The research in this proposal targets innovations in design, fabrication, and functionality of silicon-photonics-based chemical and biological optical sensors that will enable higher levels of performance in highly practical, low-cost integrated solutions. The objective of the research is the application of recent breakthroughs in waveguide fabrication and design to achieve ultra-sensitive sensor capabilities in the silicon photonics platform, and to introduce novel designs that can simultaneous provide for ultra-high sensitivity and elimination of spurious signal problems in a passive design. Applications include ultra-sensitive detection of trace chemicals and pathogens in environmental, food-processing, and defense applications, chemical monitoring in industrial and research applications, and high performance biomedical instrumentation for research and clinical applications.
Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit includes the fostering of innovative advances in fabrication and design that overcome or circumvent today's practical and fundamental performance limits. This multidisciplinary project leverages today's most compelling microfabrication technology platform and provides a ready pathway to manufacture. The CMOS platform also ultimately admits the potential of integrated on-chip electrical amplification, control, A/D conversion, and DSP functions for unprecedented system-on-a-chip functionality at very low cost.
Broader Impact: The broader impact includes outstanding multidisciplinary educational experiences afforded to graduate students working on the project, tangible enhancements to existing optics-specific K-12 outreach programs, and strong opportunities for undergraduate research. From a societal perspective, the potential to leverage the $40B annual world-wide investments in silicon microelectronics into new sensor applications is compelling. If successful, this could open the door to commercial solutions with a tremendous positive impact on quality of life.
