Towards fully integrated photonic displacement sensors

Area of Science:

• Optical metrology
• Nanotechnology
• Photonics

Background:

• Optical metrology is crucial for lithography and microscopy.
• On-chip integration requires miniaturized sensing schemes.
• Controllable directional light emission from dipoles offers a novel concept.

Purpose of the Study:

• To realize an integrated displacement sensor.
• To leverage directional emission from Huygens dipoles for sensing.
• To reduce the spatial footprint of optical sensing for nanodevices.

Main Methods:

• Excitation of Huygens dipoles in individual dipolar antennas.
• Coupling directional emission into a photonic crystal waveguide crossing.
• Experimental validation supported by theoretical calculations.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of the first integrated displacement sensor prototype.
• Achieved a standard deviation of position accuracy below λ/300.
• Operation demonstrated at room temperature and ambient conditions.

Conclusions:

• The developed sensor is a promising route for on-chip integration in nanodevices.
• Directional dipole emission enables miniaturized, high-precision optical metrology.
• The sensor meets stringent accuracy requirements for future technological applications.