Patent ID: 8237102

Claim:
A detector for electromagnetic radiation, comprising: a substrate having a surface; a high index contrast waveguide adjacent said surface of said substrate, said high index contrast waveguide having at least one input port configured to receive electromagnetic radiation to be detected as a first input optical signal and configured to receive a boost signal as a second input optical signal, said electromagnetic radiation to be detected having a first frequency and said boost signal having a second frequency, and an output port configured to provide a rectified signal as an output signal; said high index contrast waveguide comprising a material that exhibits a nonlinear optical coefficient configured to generate at least one of a signal having a frequency equal to a sum of said first frequency and said second frequency and a signal having a frequency equal to a difference of said first frequency and said second frequency, and to provide said rectified signal as said output signal; and a signal detector configured to detect said rectified signal, and configured to provide an output indicative of said received electromagnetic radiation to be detected.