Subwavelength metamaterial engineering for silicon photonics

Waveguides structured at the subwavelength scale frustrate di raction and behave as optical metamaterials with controllable refractive index. These structures have found widespread applications in silicon photonics, ranging from sub-decibel e ciency bre-chip couplers to spectrometers and polarization rotators. Here, we briefly describe the design foundations for sub-wavelength waveguide devices, both in terms of analytic e ective medium approximations, as well as through rigorous Floch-Bloquet mode simulation. We then focus on two novel structures that exemplify the use of subwavelength waveguides: mid-infrared waveguides and ultra-broadband beamsplitters.Universidad de M alaga,Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Ministerio de Econom a y Competitividad, Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad (cofi nanciado FEDER), Proyecto TEC2013-46917-C2-1-R, Proyecto TEC2016-80718-

Mid-infrared Suspended Waveguide Platform and Building Blocks

In this work we present our recent progress in the development of a platform for the mid-infrared wavelength range, based on suspended silicon waveguide with subwavelength metamaterial cladding. The platform has some intrinsic advantages, which make it a very promising candidate for sensing applications in the fingerprint region. Specifically, it can cover the full transparency window of silicon (up to a wavelength of 8 μm), only requires one lithographic etch-step and can be designed for strong light-matter interaction. Design rules, practical aspects of the fabrication process and experimental results of a complete set of elemental building blocks operating at two very different wavelengths, 3.8 μm and 7.67 μm, will be discussed. Propagation losses as low as 0.82 dB/cm at λo=3.8 μm and 3.1 dB/cm at λo=7.67 μm are attained, for the interconnecting waveguides.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Enhanced sensitivity subwavelength grating waveguides for silicon photonics sensing applications

OSA (Optical Society of America)In this work we will review the enormous potential of subwavelength grating waveguides for sensing applications in the near and mid-infrared bands, demonstrating the capability to engineer the mode profile to maximize the light-matter interaction.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Estructuras sub-longutud de onda para el diseño de dispositivos en guía dieléctrica

Sub-wavelength structures are enabling the design of devices based in dielectric waveguides with unprecedented performance in both the near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelength regions. These devices include fiber-to-chip grating couplers with sub-decibel efficiency, waveguide couplers with bandwidths of several hundred nanometers, and low loss suspended waveguides. Here we will report our progress in the electromagnetic modelling and simulation of sub-wavelength structures, providing at the same time an intuitive vision of their fundamental optical properties. Furthermore, we will address design strategies for several integrated optical devices based on these structures, and present the latest experimental results for structures operating both at near and mid-infrared wavelengths.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Andalucía Tech

Engineering sub-wavelength silicon waveguides for sensing applications in the near-infrared and mid-infrared band

Silicon photonics is one of the most promising candidates to achieve lab-on-a-chip systems. Making use of the evanescent-field sensing principle, it is possible to determine the presence and concentration of substances by simply measuring the variation produced by the light- matter interaction with the real part of the mode effective index (in the near infrared band), or with its imaginary part in a specific range of wavelengths (in the mid-infrared band). Regardless of which is the operating wavelength range, to maximize the device sensitivity it is essential to select the proper sensing waveguide. In this work we will review the potential of diffractionless sub-wavelength grating waveguides (SWG) for sensing applications by demonstrating its powerful capability to engineer the spatial distribution of the mode profile, and thereby to maximize the light-matter interaction. Among other things, we will demonstrate that the SWG waveguide dimensions used until now in the near-infrared are not optimal for sensing applications. In the mid-infrared band, due to the unacceptable losses of silicon dioxide for wavelengths longer than 4 μm, an additional effort is required to provide a more convenient platform for the development of future applications. In this sense, we will also show our recent progresses in the development of a new platform, the suspended silicon waveguide with subwavelength metamaterial cladding. A complete set of elemental building blocks capable of covering the full transparency window of silicon (λ < ∼8.5 μm) will be discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Subwavelength metamaterial for communications and sensing

Silicon photonics is considered a breakthrough technology with strong impact in areas as diverse as data center interconnection, high performance computing, the deployment of 5G future communication systems or lab-on-a-chip sensors. The emergence of sub-wavelength grating waveguides (SWG) has been fundamental to achieve advanced devices with unprecedented performance in integrated optics. In this talk we will focus on our recent progress in designing sub-wavelength engineered devices like ultra-broadband mode (de)multiplexers and converters [1], ultra-narrowband Bragg filters [2], sensing waveguides with enhanced sensitivity [3], or suspended silicon mid-infrared waveguides capable of covering the full transparency window of silicon [4], among other. This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad (Proyecto TEC2016-80718-R), and the Universidad de Málaga (Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech).Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Subwavelength metamaterial structures for silicon photonics

Sub-wavelength periodic metamaterial structures are enabling the design of silicon photonic devices with unprecedented performance in the near infrared band. However, for applications in the promising mid-infrared band it is expected that they acquire even more prominence because for longer wavelengths it is far easier to fabricate structures with a sub- wavelength pitch. Here we report our recent progress in the electromagnetic modeling of sub-wavelength structures, and we will review some of our latest advances in the development of sub-wavelength based devices operating both at near and mid- infrared wavelengths.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Silicon Photonic Waveguides and Devices for Near- and Mid-IR Applications

Silicon photonics has been a very buoyant research field in the last several years mainly because of its potential for telecom and datacom applications. However, prospects of using silicon photonics for sensing in the mid-IR have also attracted interest lately. In this paper, we present our recent results on waveguide-based devices for near- and mid-infrared applications. The silicon-on-insulator platform can be used for wavelengths up to 4 μm; therefore, different solutions are needed for longer wavelengths. We show results on passive Si devices such as couplers, filters, and multiplexers, particularly for extended wavelength regions and finally present integration of photonics and electronics integrated circuits for high-speed applications

Two-photon absorption and all-optical modulation in germanium-on-silicon waveguides for the mid-infrared.

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Dataset for suspended low-loss germanium waveguides for the longwave-infrared

Data corresponding to the data in figures 3 and 6 of the article &#39;Suspended low-loss germanium waveguides for the longwave-infrared&#39; published in Optics Letters.</span