We report on the fabrication of channel waveguides in bismuth germanate (BGO) crystal using focused ion-beam writing. 1 and 2 MeV He+ ions with different fluences are utilized to directly write waveguides in BGO crystal. The guiding properties of the BGO waveguides are explored at the wavelengths of 632.8 nm, 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm, showing that the channel waveguides support light guidance from visible to telecommunication bands along both transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic polarizations.
We present and demonstrate a new type of single resonator based planar metamaterial exhibiting electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like transmission behavior. The novel design involves physically coupled split-ring resonator (SRR) and a dipolar ring as opposed to many inductively coupled resonators explored in the past. Both experiments and simulations reveal a dispersive transparency due to coupled resonances and the underlying mechanism. Further, the conductive and inductive coupling scenarios for this structure were compared where conductive coupling was found to coerce the direction of light induced currents and stronger in effect than inductive coupling. Resonance tuning is achieved by moving the bar coupling SRR and the ring. Hence, we show that conductive coupling has potential in tailoring coupled resonances of desired quality factor and fabricating metamaterials for enhanced sensing.
Metallic helices have been extensively researched and demonstrated for their application as broadband circular polarizers in different frequency regimes. For making such 3D helices, two photon lithography (TPL) has been employed in conjunction with electroplating of metals. Recently, our group has demonstrated selective silver electroless plating of two photon fabricated polymer (SU-8) structures on silicon substrate. This procedure allows us to make metal-coated polymer helices. In this work, we examine how these fabrication process parameters could be tailored to obtain higher extinction ratios for circular polarizers in THz regime (or MIR regime). We further analyze the role of aspect-ratio of helices in their polarizing action. We will present both simulation and experimental results to show the improved performance of the polarizers.
In this work, we demonstrate a monolithic approach to fabricate free-standing LiNbO3 photonic crystal (PhC) slabs. Ion implantation is first applied to form a buried lattice-damage layer at a specified depth in bulk LiNbO3. Photonic crystal slabs are then made with FIB milling followed by wet etching. A high etching rate of 100 nm/min for the implanted layer has been obtained. A vertical PhC profile has been achieved because the bottoms of the milled cones were truncated by an air gap, with a measured slope angle of the hole sidewalls at 89°. Numerical simulation and free-space illumination measurements of the reflectance spectrum over a broadband wavelength were performed to analyse the properties of various PhC slabs. The free-standing LiNbO3 structures make them easily incorporated into MEMS and show potential applications for tunable optical filters, sensors, and quantum optics applications where high quality, single crystal LiNbO3 is needed.
Three dimensional metamaterials are fabricated using direct laser writing in SU-8 polymer followed by an electroless
coating process. A method has been developed to allow for selective electroless plating of SU-8 microstructures
with a smooth conformal coating of Ag. The process utilizes radio frequency plasma pretreatment
to modify the SU-8 surface so that Ag ions can nucleate on the surface, leaving the substrate uncoated. An array
of split ring resonators and other 3D microstructures are used to demonstrate how the technique can be applied
to metamaterials applications.
Proton beam writing (PBW) is a high-resolution direct write lithographic technique suitable for the fabrication of
micro/nano optical components with smooth vertical sidewalls. In the present work PBW was used to fabricate smooth
micro cavities in negative tone photoresist SU-8 and Rhodamine B doped SU-8. Two different laser cavities based on
whispering gallery mode resonators were fabricated using PBW. The laser cavities in Rhodamine B doped SU-8 resist
were optically pumped with a pulsed frequency doubled Nd: YAG laser, and emits light in the chip plane at 643 nm. The
presented laser cavities showed pump threshold as low as 3 μJ/mm2, which is the lowest threshold reported in planar
cavities fabricated in Rhodamine B dye based polymer laser cavities.
We report the design and fabrication of a novel single cell electroporation biochip fabricated by the Proton Beam Writing
technique (PBW), a new technique capable of direct-writing high-aspect-ratio nano and microstructures. The biochip
features nickel micro-electrodes with straight-side walls between which individual cells are positioned. By applying
electrical impulses across the electrodes, SYTOX® Green nucleic acid stain is incorporated into mouse neuroblastoma
(N2a) cells. When the stain binds with DNA inside the cell nucleus, green fluorescence is observed upon excitation from
a halogen lamp. Three parameters; electric field strength, pulse duration, and the number of pulses have been considered
and optimized for the single cell electroporation. The results show that our biochip gives successfully electroporated
cells . This single cell electroporation system represents a promising method for investigating the introduction of a wide
variety of fluorophores, nanoparticles, quantum dots, DNAs and proteins into cells.
