The development of a novel monolithic spectrometer chip concept

Abstract

A monolithic, chip-based spectrometer based on the novel concept of a series of electrically addressable high-Q resonators coupled to a ridge waveguide is presented. A discrete monolithic InP-based spectrometer chip has been designed to detect wavelengths spanning a 10nm range in the near-infrared region functioning as a sensor. This spectrometer approach has a number of advantages over traditional spectrometers. As well as being solid state and having no moving parts, the co-location of wavelength dispersion and detection offers advantageous spectral performance in a compact chip form. Optimization of resonator size and composition to detect wavelengths across the spectral range of interest will be discussed together with preliminary experimental results. © 2012 Copyright Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).