Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FIPS (Filter Integrated single-Photon Sources)
Reporting period: 2018-03-01 to 2019-08-31
Optical filters are essential components for many applications in engineering and science. They are found in spectrometers and sensors for gas analysis, optical coherence tomography and optical interrogation techniques such as optical frequency-domain reflectometry. By miniaturizing these filters, cost and power consumption can be greatly reduced, enabling the construction of chip-scale spectrometers for e.g. hand-held devices.
In this proof-of-concept project we investigated a novel approach to integrate a nano-scale optical filter on chip. The filter selects a single frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum which can be adjusted 'on-the-fly' using electro-mechanical motion. This approach allowed us to achieve ultra-low power consumption of <10 nW and ultra-small footprint (<5x40 μm2 i.e. smaller than a human hair) making it one of the smallest optical filter ever demonstrated.
The mechanical tuning enables room and cryogenic temperatures with resolution comparable to commercial spectrometers and a total tuning range of tens of nanometers. The project resulted in a compact and scalable waveguide-integrated filter, which could have a great impact in a wide range of applications, such as in sensing, medical imaging, non-invasive food inspection, and optical communications.
In this proof-of-concept project we investigated a novel approach to integrate a nano-scale optical filter on chip. The filter selects a single frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum which can be adjusted 'on-the-fly' using electro-mechanical motion. This approach allowed us to achieve ultra-low power consumption of <10 nW and ultra-small footprint (<5x40 μm2 i.e. smaller than a human hair) making it one of the smallest optical filter ever demonstrated.
The mechanical tuning enables room and cryogenic temperatures with resolution comparable to commercial spectrometers and a total tuning range of tens of nanometers. The project resulted in a compact and scalable waveguide-integrated filter, which could have a great impact in a wide range of applications, such as in sensing, medical imaging, non-invasive food inspection, and optical communications.