topologies have been fabricated in standard circuit board technology (PCB). Also, forward-wave 0-dB directional coupler has been designed with good performances.</p>

Les effets Pockels de deuxième ordre et les effets Kerr de troisième ordre font partie des effets importants exploités pour la modulation de la lumière et la génération de sources dans les plateformes technologiques de la photonique intégrée. Pour tirer parti de ces non-linéarités en photonique au silicium, l'utilisation de structures optiques sub-longueurs d'onde a été explorée. Dans ce contexte, ce travail de thèse s'est concentré sur deux aspects principaux, notamment : 1) L’exploration d'un nouveau schéma de cavité photonique pour tirer profit de l'effet Pockels électro-optique dans les structures de silicium contraint pour la réalisation de modulateurs ultra-rapides à faible consommation ; 2) L’exploration d'une nouvelle famille de guides d'ondes conduisant à une satisfaction automatique des lois de conservation énergie/vecteur d’onde pour la génération de peignes de fréquence Kerr au sein des plateformes photoniques intégrées (notamment silicium).Pour améliorer les performances des modulateurs optiques Si résonants intégrés, nous avons mis au point un nouveau résonateur à cavité de Fano qui, grâce à une ingénierie sub-longueur d'onde (λ=1.55µm), a permis d'obtenir simultanément un taux d'extinction élevé (23 dB) avec un faible facteur Q de seulement 5600, et caractérisé par une très faible consommation électrique inférieure à 5 fj/bit quand on utilise l'effet de modulation par dispersion plasma des porteurs libres. Nous avons étendu la méthode à la conception d'une structure de modulation Fano en silicium contraint dont les performances souffrent traditionnellement de la faible amplitude de l'effet Pockels induit par la déformation exploitée et des pertes micro-ondes considérables dues à des composants de grande surface. Au moyen du résonateur Fano ultra-compact à structuration sub-longueur d'onde, une amélioration d'environ 200 fois/60 fois (facteurs Q de 32000/5600) du rapport d'extinction de modulation avec la même tension de commande a été théoriquement prévue. Pour améliorer l'exploitation des non-linéarités Kerr des structures silicium, nous avons proposé une nouvelle famille de guides d'ondes optiques pour satisfaire automatiquement les lois de conservation de l'énergie et du vecteur d’onde des procédés de mélange à quatre ondes (FWM). La conception de la section des guides d'ondes est basée sur un principe hérité des puits quantiques et des concepts hérités des structures sub-longueur d'onde pour la réalisation des profils d'indice particuliers. En nous basant sur ces guides d'ondes spécifiques en terme de dispersion chromatique, nous les avons appliqués à la modélisation des micro peignes de fréquence (en utilisant des résonateurs à micro anneaux) en résolvant l’équation non linéaire pertinente (Lugiato-Lefever) pour analyser de façon dynamique le processus de génération du spectre des peignes à solitons dans diverses configurations. En complément de ce modèle, les guides d'ondes sub-longueur d'onde à accord de phase automatique ont été considérés pour étendre la largeur de bande des peignes de fréquence à solitons, démontrant une largeur de bande élargie et une meilleure flexibilité dans la réalisation des peignes de fréquence relativement aux démonstrations des travaux précédents. Dans l'ensemble, l'une des caractéristiques dominantes de notre étude a été de contribuer à montrer que les structures photoniques sub-longueur d'onde pouvaient apporter des solutions concrètes aux problèmes utiles à la réalisation de fonctions non linéaires sur puce. Les nano-structures sub-longueur d’onde permettent non seulement une amélioration des circuits photoniques passifs, sujet intensivement développé depuis dix ans, mais ont également un fort potentiel pour la réalisation des fonctions actives. Cette boîte à outils de structures sub-longueur d'onde est décisive dans la pratique pour la réalisation concrète de fonctions optiques nonlinéaires intégrées, en particulier en photonique silicium. / Second-order Pockels and the third-order Kerr effects are among the important effects exploited for light modulation and light generation in integrated photonic platforms. To take advantage of these nonlinearities in silicon photonics, especially due to the lack of second order effect in bulk Si, the use of subwavelength optical structures is explored. In this context, this thesis work has focused on two main aspects, including: 1) Exploration of a novel photonic cavity scheme to take benefit of the electro-optical Pockels effect in strained Si structures for the realization of ultra-fast lower-consumption compact silicon modulators; 2) Exploration of a new family of waveguides leading to an automatic satisfaction of energy/momentum conservation for the purpose of Kerr frequency comb generation in integrated photonic platforms. For improving the performances of integrated silicon resonant optical modulators, we have developed a novel Fano cavity resonator enabled by sub-wavelength engineering, leading simultaneously to high extinction ratio (23 dB) with a small Q factor of only 5600, and characterized by an ultra-low power consumption of less than 5 fj/bit when relying on the free carrier plasma dispersion effect. We have further extended the method to design a strained silicon Fano modulation structure which performances traditionally suffer from the weak amplitude of the exploited strain-induced Pockels effect and from considerable microwave losses due to large footprint components. By means of the proposed ultra-compact subwavelength structured Fano resonator, around 200-fold/60-fold (Q factor of 32000/5600) improvement on the modulation extinction ratio with the same driven voltage was theoretically predicted. For improving the exploitation of silicon Kerr nonlinearities, we have proposed a novel family of graded index optical waveguides intending to automatically fulfill the energy and momentum conservation laws of four-wave mixing processes. The design of the waveguide section is based on a principle inherited from quantum wells of wave mechanics and concepts inherited from subwavelength structures for the practical realization of the rather particular index profiles. Standing on these specific waveguides in term of light dispersion, we have applied them to the modeling of frequency micro-combs (e.g. frequency combs generated using micro-ring resonators and a CW light source) by solving the nonlinear relevant equations (Lugiato-Lefever) to dynamically analyze the soliton comb spectrum generation process in various configurations. On top of this model, the specifically automatically phase-matched sub-wavelength-enabled graded-index waveguides were considered to trim and extend the bandwidth of silicon soliton frequency combs, demonstrating enlarged bandwidth and improved spectrum design flexibility with respect to previous works. Overall, one of the dominant features of our study was to contribute to showing that sub-long wavelength photonic structures could provide concrete solutions to problems useful for the realization of on-chip non-linear functions. Subwavelength/nano structures not only benefit to passive photonic circuits which have been intensively developed in the past ten years, but also show strong potentials in the realization of active functions. This subwavelength toolbox is decisive in practice for the concrete achievement of the objectives pursued.

