Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform: Optics Express

A. Manolis; E. Chatzianagnostou; G. Dabos; D. Ketzaki; B. Chmielak; A.L. Giesecke; C. Porschatis; P.J. Cegielski; S. Suckow; L. Markey; J.-C. Weeber; A. Dereux; S. Schrittwieser; R. Heer; N. Pleros; D. Tsiokos

doi:10.1364/oe.383435

Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform: Optics Express

A. Manolis, E. Chatzianagnostou, G. Dabos, D. Ketzaki, B. Chmielak, A.L. Giesecke, C. Porschatis, P.J. Cegielski, S. Suckow, L. Markey, J.-C. Weeber, A. Dereux, S. Schrittwieser, R. Heer, N. Pleros, D. Tsiokos

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Optical refractive-index sensors exploiting selective co-integration of plasmonics with silicon photonics has emerged as an attractive technology for biosensing applications that can unleash unprecedented performance breakthroughs that reaps the benefits of both technologies. However, towards this direction, a major challenge remains their integration using exclusively CMOS-compatible materials. In this context, herein, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a CMOS-compatible plasmo-photonic Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (MZI) based on aluminum and Si3N4 waveguides, exhibiting record-high bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU with clear potential to scale up the bulk sensitivity values by properly engineering the design parameters of the MZI. The proposed sensor is composed of Si3N4 waveguides butt-coupled with an aluminum stripe in one branch to realize the sensing transducer. The reference arm is built by Si3N4 waveguides, incorporating a thermo-optic phase shifter followed by an MZI-based variable optical attenuation stage to maximize extinction ratio up to 38 dB, hence optimizing the overall sensing performance. The proposed sensor exhibits the highest bulk sensitivity among all plasmo-photonic counterparts, while complying with CMOS manufacturing standards, enabling volume manufacturing. © 2020 Optical Society of America.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	20992-21001
Number of pages	10
Journal	Optics Express
Volume	28
Issue number	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.383435
Publication status	Published - 6 Jul 2020
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Aluminum
CMOS integrated circuits
Manufacture
Photonic devices
Plasmonics
Refractive index
Refractometers
Silicon compounds
Silicon photonics
Transducers
Biosensing applications
Machzehnder interferometers (MZI)
Refractive index sensor
Sensing performance
Sensing transducer
Thermo-optic phase shifters
Variable optical attenuation
Volume manufacturing
Optical waveguides

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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85088221395&doi=10.1364%2fOE.383435&partnerID=40&md5=4be4909253899f26c158502229d5aaf2

Cite this

Manolis, A., Chatzianagnostou, E., Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Chmielak, B., Giesecke, A. L., Porschatis, C., Cegielski, P. J., Suckow, S., Markey, L., Weeber, J.-C., Dereux, A., Schrittwieser, S., Heer, R., Pleros, N., & Tsiokos, D. (2020). Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform: Optics Express. Optics Express, 28(14), 20992-21001. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.383435

@article{9840d75592fb4a3da5a6e87696bd6c42,

title = "Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform: Optics Express",

abstract = "Optical refractive-index sensors exploiting selective co-integration of plasmonics with silicon photonics has emerged as an attractive technology for biosensing applications that can unleash unprecedented performance breakthroughs that reaps the benefits of both technologies. However, towards this direction, a major challenge remains their integration using exclusively CMOS-compatible materials. In this context, herein, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a CMOS-compatible plasmo-photonic Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (MZI) based on aluminum and Si3N4 waveguides, exhibiting record-high bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU with clear potential to scale up the bulk sensitivity values by properly engineering the design parameters of the MZI. The proposed sensor is composed of Si3N4 waveguides butt-coupled with an aluminum stripe in one branch to realize the sensing transducer. The reference arm is built by Si3N4 waveguides, incorporating a thermo-optic phase shifter followed by an MZI-based variable optical attenuation stage to maximize extinction ratio up to 38 dB, hence optimizing the overall sensing performance. The proposed sensor exhibits the highest bulk sensitivity among all plasmo-photonic counterparts, while complying with CMOS manufacturing standards, enabling volume manufacturing. {\textcopyright} 2020 Optical Society of America.",

