Miniaturized disordered photonic molecule spectrometer

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Spectroscopy
• Integrated Optics

Background:

• Computational spectrometers offer miniaturized, on-chip solutions for in-situ measurements.
• Current systems face limitations in encoder performance, with redundant response matrices hindering miniaturization.
• The trade-off between size, resolution, and bandwidth limits spectral encoders, requiring long optical paths for high resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a groundbreaking ultra-miniaturized disordered photonic molecule spectrometer.
• To overcome the resolution-bandwidth-footprint limitations of existing spectrometers.
• To demonstrate a novel approach for high-performance, manufacturable miniaturized spectroscopy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized complicated electromagnetic coupling to generate quasi-random spectral response matrices.
• Employed dynamic manipulation of photon frequency, amplitude, and phase.
• Constructed the spectrometer on a CMOS-compatible integrated photonics platform.

Main Results:

• Achieved an effectively infinite free spectral range (FSR) with a high Q-factor (>7.74 × 10^5).
• Demonstrated a broad operational bandwidth exceeding 100 nm.
• Attained ultra-high spectral resolution of 8 pm within an ultra-compact footprint (70 × 50 μm²).

Conclusions:

• The disordered photonic molecule spectrometer surpasses current resolution-bandwidth-footprint metrics.
• The novel quasi-random response matrices overcome fundamental limitations in miniaturized spectrometers.
• This technology presents a pioneering approach for high-performance, manufacturable miniaturized spectroscopy.