We report a versatile, and automatic method for sorting cells and particles in a three dimensional
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure consisting of two crossmicrochannels. As microspheres or yeast cells
are fed continuously into a lower channel, a line shaped focused laser beam is applied (perpendicular to the
direction of flow) at the crossing junction of the two channels. The scattering force of the laser beam was
employed to push microparticles matching specific criteria upwards from one channel to another. The force
depends on the intrinsic properties of the particles such as their refractive index and size, as well as the laser
power and the fluid flow speed. The combination of these parameters gives a tunable selection criterion for
the effective and efficient sorting of the particles. The introduction of the cylindrical lens into the optical train
allows for simultaneous manipulation of multiple particles which has significantly increased the efficiency
and throughput of the sorting. A high aspect ratio microchannel (A.R. = 1.6) was found to enhance the
sorting performance of the device. By careful control of the microparticle flow rate, near 100% sorting
efficiency was achieved.
In this work, we describe the use of a combination of proton beam irradiation and electrochemical etching to
fabricate high index-contrast waveguides directly in silicon without the need for silicon-on-insulator substrate.
Various types of waveguides with air or porous silicon cladding have been demonstrated. We show that porous
silicon (PS) is a flexible cladding material due to the tunability of its refractive index and thickness. The Si/PS
waveguide system also possesses better transmittance in the ranges of 1.2-9 and 23-200 μm, compared to
Si/SiO2 waveguides. This is potentially important for mid and far-IR applications. Since it is compatible with
conventional CMOS technology, this process can be used for fabrication of integrated optoelectronics circuits.
The ability to control the porosity and hence the refractive index of porous silicon makes it an interesting material
for photonic applications. Layers with refractive indices as low as 1.5 up to that of bulk crystalline silicon can be
easily fabricated by varying the electrochemical etching parameters during anodization. This ability to control
the refractive index makes it possible to design waveguides that more closely match the properties of silica based
optical fiber, thus reducing insertion loss. In this paper we explore the possibility of using a focused laser in order
to create waveguiding regions in porous silicon substrates comprising of multiple layers. The direct write process
can be used to locally oxidize the porous material forming micron sized channels that can be used for waveguiding.
Various designs are simulated using a finite element mode solver in order to optimize the design parameters for
single mode waveguiding. Experimental results showing the effect of laser irradiation on multilayered structures
are also presented.
Proton beam writing (p-beam writing) is a process which uses a focused beam of MeV protons to pattern resist material
at nanodimensions. This makes p-beam writing the only one tool for fast prototyping of high aspect ratio structures with
vertical walls up to 60μm and high aspect ratio values with details down to the 20 nm level. The process, although
similar in many ways to direct writing using electrons, nevertheless offers some interesting and unique advantages.
Protons, being more massive, have deeper penetration in materials whilst maintaining even energy deposition along a
straight path, enabling p-beam writing to fabricate 3D high aspect ratio structures with vertical smooth sidewalls and low
line edge roughness. Calculations have also indicated that p-beam writing exhibits minimal proximity effects, since the
secondary electrons induced in proton/electron collisions have low energy. A platform technology to integrate 3D
nanowires is proposed through high aspect ratio nanofabrication using p-beam writing.
Proton beam writing (PBW) is a lithographic technique that utilizes MeV protons in a direct write mode to
fabricate micro/nano features in suitable resist material (E.g PMMA, SU-8, silicon, Foturan). These micro/nano
structures may be used in an electroplating step to yield robust metallic stamps/molds for the replication of
the original and lends itself to the fabrication of micro/nano fluidic channels that are important components in
devices such as biophotonic chips. Another feature of proton bombardment is its ability to induce an increase
in refractive index along the ions path, in particular at the end of its range where there is substantial nuclear
scattering. This allows PBW to directly write buried waveguides that can be accurately aligned with fluidic
channels.