keywords = "Aluminum, CMOS integrated circuits, Manufacture, Photonic devices, Plasmonics, Refractive index, Refractometers, Silicon compounds, Silicon photonics, Transducers, Biosensing applications, Machzehnder interferometers (MZI), Refractive index sensor, Sensing performance, Sensing transducer, Thermo-optic phase shifters, Variable optical attenuation, Volume manufacturing, Optical waveguides",

author = "A. Manolis and E. Chatzianagnostou and G. Dabos and D. Ketzaki and B. Chmielak and A.L. Giesecke and C. Porschatis and P.J. Cegielski and S. Suckow and L. Markey and J.-C. Weeber and A. Dereux and S. Schrittwieser and R. Heer and N. Pleros and D. Tsiokos",

note = "Export Date: 1 July 2021 Correspondence Address: Manolis, A.; Department of Informatics, 10th Km Thessalonikis-Thermis Av., Greece; email: athanasm@csd.auth.gr Funding details: CONCEPT/0618/0038 Funding details: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020, 688166, 780997 Funding text 1: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (688166, 780997); European Regional Development Fund and Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus (LOTTO (CONCEPT/0618/0038)). References: Schipper, E. F., Brugman, A. M., Dominguez, C., Lechuga, L. M., Kooyman, R. P. H., Greve, J., The realization of an integrated Mach-Zehnder waveguide immunosensor in silicon technology (1997) Sens. Actuators, B, 40, pp. 147-153; Seplveda, B., Snchez Del R{\'i}o, J., Moreno, M., Blanco, F. J., Mayora, K., Dom{\'i}nguez, C., Lechuga, L. M., Optical biosensor microsystems based on the integration of highly sensitive Mach-Zehnder interferometer devices (2006) J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt, 8 (7), pp. S561-S566; Densmore, A., Xu, D. X., Waldron, P., Janz, S., Cheben, P., Lapointe, J., Del{\^a}ge, A., Post, E., A silicon-on-insulator photonic wire based evanescent field sensor (2006) IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett, 18 (23), pp. 2520-2522; Claes, T., Molera, J. G., De Vos, K., Schacht, E., Baets, R., Bienstman, P., Label-free biosensing with a slot-waveguide-based ring resonator in silicon on insulator (2009) IEEE Photonics J, 1 (3), pp. 197-204; TalebiFard, S., Schmidt, S., Shi, W., Wu, W., Jaeger, N. A. F., Kwok, E., Ratner, D. M., Chrostowski, L., Optimized sensitivity of Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) strip waveguide resonator sensor (2017) Biomed. Opt. Express, 8 (2), p. 500; Caroselli, R., Ponce-Alc{\'a}ntara, S., Quilez, F. P., S{\'a}nchez, D. M., Mor{\'a}n, L. T., Barres, A. G., Bellieres, L., Garc{\'i}a-Rup{\'e}rez, J., Experimental study of the sensitivity of a porous silicon ring resonator sensor using continuous in-flow measurements (2017) Opt. Express, 25 (25), p. 31651; Wang, B., D{\"u}ndar, M. A., N{\"o}tzel, R., Karouta, F., He, S., van der Heijden, R. W., Photonic crystal slot nanobeam slow light waveguides for refractive index sensing (2010) Appl. Phys. Lett, 97 (15), p. 151105; Di Falco, A., O'Faolain, L., Krauss, T. F., Chemical sensing in slotted photonic crystal heterostructure cavities (2009) Appl. Phys. Lett, 94 (6), p. 063503; Tu, Z., Gao, D., Zhang, M., Zhang, D., High-sensitivity complex refractive index sensing based on Fano resonance in the subwavelength grating waveguide micro-ring resonator (2017) Opt. Express, 25 (17), p. 20911; Flueckiger, J., Schmidt, S., Donzella, V., Sherwali, A., Ratner, D. M., Chrostowski, L., Cheung, K. C., Sub-wavelength grating for enhanced ring resonator biosensor (2016) Opt. Express, 24 (14), p. 15672; Slav{\'i}k, R., Homola, J., Ultrahigh resolution long range surface plasmon-based sensor (2007) Sens. Actuators, B, 123 (1), pp. 10-12; Homola, J., Surface plasmon resonance sensors for detection of chemical and biological species (2008) Chem. Rev, 108 (2), pp. 462-493; Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Manolis, A., Markey, L., Weeber, J. C., Dereux, A., Giesecke, A. L., Pleros, N., Plasmonic Stripes in Aqueous Environment Co-Integrated with Si3N4 Photonics (2018) IEEE Photonics J, 10 (1), pp. 1-8; Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Manolis, A., Chatzianagnostou, E., Markey, L., Weeber, J., Dereux, A., Pleros, N., Water Cladded Plasmonic Slot Waveguide Vertically Coupled With Si3N4 Photonics (2018) IEEE Photonics J, 10 (3), pp. 1-8; Dabos, G., Manolis, A., Papaioannou, S., Tsiokos, D., Markey, L., Weeber, J.