Silicon photonics has rapidly become one of the most promising photonic integration platforms. Especially, microring resonator (MRR) plays a pivotal role in silicon photonics and has been widely used for electro-optic (E-O) modulators and wavelength filters due to its small footprint, low energy consumption, and high quality factor (Q-factor). Recently,...
Metal grating based plasmonic filters are widely researched for their unique properties of field enhancement and localization of light beyond diffraction limit. However, the plasmonic grating filters reported in literature mostly have broadband outputs making them unsuitable for spectroscopy. In this project, we have designed, fabricated, and characterized an array...
This dissertation focuses on indoor free-space optical communications systems for use in short range wireless networks. We propose that current radio frequency wireless links be augmented or replaced with optical frequency links due to overcrowding in the radio frequency spectrum. Optical frequencies contain hundreds of terahertz of unregulated bandwidth and...
Due to the advantages of the high surface area and high porosity, Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) materials are widely used in gas storage. As a typical MOF material, Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (Zif-8) has high selectivity and adsorption capability of carbon dioxide (CO2). In this thesis, we investigated the infrared absorption of...
The need to detect trace amounts of target molecules is great, particularly when it comes to biosensing. With the early detection of a disease, the odds of the successful treatment of an individual increases significantly. To enhance the capability of biomolecular detection, we have created an optical biosensor capable of...
We explored an optofluidic sensing mechanism from inkjet-printed droplets on diatom biosilica using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Our study revealed a new biosensing strategy that combines the microscopic fluidic flow induced by the droplet evaporation and the photonic crystal effects of diatom frustules, which can provide an ultra-sensitive, cost-effective biosensing...
This work expands the field of indoor free-space optical communication by introducing novel techniques in short range optical communication. The increasing need for high bandwidth communication necessitates the transition to optical frequencies with hundreds of terahertz worth of unregulated bandwidth. Optical communication offers an inherent security advantage over traditional communications...
Silicon photonics has become the most promising platform for future large-scale optical interconnect and optical computing systems due to its inherent CMOS compatibility, which brings exclusive advantages in bandwidth density, energy efficiency, and cost effectiveness. Parallel optical interconnects based on photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have the capacity to meet the...
Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), such as indium-tin oxide (ITO), have attracted increasing interests in integrated photonics and nanophotonics, owing to their large plasma dispersion and epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) effect. The refractive index modulation induced by free carriers in TCOs leads to a large electro-optic effect that can enable ultra-compact device footprint...
Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), combining the optical transparency and electrical conducting properties, have attracted escalating research interests in recent years due to their potential for various photonic applications. The electrical and optical properties, such as carrier concentration, mobility, will strongly affect the performance of TCO-based photonic devices. In this dissertation,...