Fourier-transform spectrometer chip covering visible band on silica planar waveguide

Abstract

To minimise a spectrometer maximally, using a micro-electro-mechanical system or planar waveguide chip, has aroused interest in both academia and industry. This is because a portable and inexpensive spectral analysis tool has tremendous potential in various applications including scientific exploration, industrial inspection, and environmental protection. Here, we design, fabricate, and characterise a Fourier-transform spectrometer (FTS) chip consisting of 101 Mach–Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) with gradually varying optical path differences on a silica planar waveguide platform, aiming to cover the entire visible band. To ensure a wide-band operation while simultaneously compressing the size of the chip, wide-bending arm waveguides that can support high-order modes in a short wavelength range are employed in the design of the MZI array. The experimental result of our FTS chip shows its ability to analyse the visible spectrum with a minimum resolution of better than 10 nm and to reproduce the original spectrum with an accuracy of less than 0.5 nm. The successful implementation of the FTS chip based on a matured and low-cost silica planar lightwave circuit process makes it quite promising to realise mass production and widespread application.