Patent ID: 8636955
Filing Date: 2014-01-28
Classification: G01N,G02B

Abstract:
1. A packaged chip for the integration of arrays of photonic crystal microcavity coupled waveguides with external optical sources and external optical detectors comprising: i) a package shell comprising a top portion, a bottom portion, and a side wall portion which together surround an interior volume; ii) a substrate disposed on the interior side of the bottom portion of the package shell and bounded by the interior side of the side wall portion of the package shell; iii) a bottom cladding disposed on the substrate and bounded by the interior side of the side wall portion of the package shell; iv) a slab disposed on the bottom cladding and bounded by the interior side of the side wall portion of the package shell, wherein the refractive index of the bottom cladding is lower than the refractive index of the slab; v) a cover polymer disposed on the slab, wherein the cover polymer is capped by the interior side of the top portion of the package shell and bounded by the interior side of the side wall portion of the package shell; vi) an input sub-wavelength grating coupler comprising a plurality of void columnar members with rectangular cross-section etched through the slab, wherein the plurality of void columnar members have a periodicity β in one direction along the slab and a periodicity γ in the direction orthogonal to β along the slab; vii) a first multimode interference power splitter comprising: viii) a cascade of one or more multimode interference power splitters, wherein each of the one or more multimode interference power splitters comprises: ix) one or more photonic crystal microcavity coupled waveguides comprising: x) wherein the one or more photonic crystal microcavity coupled waveguides support one or more guided modes of a broadband source; xi) wherein each of the one or more optical microcavities support one or more resonance modes; xii) wherein the one or more optical microcavities with one or more target binding molecules coated on the one or more optical microcavities support one or more resonance modes comprising one or more resonant frequencies resulting in minima in a transmission spectrum of the one or more guided modes of the broadband source at the corresponding resonant frequencies of the one or more optical microcavities; xiii) wherein one or more analytes selectively bind to the one or more target binding molecules resulting in shifting the resonance frequencies of the one or more optical microcavities and hence the minima in the transmission spectrum of the one or more guided modes of the broadband source in each photonic crystal waveguide; xiv) wherein, the cover polymer disposed on the slab has void openings above the area of the one or more photonic crystal microcavity coupled waveguides to form one or more microfluidic channels; xv) wherein, the package shell has void openings aligned with the one or more microfluidic channels; and xvi) wherein, the package shell has void openings aligned with the input sub-wavelength grating coupler.