Silicon-nitride waveguide-based integrated photonic circuits for medical diagnostic and other sensing applications

We report the simulation, design and experimental validation of various PECVD silicon nitride photonic building blocks required for the implementation of a CMOS-compatible photonic integrated circuit technology platform operating in the 850 nm and 600 nm wavelength domain. In particular, we discuss an inverted taper structure for efficient coupling of light to and from the chip, propagation and bend losses as well as broadband power and polarization beam splitters in the 850 nm region. In the 600 nm wavelength region, we demonstrate the realization of an optically pumped integrated dye-doped polymer laser that couples its laser light directly into a silicon nitride waveguide.