-C., Dereux, A., Pleros, N., CMOS plasmonics in WDM data transmission: 200 Gb/s (8 × 25Gb/s) transmission over aluminum plasmonic waveguides (2018) Opt. Express, 26 (10), p. 12469; Dabos, G., Manolis, A., Tsiokos, D., Ketzaki, D., Chatzianagnostou, E., Markey, L., Rusakov, D., Pleros, N., Aluminum plasmonic waveguides co-integrated with Si3N4 photonics using CMOS processes (2018) Sci. Rep, 8 (1), p. 13380; Tsilipakos, O., Pitilakis, A., Yioultsis, T. V., Papaioannou, S., Vyrsokinos, K., Kalavrouziotis, D., Giannoulis, G., Kriezis, E. E., Interfacing dielectric-loaded plasmonic and silicon photonic waveguides: Theoretical analysis and experimental demonstration (2012) IEEE J. Quantum Electron, 48 (5), pp. 678-687; Delacour, C., Blaize, S., Grosse, P., Fedeli, J. M., Bruyant, A., Salas-Montiel, R., Lerondel, G., Chelnokov, A., Efficient directional coupling between silicon and copper plasmonic nanoslotwaveguides: Toward metal-oxide-silicon nanophotonics (2010) Nano Lett, 10 (8), pp. 2922-2926; Manolis, A., Chatzianagnostou, E., Dabos, G., Pleros, N., Chmielak, B., Giesecke, A. L., Porschatis, C., Tsiokos, D., Plasmonics co-integrated with silicon nitride photonics for high-sensitivity interferometric biosensing (2019) Opt. Express, 27 (12), p. 17102; Sun, X., Dai, D., Thyl{\'e}n, L., Wosinski, L., Double-Slot Hybrid Plasmonic Ring Resonator Used for Optical Sensors and Modulators (2015) Photonics, 2 (4), pp. 1116-1130; Sun, X., Thyl{\'e}n, L., Wosinski, L., Hollow hybrid plasmonic Mach-Zehnder sensor (2017) Opt. Lett, 42 (4), p. 807; Sun, X., Dai, D., Thyl{\'e}n, L., Wosinski, L., High-sensitivity liquid refractive-index sensor based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a double-slot hybrid plasmonic waveguide (2015) Opt. Express, 23 (20), p. 25688; Kwon, M. S., Ku, B., Kim, Y., Plasmofluidic disk resonators (2016) Sci. Rep, 6 (1), p. 23149; Debackere, P., Baets, R., Bienstman, P., Bulk sensing experiments using a surface-plasmon interferometer (2009) Opt. Lett, 34 (18), pp. 2858-2860; Tabbakh, T., LiKamWa, P., Liquid sensor based on optical surface plasmon resonance in a dielectric waveguide (2018) Proc. SPIE, 10639, p. 100; Chu, Y. S., Hsu, W. H., Lin, C. W., Wang, W. S., Surface plasmon resonance sensors using silica-on-silicon optical waveguides (2006) Microw. Opt. Technol. Lett, 48 (5), pp. 955-957; Langhammer, C., Schwind, M., Kasemo, B., Zoric, I., Localized surface plasmon resonances in aluminum nanodisks (2008) Nano Lett, 8 (5), pp. 1461-1471; Zhang, F., Martin, J., Plain, J., Long-term stability of plasmonic resonances sustained by evaporated aluminum nanostructures (2019) Opt. Mater. Express, 9 (1), p. 85; Manolis, A., Chatzianagnostou, E., Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Tsiokos, D., Chmielak, B., Suckow, S., Pleros, N., Bringing Plasmonics Into CMOS Photonic Foundries: Aluminum Plasmonics on Si3N4 for Biosensing Applications (2019) J. Lightwave Technol, 37 (21), pp. 5516-5524; Dabos, G., Manolis, A., Giesecke, A. L., Porschatis, C., Chmielak, B., Wahlbrink, T., Pleros, N., Tsiokos, D., TM grating coupler on low-loss LPCVD based Si3N4 waveguide platform (2017) Opt. Commun, 405, pp. 35-38; Chatzianagnostou, E., Ketzaki, D., Dabos, G., Tsiokos, D., Weeber, J.-C., Miliou, A., Design and Optimization of Open-cladded Plasmonic Waveguides for CMOS Integration on Si3N4 Platform (2019) Plasmonics, 14 (4), pp. 823-838; http://www.lumerical.com/tcad-products/interconnect/.LumericalSolutions; http://www.lumerical.com/tcad-products/mode/.LumericalSolutions; http://www.lumerical.com/tcad-products/fdtd/.LumericalSolutions; Weeber, J.-C., Arocas, J., Heintz, O., Markey, L., Viarbitskaya, S., Colas-des-Francs, G., Hammani, K., Tsiokos, D., Characterization of CMOS metal based dielectric loaded surface plasmon waveguides at telecom wavelengths (2017) Opt. Express, 25 (1), p. 394; Lashgari, M., Malek, A. M., Electrochimica Acta Fundamental studies of aluminum corrosion in acidic and basic environments: Theoretical predictions and experimental observations (2010) Electrochim. Acta, 55 (18), pp. 5253-5257; Boukerche, I., Djerad, S., Benmansour, L., Tifouti, L., Saleh, K., Degradability of aluminum in acidic and alkaline solutions (2014) Corros. Sci, 78, pp. 343-352; Winston Revie, R., (2011) Uhlig ' s corrosion handbook the electrochemical society series, , (John Wiley & Sons); Chatzianagnostou, E., Manolis, A., Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Miliou, A., Pleros, N., Laurent, M., Tsiokos, D., Scaling the Sensitivity of Integrated Plasmo-photonic Interferometric Sensors (2019) ACS Photonics, 6 (7), pp. 1664-1673",

