PIC: Mobile in Situ Fourier Transform Spectrometer on a Chip

光谱学擅长化学鉴定，作为分子结构的高度特异性和非侵入性探针，在科学中无处不在。未来，将小型化光谱仪集成到移动的平台中，将对从无人驾驶飞行器到移动的电话等应用产生前所未有的影响。为了满足这一需求，硅光子学作为一种能够提供紧凑且具有成本效益的设备和系统的可制造平台脱颖而出。其在硅光子学制造中的实现将有助于将宽带操作和精细分辨率带到芯片规模，从而实现诸如紧凑性、功率效率、真实的时间操作和低成本的属性。因此，集成光谱仪将通过并入各种移动的平台并创建面向大规模物联网应用的分布式传感器网络而产生深远的影响。拟议的研究将推进工程CMOS制造的硅光子集成系统的芯片上的基础科学和技术。我们预计，光谱仪将在监测环境，医疗保健，国家安全和国防应用中找到应用。该项目将为研究生和本科生提供科学培训，并作为与初中和高中开展外联、教育和合作的平台。在包括遥感、行星科学、医学研究和制药工艺在内的众多科学和技术领域，人们已经做出了巨大努力，以实现用于光谱分析的小型化嵌入式光谱仪。由于精确操作所需的大占地面积和机械稳定性，光学傅里叶变换光谱学的最新技术水平迄今为止一直被降级为台式仪器。为了克服这个限制，我们建议开发一个集成的芯片级傅里叶变换光谱仪，是完全CMOS兼容。这种方法将提高测量速度，并放宽采样率和动态范围的要求相比，传统的，并保留了强大的优势，傅里叶变换光谱仪拥有相比，其他传统的设计，如上级性能的功率吞吐量，在嘈杂的环境中的操作，和精度。为了达到这些目标，我们提出实现以下目标：（1）设计一个芯片级的光谱仪在一个芯片上（2）制造它作为一个单片集成器件，（3）实验测试和表征所构造的设备的性能和（4）设计信号处理算法的级联检测到的信道化信号，以构建高分辨率的宽带合成光谱。 快速原型和测试将在UCSD进行，并在AIM Photonics铸造厂进行全尺寸运行。拟议的研究在本质上是变革性的，因为它不仅标志着将廉价，紧凑，高分辨率的灵敏光谱仪集成到移动的电话技术的第一步，而且还提供了一条用于环境管理，医学和安全的超紧凑网络传感器系统的路线。 该项目将为研究生和本科生提供科学培训，并作为与初中和高中开展外联、教育和合作的基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Optical spectroscopy excels at chemical identification and is ubiquitous in the sciences as a highly specific and noninvasive probe of molecular structure. Moving forward the integration of miniaturized optical spectrometers into mobile platforms will have unprecedented impact on applications ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles to mobile phones. To address this demand, silicon photonics stands out as a manufacturable platform capable of delivering compact and cost-effective devices and systems. Its implementation in silicon photonics manufacturing will contribute to bringing broadband operation and fine resolution to the chip scale enabling such attributes as compactness, power efficiency, real time operation and low cost. Thus integrated spectrometers will have a profound impact by incorporation into various mobile platforms and creation of distributed sensor networks towards large scale internet of things applications. The proposed research will advance the basic science and technology of engineered CMOS manufactured Si-Photonic integrated systems on a chip. We anticipate that the spectrometer will find applications in monitoring environment, healthcare, national security, and defense applications. The project will provide scientific training for students at graduate and undergraduate levels as well as serve as a platform for outreach, education and collaborative efforts with middle and high schools. Significant efforts have been directed towards the realization of miniaturized, embedded optical spectrometers for spectral analysis in numerous areas of science and technology including remote sensing, planetary sciences, medical research, and pharmaceutical processes. The state of the art Optical Fourier Transform spectroscopy has thus far been relegated as a benchtop instrument owing to the large footprint and mechanical stability necessary for accurate operation. To overcome this limitation, we propose to develop an integrated chip-scale Fourier transform spectrometer that is fully CMOS compatible. This approach will improve the measurement speed, and relax the sampling rate and dynamic range requirements compared to conventional ones, and retain the strong advantages that Fourier transform spectrometers possess compared to other conventional designs, such as superior performance in power throughput, operation in noisy environments, and accuracy. To reach these goals, we propose to achieve the following objectives: (1) design a chip-scale spectrometer on a chip (2) fabricate it as a monolithic integrated device, (3) experimentally test and characterize the performance of the constructed device and (4) devise signal processing algorithms for concatenation of the detected channelized signals to construct high resolution broad band resultant spectra. Rapid prototyping and testing will be performed at UCSD with full scale runs performed at the AIM Photonics foundry. The proposed research is transformative in nature as it will not only mark the first step toward integration of inexpensive, compact, high resolution sensitive spectrometers into mobile phone technology, but also offer a route to ultra-compact networked sensor systems for environmental management, medicine, and security. The project will provide scientific training for students at graduate and undergraduate levels as well as serve as a basis for outreach, education and collaborative efforts with middle and high schools. Engagement of students of diverse ethnicity, gender and economic backgrounds in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) will be continued via the ongoing RET, REU, and COSMOS activities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.