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is an optically clear, biocompatible polymer that can be readily used with a
mold (such as that created with PBW) and easily sealed so as to produce biophotonic chips containing micro/nano
fluidic channels. This has lead us to favour PDMS as the base material for our work on the development of these
biophotonic chips. The present work is concerned with the production of integrating channel waveguides in
PDMS chips, so as to have a working device that may be used to detect fluorescently tagged biological samples.
For this we have adopted two approaches, namely(1) directly embedding optical fibres in the polymer and (2)
using PBW to directly write buried waveguides in the polymer.
Mid-infrared wavelength region is interesting for several application areas including sensing, communications, signal
processing, and imaging. Its importance stems from the two atmospheric windows and the fact that nearly all important
molecular gases have strong absorption lines in the mid-infrared. In this paper, we discuss the design, fabrication and
propagation loss measurements of three silicon waveguide structures that can find applications in the mid-infrared region.
We report a novel technique for the fabrication of an all-silicon channel waveguide using direct proton beam writing
and subsequent electrochemical etching. A focused beam of high energy protons is used to selectively inhibit porous
silicon formation in the irradiated regions. By over-etching beyond the ion range, the irradiated region becomes
surrounded by porous silicon cladding. Waveguide characterization carried out at 1550 nm on the proton irradiated
waveguide shows that the propagation losses improve significantly from 20±2 dB/cm to 9±2 dB/cm after vacuum
annealing at 800°C for 1 hour.
We fabricated and studied a planar composite material consisting of sub-wavelength double split ring resonator structures made of Gold on a Silicon substrate. Our measurements reveal a strong transmission dip at 0.6 THz. Experimental and numerical results indicate that there is an Inductor-Capacitor resonance at 0.6 THz, characterized by enhanced electric field strength across the ring gap. Our results also indicate a shift in the resonance to higher frequencies as thickness is increased. Spectral properties of the composite material were measured using THz Time Domain Spectroscopy in the range from 0.1 THz to 3.5 THz. Simulations were carried out using the commercially available electromagnetic solver, Microwave StudioTM. Fabrication of the structures was done with Proton Beam Writing, a nanolithography technique based on focused MeV protons. The direct-write technique allowed us to fabricate structures much thicker than otherwise possible. For this work, the ring resonator structures had overall dimensions of 38 μm and a thickness of 8 μm with highly vertical and smooth sidewalls with minimum critical dimensions of 2 μm.
The field of Silicon Photonics has gained a significant amount of momentum in recent years. Announcements of high
speed modulators and cost-efficient light sources in the Silicon-on-insulator material system have helped to make Silicon
Photonics a viable contender as a low-cost active photonic platform. As a pioneer in the field, the University of Surrey
continues to investigate the prospects of silicon photonics. Herein we present a summary of our work on several key
areas such as ion implanted grating devices, high-speed modulators, switches and ring resonators. We conclude with a
discussion on an advanced fabrication technique, proton beam writing.
In this paper we report two novel fabrication techniques for silicon photonic circuits and devices. The techniques are
sufficiently flexible to enable waveguides and devices to be developed for telecommunications wavelengths or indeed
other wavelength ranges due to the inherent high resolution of the fabrication tools. Therefore the techniques are
suitable for a wide range of applications. In the paper we discuss the outline fabrication processes, and discuss how they
compare to conventional processing. We compare ease of fabrication, as well as the quality of the devices produced in
preliminary experimental fabrication results. We also discuss preliminary optical results from fabricated waveguide
devices, as measured by conventional means. In these preliminary results we discuss fundamental properties of the
waveguides such as loss and spectral characteristics, as it is these fundamental characteristics that will determine the
viability of the techniques. Issues such as the origins of the loss are discussed in general terms, as resulting fabrication
characteristics such as waveguide surface roughness (and hence loss), or waveguide profile and dimensions may be
traded off against cost of production for some applications. We also propose further work that will help to establish the
potential of the technique for future applications.
Proton beam writing is a lithographic technique that can be used to fabricate microstructures in a variety of materials including PMMA, SU-8 and FoturanTM. The technique utilizes a highly focused mega-electron volt beam of protons to direct write latent images into a material which are subsequently developed to form
structures. Furthermore, the energetic protons can also be used to modify the refractive index of the material at a precise depth by using the end of range damage. In this paper we apply the proton beam writing technique to the fabrication of a lab-on-a-chip device that integrates buried waveguides with microfluidic channels. We have chosen to use FoturanTM photostructurable glass for the device because both direct patterning and refractive index modification is possible with MeV protons.
