On-chip Mach-Zehnder interferometer for OCT systems
-
Ton G. van Leeuwen
,
Imran B. Akca
Abstract
By using integrated optics, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of a bulky optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. One of the OCT components that can be implemented on-chip is the interferometer. In this work, we present the design and characterization of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer consisting of the wavelength-independent splitters and an on-chip reference arm. The Si3N4 was chosen as the material platform as it can provide low losses while keeping the device size small. The device was characterized by using a home-built swept source OCT system. A sensitivity value of 83 dB, an axial resolution of 15.2 μm (in air) and a depth range of 2.5 mm (in air) were all obtained.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the IOP Photonic Devices program (managed by Agentschap NL), the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Veni (SH302031, managed by NWO-TTW) and by the Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowships (FOIPO 704364). We thank Frank Coumans for the design of the interferometer and Naser Hosseini for the simulations and the design of the mask set.
References
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Articles in the same Issue
- Cover and Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Reviewer recognition and editor’s note
- Community
- News
- Topical Issue: Optical Coatings
- Editorial
- Special issue on optical coatings
- Review Article
- Simulation of the optical coating deposition
- Research Articles
- ALD anti-reflection coatings at 1ω, 2ω, 3ω, and 4ω for high-power ns-laser application
- Determination of refractive index and thickness of YbF3 thin films deposited at different bias voltages of APS ion source from spectrophotometric methods
- Effects of fixture rotation on coating uniformity for high-performance optical filter fabrication
- Design and manufacture of super-multilayer optical filters based on PARMS technology
- Tutorial
- Monolithic photonic integration for visible and short near-infrared wavelengths: technologies and platforms for bio and life science applications
- Review Articles
- Optimization of freeform surfaces using intelligent deformation techniques for LED applications
- On-chip photonic microsystem for optical signal processing based on silicon and silicon nitride platforms
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- On-chip Mach-Zehnder interferometer for OCT systems
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- Broadband and scalable optical coupling for silicon photonics using polymer waveguides