As the amount of study into the terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic spectrum steadily increases, the parallel plate waveguide has emerged as a simple and effective fixture to perform many experiments. The ability to concentrate THz radiation into a small area or volume enables us to analyze smaller samples and perform more repeatable measurements, which is essential for future research. While the fundamental physics of PPW transmission are understood mathematically, the practical knowledge of building such a fixture for the THz domain and taking measurements on it with a real system needs to be built up through experience. In this thesis, multiple PPW configurations are built and tested. These include waveguides of different lengths and opening heights, using lenses and antennas to focus and collect radiation from the input and output, and different amounts of polish on the waveguide surface. A basic resonator structure is also built and measured as a proof of concept for future research. The two most useful propagation modes through the waveguide, the lowest order transverse magnetic (TEM) and transverse electric (TE) modes, were characterized on all of the setups. Additionally, a flexible fixture was designed and measured which will allow future work in the THz field to be much more reliable and repeatable.

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No description available.

This dissertation presents a method for fabricating integrated hollow and solid optical waveguides on planar substrates. These waveguides are antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROWs), where high-index cladding layers confine light to hollow cores through optical interference. Hollow waveguides that can be filled with liquids or gases are an important new building block for creating highly-integrated optical sensors. The method developed for fabricating these integrated waveguides employs standard processes and materials used in the microelectronics industry, allowing for parallel, low-cost fabrication. Dielectric cladding layers are deposited on a silicon wafer using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). After the lower cladding layers have been deposited, a sacrificial material is deposited and patterned using photolithography to produce the hollow-core shape. After the sacrificial cores are defined, they are coated with additional PECVD dielectric layers to form the sides and tops of the waveguides. Integrated solid-core waveguides can be easily created by etching a ridge into the top dielectric cladding layer. Finally, the ends of the sacrificial cores are exposed and removed with an acid solution, resulting in hollow waveguides. Improved optical performance for integrated ARROW platforms can be achieved by only using a single over-coating for the cladding on the sides and top of the hollow waveguide. Such a structure resulted in 70% improvement in optical throughput for the platforms and increased sensitivity for optical manipulation and fluorescence detection of single particles, including viruses. Reduced loss for the hollow waveguides can be obtained by surrounding the core with a terminal layer of air on the sides and top of the waveguide. Such devices were created by forming the hollow waveguides on top of a pedestal on the silicon substrate. This process produces the ideal geometry for hollow ARROW waveguides, and loss measurements of waveguides with air-filled cores had loss coefficients of 1.54/cm, which is the lowest achieved for air-core ARROWs.

