Compact and Low-cost High Performance Spectrometer Sensor based on Integrated Photonics Technology

Ultra-Low Loss Technologies (ULL Technologies) is proposing in collaboration with Prof. Arka Majumdar from University of Washington (UW), to develop a compact, low-cost spectrometer module to be used for chemical sensing applications and to be fabricated using the process design kit (PDK) available through AIM Photonics multi-project wafer run (MPW). The team will combine ULL Technologies expertise in low-loss waveguide photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with UW’s expertise in design and test to realize a novel PIC-based spectrometer that can be fabricated at AIM photonics on 300-mm wafers. Our upfront approach will be to study the feasibility of our design using the SiPh fabrication platform offered by AIM Photonics. Our study in Phase I will focus on the design of the arrayed waveguide grating (AWG)-based spectrometer coupled with an off-chip detection approach. ULL Technologies is a leader in high-performance and ultra-low loss waveguides, and we are ideally positioned to develop the new efficient and compact spectrometer as part of this program, and to work with AIM photonics to make the novel components we will develop available through their foundry.