Abstract
In this paper, the design and the characterization of a novel interrogator based on integrated Fourier transform (FT) spectroscopy is presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first integrated FT spectrometer used for the interrogation of photonic sensors. It consists of a planar spatial heterodyne spectrometer, which is implemented using an array of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) with different optical path differences. Each MZI employs a 3×3 multi-mode interferometer, allowing the retrieval of the complex Fourier coefficients. We derive a system of non-linear equations whose solution, which is obtained numerically from Newton's method, gives the modulation of the sensor's resonances as a function of time. By taking one of the sensors as a reference, to which no external excitation is applied and its temperature is kept constant, about 92% of the thermal induced phase drift of the integrated MZIs has been compensated. The minimum modulation amplitude that is obtained experimentally is 400 fm, which is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than the FT spectrometer resolution.
Highlights
Photonic based sensors find nowadays a wide range of applications
In this paper, the design and the characterization of a novel interrogator based on integrated Fourier transform (FT) spectroscopy is presented
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first integrated FT spectrometer used for the interrogation of photonic sensors
Summary
Acoustic and ultrasound sensors [1, 2], pressure sensors [3], biochemical and gas sensors [4, 5] are examples of sensors based on optical technology. They are low cost, immune to electromagnetic radiation, and operate under a wide range of temperatures. Examples are sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) [5, 6] or on integrated ring resonators [1, 2, 4]. It is possible to build large and multi-purpose sensor arrays by wavelength multiplexing the spectrum of the sensors [6, 7]
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