Hugo Hoekstra

Three-dimensional Mach-Zehnder interferometer in a microfluidic chip for spatially-resolved label-free detection

Ultrafast laser writing of waveguides in glasses is a very flexible and simple method for direct on-chip integration of photonic devices. In this work we present a monolithic optofluidic device in fused silica providing label-free and spatially-resolved sensing in a microfluidic channel. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is inscribed with the sensing arm orthogonally crossing the microfluidic channel and the reference arm passing over it. The interferometer is integrated either with a microchannel fabricated by femtosecond laser technology or into a commercial lab-on-chip for capillary electrophoresis. The device layout, made possible by the unique three-dimensional capabilities of the technique, enables label-free sensing of samples flowing in the microchannel with spatial resolution of about 10 microm and limit of detection down to 10(-4) RIU.

Experimental study of integrated-optics microcavity resonators: Toward an all-optical switching device

An integrated all-optical switch based on a high-Q nonlinear cylindrical microcavity resonator is proposed. The switch consists of single mode planar waveguides that allow coupling light in and out to a microresonator, exhibiting whispering gallery modes. Due to the high Q factor and the small dimensions, fast switching at low power is feasible for devices based on presently available nonlinear polymers as the active material. In this approach, the transmission of an integrated optical waveguide close to a microcavity has been measured and related to the resonances of the cylindrical microcavity.

Theory and modelling of optical waveguide sensors utilising surface plasmon resonance

A theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of excitation of surface plasma waves in integrated-optical waveguide structures is carried out. Rigorous approach to analysis of light propagation through a waveguide structure with a thin metal overlayer supporting surface plasma waves is formulated using a bi-directional mode expansion and propagation method. It is demonstrated that because the back-reflections in the structure are very weak and most of optical power is transmitted by only a limited number of modes of the sensing structure, the method can be considerably simplified.

Quasi-one-dimensional photonic crystal as a compact building-block for refractometric optical sensors

We report the fabrication and the characterization of the refractometric and thermo-optical properties of a quasi-one-dimensional waveguide photonic crystal-a strong, 76-/spl mu/m-long Bragg grating. The transmission spectra (around 660 nm) of the structure have been measured as a function of both the cladding refractive index and the temperature. The transmission stopband was found to shift by 0.8-nm wavelength for either a cladding refractive index change of 0.05 or a temperature change of 120 K. The steep stopband edges provide a sensitive detection method for this band shift, by monitoring the transmitted output power.

Modelling of microstructured waveguides using a finite-element-based vectorial mode solver with transparent boundary conditions

A finite-element-based vectorial optical mode solver is used to analyze microstructured optical waveguides. By employing 1st-order Bayliss-Gunzburger-Turkel-like transparent boundary conditions, both the real and imaginary part of the modal indices can be calculated in a relatively small computational domain. Results for waveguides with either circular or non-circular microstructured holes, solid- or air-core will be presented, including the silica-air Bragg fiber recently demonstrated by Vienne et al. (Post-deadline Paper PDP25, OFC 2004). The results of solid-core structures are in good agreement with the results of other methods while the results of air-core structure agree to the experimental results.

Sensitivity enhancement in evanescent optical waveguide sensors

It is shown, that the sensitivity of the effective refractive index on the cladding index in evanescent optical waveguide sensors, can be larger than unity. This implies that the attenuation of a guided wave propagating in a waveguide immersed in an absorptive medium can be made larger than that of a free-space wave propagating through the same medium. The conditions and physical explanation for this puzzling behavior are identified and as a practical application, an absorption sensor, based on a suspended silicon slab waveguide, is proposed where the sensitivity is enhanced by a factor of 1.35.

Visualizing the whispering gallery modes in a cylindrical optical microcavity.

Whispering gallery modes in cylindrical integrated optics microcavities have, for what is to our knowledge the first time, been mapped with a photon scanning tunneling microscope. Optical images were obtained with a spatial resolution of 50 nm. By combination of information on the spatial optical distributions with wavelength-dependent measurements, an unexpectedly rich variety of intracavity phenomena, such as polarization conversion and interference of copropagating and counterpropagating modes, could be directly observed. A quantitative comparison of the experimental data with computer simulations results in a comprehensive understanding of the various whispering gallery modes inside the microcavity.

Numerical studies of 2D photonic crystals: Waveguides, coupling between waveguides and filters

In photonic crystals, light propagation is forbidden in a certain wavelength range, the bandgap. In a two-dimensional crystal composed of parallel high-refractive index rods in a low-index background a line defect can be formed by removing a row of these rods, which can act as a waveguide for frequencies in the bandgap of the crystal. In order to get more insight into the main features of such waveguides we have studied a number of properties, using simulation tools based on the finite difference time domain method and a finite element Helmholtz solver. We show conceptually simple methods for determining the bandgap of the crystal as well as the dispersion of a waveguide for wavelengths in this bandgap. For practical applications, it is also important to know how much light can be coupled into the waveguide. Therefore, the coupling of light from a dielectric slab waveguide into the photonic crystal waveguide has been examined, showing that a coupling efficiency of up to 83% can be obtained between a silicon oxide slab and a waveguide in a crystal of silicon rods. Finally, calculations on an ultra-compact filter based on reflectively terminated side-branches of waveguides (similar to tuned stubs in microwave engineering) are shown and discussed.

On beam propagation methods for modelling in integrated optics

In this paper the main features of the Fourier transform and finite difference beam propagation methods are summarized. Limitations and improvements, related to the paraxial approximation, finite differencing and tilted structures are discussed.

Microresonators As Building Blocks For VLSI Photonics

In the last years much effort has been taken to arrive at optical integrated circuits with high complexity and advanced functionality. For this aim high index contrast structures are employed resulting in photonic wires in conventional index guiding waveguides or in photonic bandgap structures. In both cases the number of functional elements within a given chip area can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude: VLSI photonics. In this talk optical microresonators are presented as promising basic building blocks for filtering, amplification, modulation, switching and sensing. Active functions can be obtained by monolithic integration or a hybrid approach using materials with thermo‐, electro‐ and opto‐optic properties and materials with optical gain. Examples are mainly taken from work at MESA+.