One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS Detectors

The transformation of nanophotonic sensors from laboratory-based demonstrations to a portable system to ensure widespread applicability in everyday life requires their integration with detectors for direct electrical read out. As complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology has revoluti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abdul Shakoor, Marco Grande, James Grant, David R. S. Cumming
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2017-01-01
Series:IEEE Photonics Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7811226/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849416486184026112
author Abdul Shakoor
Marco Grande
James Grant
David R. S. Cumming
author_facet Abdul Shakoor
Marco Grande
James Grant
David R. S. Cumming
author_sort Abdul Shakoor
collection DOAJ
description The transformation of nanophotonic sensors from laboratory-based demonstrations to a portable system to ensure widespread applicability in everyday life requires their integration with detectors for direct electrical read out. As complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology has revolutionized the electronics industry, the integration of nanophotonic structures with CMOS technology will also transform the sensing market. However, nanophotonic sensors have to fulfill certain requirements for their integration with CMOS detectors, such as operation in the visible wavelength range, operation in normal incidence configuration, use of CMOS compatible materials, and capability to give large optical intensity change due to resonance wavelength shift. In this paper, we have designed and developed one-dimensional silicon nitride grating structures that satisfy all these conditions simultaneously. The gratings can achieve 1 and 6 nm linewidths for the transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations, respectively, with 90% resonance depth. The experimental linewidth is 8 nm with 55% resonance depth, which is limited by the detector resolution. The experimental sensitivity of the device is 160 nm/refractive index unit (RIU), which translates to a very high intensity sensitivity of 1700%/RIU, which would enable sensing of very small changes in refractive index when integrated with a detector.
format Article
id doaj-art-e49a8661a80e43deba6adcbc8f1c1014
institution Kabale University
issn 1943-0655
language English
publishDate 2017-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Photonics Journal
spelling doaj-art-e49a8661a80e43deba6adcbc8f1c10142025-08-20T03:33:10ZengIEEEIEEE Photonics Journal1943-06552017-01-019111110.1109/JPHOT.2016.26449627811226One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS DetectorsAbdul Shakoor0Marco Grande1James Grant2David R. S. Cumming3School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K.Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica e dell'Informazione, Politecnico di Bari, Bari, ItalySchool of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K.School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K.The transformation of nanophotonic sensors from laboratory-based demonstrations to a portable system to ensure widespread applicability in everyday life requires their integration with detectors for direct electrical read out. As complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology has revolutionized the electronics industry, the integration of nanophotonic structures with CMOS technology will also transform the sensing market. However, nanophotonic sensors have to fulfill certain requirements for their integration with CMOS detectors, such as operation in the visible wavelength range, operation in normal incidence configuration, use of CMOS compatible materials, and capability to give large optical intensity change due to resonance wavelength shift. In this paper, we have designed and developed one-dimensional silicon nitride grating structures that satisfy all these conditions simultaneously. The gratings can achieve 1 and 6 nm linewidths for the transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations, respectively, with 90% resonance depth. The experimental linewidth is 8 nm with 55% resonance depth, which is limited by the detector resolution. The experimental sensitivity of the device is 160 nm/refractive index unit (RIU), which translates to a very high intensity sensitivity of 1700%/RIU, which would enable sensing of very small changes in refractive index when integrated with a detector.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7811226/Nanophotonicsdiffraction gratingssensors
spellingShingle Abdul Shakoor
Marco Grande
James Grant
David R. S. Cumming
One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS Detectors
IEEE Photonics Journal
Nanophotonics
diffraction gratings
sensors
title One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS Detectors
title_full One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS Detectors
title_fullStr One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS Detectors
title_full_unstemmed One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS Detectors
title_short One-Dimensional Silicon Nitride Grating Refractive Index Sensor Suitable for Integration With CMOS Detectors
title_sort one dimensional silicon nitride grating refractive index sensor suitable for integration with cmos detectors
topic Nanophotonics
diffraction gratings
sensors
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7811226/
work_keys_str_mv AT abdulshakoor onedimensionalsiliconnitridegratingrefractiveindexsensorsuitableforintegrationwithcmosdetectors
AT marcogrande onedimensionalsiliconnitridegratingrefractiveindexsensorsuitableforintegrationwithcmosdetectors
AT jamesgrant onedimensionalsiliconnitridegratingrefractiveindexsensorsuitableforintegrationwithcmosdetectors
AT davidrscumming onedimensionalsiliconnitridegratingrefractiveindexsensorsuitableforintegrationwithcmosdetectors