Flexible mid-infrared photonics for chemical sensing
AssigneeThe Texas A&M University System
InventorPao Tai Lin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A flexible waveguide structure including a waveguide on a flexible substrate, both having transparent windows in the mid-infrared range, may serve as a photonic chemical sensor for measuring characteristic absorptions of analytes brought in physical contact with the waveguide. Such a sensor may, in accordance with some embodiments, be formed by an aluminum-nitride waveguide on a borosilicate substrate.
Claims19
A mid-infrared photonic chemical sensing system comprising:
- a flexible waveguide structure comprising:
- an ultra-thin borosilicate substrate;
- a waveguide disposed on the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate, the waveguide having, along its length, an exposed center section between two end sections;
- and
- strips of a top cladding deposited over the end sections of the waveguide and adjacent surface regions of the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate, the top cladding anchoring the waveguide on the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate to prevent the waveguide from peeling off the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate when the substrate is bent, the top cladding leaving the center section unclad to expose the center section to an analyte during sensing,
- wherein the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate and the waveguide are both transparent to infrared light over an operating wavelength range including wavelengths greater than 2.5 μm.
A chemical sensing method comprising:
- applying a chemical sample to an exposed section of a waveguide sensor formed on a flexible ultra-thin borosilicate substrate, the waveguide sensor and ultra-thin borosilicate substrate both being transparent to light over an operating wavelength range, the operating wavelength range comprising a range from about 2.5 μm to about 3.4 μm, the waveguide sensor being prevented from peeling off the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate when the substrate is bent by strips of a top cladding deposited over end sections of the waveguide sensor and adjacent surface regions of the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate, the exposed section being located between the end sections, the strips of top cladding leaving the exposed section unclad;
- coupling light into the waveguide sensor at a first end thereof;
- measuring light exiting the waveguide sensor at a second end thereof at a detector;
- and
- detecting one or more analytes comprised in the chemical sample based on detection, in the light existing the waveguide sensor at the second end and measured at the detector, of one or more characteristic absorptions at one or more respective wavelengths within the operating wavelength range.
A method of manufacturing a flexible waveguide structure transparent to infrared light over a wavelength range extending to wavelengths greater than 2.5 μm, the method comprising:
- creating a waveguide on top of an ultra-thin borosilicate substrate from a sputtered aluminum nitride film by a complementary metal oxide semiconductor process;
- and
- depositing strips of a top cladding over end sections of the waveguide and adjacent surface regions of the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate, the top cladding anchoring the waveguide on the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate to prevent the waveguide from peeling off the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate when the ultra-thin borosilicate substrate is bent, the top cladding leaving a center section of the waveguide between the end sections unclad to expose the center section to an analyte during sensing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.