year = "2020",

month = jul,

day = "6",

doi = "10.1364/oe.383435",

language = "English",

volume = "28",

pages = "20992--21001",

number = "14",

}

Manolis, A, Chatzianagnostou, E, Dabos, G, Ketzaki, D, Chmielak, B, Giesecke, AL, Porschatis, C, Cegielski, PJ, Suckow, S, Markey, L, Weeber, J-C, Dereux, A, Schrittwieser, S, Heer, R, Pleros, N & Tsiokos, D 2020, 'Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform: Optics Express', Optics Express, vol. 28, no. 14, pp. 20992-21001. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.383435

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform

T2 - Optics Express

AU - Manolis, A.

AU - Chatzianagnostou, E.

AU - Dabos, G.

AU - Ketzaki, D.

AU - Chmielak, B.

AU - Giesecke, A.L.

AU - Porschatis, C.

AU - Cegielski, P.J.

AU - Suckow, S.

AU - Markey, L.

AU - Weeber, J.-C.

AU - Dereux, A.

AU - Schrittwieser, S.

AU - Heer, R.

AU - Pleros, N.

AU - Tsiokos, D.

N1 - Export Date: 1 July 2021 Correspondence Address: Manolis, A.; Department of Informatics, 10th Km Thessalonikis-Thermis Av., Greece; email: athanasm@csd.auth.gr Funding details: CONCEPT/0618/0038 Funding details: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020, 688166, 780997 Funding text 1: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (688166, 780997); European Regional Development Fund and Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus (LOTTO (CONCEPT/0618/0038)). References: Schipper, E. F., Brugman, A. M., Dominguez, C., Lechuga, L. M., Kooyman, R. P. H., Greve, J., The realization of an integrated Mach-Zehnder waveguide immunosensor in silicon technology (1997) Sens. Actuators, B, 40, pp. 147-153; Seplveda, B., Snchez Del Río, J., Moreno, M., Blanco, F. J., Mayora, K., Domínguez, C., Lechuga, L. M., Optical biosensor microsystems based on the integration of highly sensitive Mach-Zehnder interferometer devices (2006) J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt, 8 (7), pp. S561-S566; Densmore, A., Xu, D. X., Waldron, P., Janz, S., Cheben, P., Lapointe, J., Delâge, A., Post, E., A silicon-on-insulator photonic wire based evanescent field sensor (2006) IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett, 18 (23), pp. 2520-2522; Claes, T., Molera, J. G., De Vos, K., Schacht, E., Baets, R., Bienstman, P., Label-free biosensing with a slot-waveguide-based ring resonator in silicon on insulator (2009) IEEE Photonics J, 1 (3), pp. 197-204; TalebiFard, S., Schmidt, S., Shi, W., Wu, W., Jaeger, N. A. F., Kwok, E., Ratner, D. M., Chrostowski, L., Optimized sensitivity of Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) strip waveguide resonator sensor (2017) Biomed. Opt. Express, 8 (2), p. 500; Caroselli, R., Ponce-Alcántara, S., Quilez, F. P., Sánchez, D. M., Morán, L. T., Barres, A. G., Bellieres, L., García-Rupérez, J., Experimental study of the sensitivity of a porous silicon ring resonator sensor using continuous in-flow measurements (2017) Opt. Express, 25 (25), p. 31651; Wang, B., Dündar, M. A., Nötzel, R., Karouta, F., He, S., van der Heijden, R. W., Photonic