Near-infrared spectroscopy using period-chirped Si/SiO/SiO₂-based guided mode resonance filter

Abstract

We demonstrate a Si/SiO/SiO2-based period-chirped guided mode resonance (GMR) filter to discriminate telecom o-band wavelengths by spatially resolved horizontal movement. Continuously period-chirped silicon gratings were fabricated by using a Lloyd’s laser interferometer with a convex mirror. Due to the large waveguide effective index, the GMR filter can be realized with a short grating period, thus enabling a slow grating period transition along the sample position and high optical resolution in wavelength discrimination. Depositing a SiO/SiO2 stack on top of silicon gratings enables a narrowband GMR filter with a linewidth of 1–1.5 nm over a wavelength range of 1260–1360 nm. By using the chirped GMR filter as a dispersive device, the optical spectra of a near-infrared broadband light source are reconstructed. An optimized aspheric mirror is proposed to further improve the linearity of chirped gratings. Such a period-chirped GMR filter is promising for compact on-chip spectroscopy and sensing applications.