This dissertation presents research on the fabrication of optofluidic sensor platforms, which consist of integrated hollow waveguides and solid waveguides. Antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROWs) filled with liquids or gases, can be used for high-sensitivity sensing in applications of biotechnology, chemical synthesis, and analytical chemistry. The fabrication method developed for integrated ARROW sensing platforms utilizes standard microfabrication processes and materials. Dielectric cladding layers are deposited on a silicon wafer using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) or sputtering. A sacrificial material is then patterned over the bottom cladding layers by photolithography. Additional dielectric layers are deposited around the core, forming the structure of the waveguides. Integrated solid-core waveguides can be easily created by etching a ridge into the topmost dielectric cladding layer. The hollow core waveguides are then formed by wet etching the sacrificial core material. The coupling efficiency between solid core and hollow core waveguides is extremely important for the platform's overall sensitivity. Efficiencies can be enhanced from 18% to 67% by adjusting the thickness of the thick top oxide. Experimental results prove that optical throughput was improved by 17.1× with this improved interface transmission. Sputtered films were investigated as an alternative to for producing cladding layers. The experimental results reveal that sputtered layers show poor adhesion and mechanical strength which make them unreliable for hollow waveguides with small dimension. High-sensitivity ARROW platforms were obtained by employing hybrid layers (PECVD SiO2 and sputtered Ta2O5) as claddings and building waveguides on self-aligned pedestals. The photolumiscence background was only 1/10 that of previous devices made with SiO2/SiN and the average signal-to-noise ratio was improved by 12×.

Surface plasmon-polaritons are optical surface waves formed through the interaction of photons with free electrons at the surface of metals. They offer interesting applications in a broad range of scientific fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and material science. However, many of such applications face limitations imposed by the high propagation losses of these waves at visible and near-infrared wavelengths, which result mainly from power dissipation in the metal. In principle, the propagation losses of surface plasmon-polaritons can be compensated through optical amplification. The objective of this thesis is to provide deeper insights on the physics of surface plasmon-polariton amplification and spontaneous emission in surface plasmon-polariton amplifiers through theoretical and experimental vehicles applied (but not necessarily restricted) to a particular plasmonic mode termed long-range surface plasmon-polariton. On the theoretical side, the objective is approached by developing a realistic theoretical model to describe the small-signal amplification of surface plasmon-polaritons in planar structures incorporating dipolar gain media such as organic dye molecules, rare-earth ions, and quantum dots. This model takes into account the inhomogeneous gain distribution formed near the metal surface due to a non-uniform excitation of dipoles and due to a position-dependent excited-state dipole lifetime that results from near-field interactions between the excited dipoles and the metal. Also, a theoretical model to describe the amplified spontaneous emission of surface plasmon-polaritons supported by planar metallic structures is developed. This model takes into account the different energy decay channels into which an exited dipole located in the vicinity of the metal can relax. The validity of this model is confirmed through experimentation. On the experimental side, the objective is approached by providing a direct experimental demonstration of complete loss compensation in a plasmonic waveguide. The experiments are conducted using the long-range surface plasmon-polariton supported by a symmetric thin gold waveguide incorporating optically pumped organic dye molecules in solution as the gain medium. Also, an experimental study of spontaneous emission in a long-range surface plasmon-polariton amplifier is presented. It is shown that this amplifier benefits from a low spontaneous emission into the amplified mode, which leads to an optical amplifier with low noise characteristics. The experimental setup and techniques are explained in detail.