crystal slot nanobeam slow light waveguides for refractive index sensing (2010) Appl. Phys. Lett, 97 (15), p. 151105; Di Falco, A., O'Faolain, L., Krauss, T. F., Chemical sensing in slotted photonic crystal heterostructure cavities (2009) Appl. Phys. Lett, 94 (6), p. 063503; Tu, Z., Gao, D., Zhang, M., Zhang, D., High-sensitivity complex refractive index sensing based on Fano resonance in the subwavelength grating waveguide micro-ring resonator (2017) Opt. Express, 25 (17), p. 20911; Flueckiger, J., Schmidt, S., Donzella, V., Sherwali, A., Ratner, D. M., Chrostowski, L., Cheung, K. C., Sub-wavelength grating for enhanced ring resonator biosensor (2016) Opt. Express, 24 (14), p. 15672; Slavík, R., Homola, J., Ultrahigh resolution long range surface plasmon-based sensor (2007) Sens. Actuators, B, 123 (1), pp. 10-12; Homola, J., Surface plasmon resonance sensors for detection of chemical and biological species (2008) Chem. Rev, 108 (2), pp. 462-493; Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Manolis, A., Markey, L., Weeber, J. C., Dereux, A., Giesecke, A. L., Pleros, N., Plasmonic Stripes in Aqueous Environment Co-Integrated with Si3N4 Photonics (2018) IEEE Photonics J, 10 (1), pp. 1-8; Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Manolis, A., Chatzianagnostou, E., Markey, L., Weeber, J., Dereux, A., Pleros, N., Water Cladded Plasmonic Slot Waveguide Vertically Coupled With Si3N4 Photonics (2018) IEEE Photonics J, 10 (3), pp. 1-8; Dabos, G., Manolis, A., Papaioannou, S., Tsiokos, D., Markey, L., Weeber, J.-C., Dereux, A., Pleros, N., CMOS plasmonics in WDM data transmission: 200 Gb/s (8 × 25Gb/s) transmission over aluminum plasmonic waveguides (2018) Opt. Express, 26 (10), p. 12469; Dabos, G., Manolis, A., Tsiokos, D., Ketzaki, D., Chatzianagnostou, E., Markey, L., Rusakov, D., Pleros, N., Aluminum plasmonic waveguides co-integrated with Si3N4 photonics using CMOS processes (2018) Sci. Rep, 8 (1), p. 13380; Tsilipakos, O., Pitilakis, A., Yioultsis, T. V., Papaioannou, S., Vyrsokinos, K., Kalavrouziotis, D., Giannoulis, G., Kriezis, E. E., Interfacing dielectric-loaded plasmonic and silicon photonic waveguides: Theoretical analysis and experimental demonstration (2012) IEEE J. Quantum Electron, 48 (5), pp. 678-687; Delacour, C., Blaize, S., Grosse, P., Fedeli, J. M., Bruyant, A., Salas-Montiel, R., Lerondel, G., Chelnokov, A., Efficient directional coupling between silicon and copper plasmonic nanoslotwaveguides: Toward metal-oxide-silicon nanophotonics (2010) Nano Lett, 10 (8), pp. 2922-2926; Manolis, A., Chatzianagnostou, E., Dabos, G., Pleros, N., Chmielak, B., Giesecke, A. L., Porschatis, C., Tsiokos, D., Plasmonics co-integrated with silicon nitride photonics for high-sensitivity interferometric biosensing (2019) Opt. Express, 27 (12), p. 17102; Sun, X., Dai, D., Thylén, L., Wosinski, L., Double-Slot Hybrid Plasmonic Ring Resonator Used for Optical Sensors and Modulators (2015) Photonics, 2 (4), pp. 1116-1130; Sun, X., Thylén, L., Wosinski, L., Hollow hybrid plasmonic Mach-Zehnder sensor (2017) Opt. Lett, 42 (4), p. 807; Sun, X., Dai, D., Thylén, L., Wosinski, L., High-sensitivity liquid refractive-index sensor based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a double-slot hybrid plasmonic waveguide (2015) Opt. Express, 23 (20), p. 25688; Kwon, M. S., Ku, B., Kim, Y., Plasmofluidic disk resonators (2016) Sci. Rep, 6 (1), p. 23149; Debackere, P., Baets, R., Bienstman, P., Bulk sensing experiments using a surface-plasmon interferometer (2009) Opt. Lett, 34 (18), pp. 2858-2860; Tabbakh, T., LiKamWa, P., Liquid sensor based on optical surface plasmon resonance in a dielectric waveguide (2018) Proc. SPIE, 10639, p. 100; Chu, Y. S., Hsu, W. H., Lin, C. W., Wang, W. S., Surface plasmon resonance sensors using silica-on-silicon optical waveguides (2006) Microw. Opt. Technol. Lett, 48 (5), pp. 955-957; Langhammer, C., Schwind, M., Kasemo, B., Zoric, I., Localized surface plasmon resonances in aluminum nanodisks (2008) Nano Lett, 8 (5), pp. 1461-1471; Zhang, F., Martin, J., Plain, J., Long-term stability of plasmonic resonances sustained by evaporated aluminum nanostructures (2019) Opt. Mater. Express, 9 (1), p. 85; Manolis, A., Chatzianagnostou, E., Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Tsiokos, D., Chmielak, B., Suckow, S., Pleros, N., Bringing Plasmonics Into CMOS Photonic Foundries: Aluminum Plasmonics on Si3N4 for Biosensing Applications (2019) J. Lightwave Technol, 37 (21), pp. 5516-5524; Dabos, G., Manolis, A., Giesecke, A. L., Porschatis, C., Chmielak, B., Wahlbrink, T., Pleros, N., Tsiokos, D., TM grating coupler on low-loss LPCVD based Si3N4 waveguide platform (2017) Opt. Commun, 405, pp. 35-38; Chatzianagnostou, E., Ketzaki, D., Dabos, G., Tsiokos, D., Weeber, J.-C., Miliou, A., Design and Optimization of Open-cladded Plasmonic Waveguides for CMOS Integration on Si3N4 Platform (2019) Plasmonics, 14 (4), pp. 823-838; http://www.lumerical.com/tcad-products/interconnect/.LumericalSolutions; http://www.lumerical.com/tcad-products/mode/.LumericalSolutions; http://www.lumerical.com/tcad-products/fdtd/.LumericalSolutions; Weeber, J.-C., Arocas, J., Heintz, O., Markey, L., Viarbitskaya, S., Colas-des-Francs, G., Hammani, K., Tsiokos, D., Characterization of CMOS metal based dielectric loaded surface plasmon waveguides at telecom wavelengths (2017) Opt. Express, 25 (1), p. 394; Lashgari, M., Malek, A. M., Electrochimica Acta Fundamental studies of aluminum corrosion in acidic and basic environments: Theoretical predictions and experimental observations (2010) Electrochim. Acta, 55 (18), pp. 5253-5257; Boukerche, I., Djerad, S., Benmansour, L., Tifouti, L., Saleh, K., Degradability of aluminum in acidic and alkaline solutions (2014) Corros. Sci, 78, pp. 343-352; Winston Revie, R., (2011) Uhlig ' s corrosion handbook the electrochemical society series, , (John Wiley & Sons); Chatzianagnostou, E., Manolis, A., Dabos, G., Ketzaki, D., Miliou, A., Pleros, N., Laurent, M., Tsiokos, D., Scaling the Sensitivity of Integrated Plasmo-photonic Interferometric Sensors (2019) ACS Photonics, 6 (7), pp. 1664-1673