High energy helium beam has been utilized to pattern silicon prior to electrochemical etching in hydrofluoric acid. Photoluminescence (PL) studies carried out on medium resistivity silicon showed that the PL wavelength of the irradiated regions is continuously red-shifted by up to 150 nm with increasing dose. On the lower resistivity silicon, the intensity is shown to increase by more than twenty times with dose. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used to determine the surface morphology of the irradiated structure. This technique is potentially important for producing an integrated silicon based optoelectronic device.
We report an alternative technique which utilizes fast proton or helium ion irradiation prior to electrochemical etching for three-dimensional micro-fabrication in bulk p-type silicon. The ion-induced damage increases the resistivity of the irradiated regions and slows down porous silicon formation. A raised structure of the scanned area is left behind after removal of the un-irradiated regions with potassium hydroxide. The thickness of the removed material depends on the irradiated dose at each region so that multiple level structures can be produced with a single irradiation step. By exposing the silicon to different ion energies, the implanted depth and hence structure height can be precisely varied. We demonstrate the versatility of this three-dimensional patterning process to create multilevel cross structure and free-standing bridges in bulk silicon, as well as sub-micron pillars and high aspect-ratio nano-tips.
Proton beam writing is a new direct-write micromachining technique capable of producing 3-dimensional (3-D), high aspect ratio micro-structures with straight and smooth sidewalls. It uses a focused sub-micron beam of 2.0 MeV protons to direct-write on a suitable polymer, such as the photoresists: poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA) and SU-8, a negative tone photoresist from MicroChem. In this paper, we report on the application of proton beam writing to fabricate low-loss passive polymer waveguide structures such as symmetric y-branching waveguides in SU-8. SU-8 channel waveguides are fabricated by first direct-writing the pattern using a proton beam and subsequently chemically developing the latent image formed. A UV-cured resin, Norland Optical Adhesive 88 (NOA-88) is used as the cladding layer. Being a direct-write technique, proton beam writing offers us great flexibility to fabricate waveguides of arbitrary patterns and this is an asset that can be applied to the rapid prototyping of optical circuits. With all its unique characteristics, proton beam writing is an excellent technique for waveguide fabrication.
Proton beam writing is a new direct write lithographic technique that utilizes a high energy (MeV) submicron focused proton beam to machine or modify a material, usually a polymer. Structures made using p-beam writing have very smooth side walls, high aspect ratio, and a scale that can be easily matched to existing optical fiber
technology (0.1 to 1000 μm). In this paper we demonstrate the use of proton beam writing for prototyping micro-optical components such as microlens arrays and gratings in positive and negative resist. The structures that are fabricated can be used for both rapid prototyping and for large scale replication with nanoimprint
lithography.
The production of high aspect ratio microstructures requires a lithographic technique capable of producing microstructures with vertical sidewalls. There are few techniques (eg proton beam micromachining, LIGA and Stereolithoghaphy) capable of producing high aspect ratio microstructures at sub-micron dimensions. In Proton Beam Micromachining (PBM), a high energy (eg 2 MeV) proton beam is focused to a sub-micron spot size and scanned over a resist material (eg SU-8 and PMMA). When a proton beam interacts with matter it follows an almost straight path, the depth of which is dependent on the proton beam energy. These features enable the production of multilevel microstructures with vertical sidewalls of high orthogonality. Proton beam micromachining is a fast direct write lithographic technique; in a few seconds a complicated pattern in an area of 400 x 400 micrometers 2 can be exposed down to a depth of 150 micrometers . These features make proton beam micromachining a technique of high potential for the production of high-aspect-ratio-structures at a much lower total cost than the LIGA process, which requires a synchrotron radiation source and precision masks. Research is currently under way to improve the process that employs the SU-8 negative photo-resist as a mold to electroplate Ni. Experiments have shown that post-bake and curing steps are not required in this SU-8 process, reducing the effects of cracking and internal stress in the resist. Plated Ni structures can be easily produced which are high quality negative copies of the SU-8 produced microstructures.
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