Demonstration of a Photonic-Based Linear Temperature Sensor

• Main Authors: Tao, Ji Fang, Cai, H., Gu, Yuan Dong, Wu, Jian, Liu, Ai Qun
• Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: silicon photonics; Integrated optics; temperature measurement; interferometers; nanofabrication
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82788; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40337
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

A photonic thermal sensor has been demonstrated using photonic waveguide-based Michelson interferometer (MI), with a footprint of only 120 μm × 80 μm. Operating at the wavelength around 1550 nm, this ultra-compact MI configuration obtains a nearly linear temperature response with a sensitivity of 113.7 pm/ºC, which is around 20 times higher than that of traditional fiber-optic thermal sensors. It is fabricated by using standard CMOS processes. Benefitted from the advanced packaging technique, the proposed photonics sensor shows high thermal and mechanical stabilities, presenting a less than 0.1 dB power variation over the temperaturer range of 13°C to 95°C, offering possibilities across a broad range of applications.