PY - 2020/7/6

Y1 - 2020/7/6

N2 - Optical refractive-index sensors exploiting selective co-integration of plasmonics with silicon photonics has emerged as an attractive technology for biosensing applications that can unleash unprecedented performance breakthroughs that reaps the benefits of both technologies. However, towards this direction, a major challenge remains their integration using exclusively CMOS-compatible materials. In this context, herein, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a CMOS-compatible plasmo-photonic Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (MZI) based on aluminum and Si3N4 waveguides, exhibiting record-high bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU with clear potential to scale up the bulk sensitivity values by properly engineering the design parameters of the MZI. The proposed sensor is composed of Si3N4 waveguides butt-coupled with an aluminum stripe in one branch to realize the sensing transducer. The reference arm is built by Si3N4 waveguides, incorporating a thermo-optic phase shifter followed by an MZI-based variable optical attenuation stage to maximize extinction ratio up to 38 dB, hence optimizing the overall sensing performance. The proposed sensor exhibits the highest bulk sensitivity among all plasmo-photonic counterparts, while complying with CMOS manufacturing standards, enabling volume manufacturing. © 2020 Optical Society of America.

AB - Optical refractive-index sensors exploiting selective co-integration of plasmonics with silicon photonics has emerged as an attractive technology for biosensing applications that can unleash unprecedented performance breakthroughs that reaps the benefits of both technologies. However, towards this direction, a major challenge remains their integration using exclusively CMOS-compatible materials. In this context, herein, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a CMOS-compatible plasmo-photonic Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (MZI) based on aluminum and Si3N4 waveguides, exhibiting record-high bulk sensitivity of 4764 nm/RIU with clear potential to scale up the bulk sensitivity values by properly engineering the design parameters of the MZI. The proposed sensor is composed of Si3N4 waveguides butt-coupled with an aluminum stripe in one branch to realize the sensing transducer. The reference arm is built by Si3N4 waveguides, incorporating a thermo-optic phase shifter followed by an MZI-based variable optical attenuation stage to maximize extinction ratio up to 38 dB, hence optimizing the overall sensing performance. The proposed sensor exhibits the highest bulk sensitivity among all plasmo-photonic counterparts, while complying with CMOS manufacturing standards, enabling volume manufacturing. © 2020 Optical Society of America.

KW - Aluminum

KW - CMOS integrated circuits

KW - Manufacture

KW - Photonic devices

KW - Plasmonics

KW - Refractive index

KW - Refractometers

KW - Silicon compounds

KW - Silicon photonics

KW - Transducers

KW - Biosensing applications

KW - Machzehnder interferometers (MZI)

KW - Refractive index sensor

KW - Sensing performance

KW - Sensing transducer

KW - Thermo-optic phase shifters

KW - Variable optical attenuation

KW - Volume manufacturing

KW - Optical waveguides

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/2d28c1fb-3cce-34d3-bd1a-966a1a6cca5d/

U2 - 10.1364/oe.383435

DO - 10.1364/oe.383435

M3 - Article

SN - 1094-4087

VL - 28

SP - 20992

EP - 21001

JO - Optics Express

JF - Optics Express

IS - 14

ER -

Ultra-sensitive refractive index sensor using CMOS plasmonic transducers on silicon photonic interferometric platform: Optics Express

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