Apparatus, method and system for spectrometry with a displaceable waveguide structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9500827-B2
Application number	US-201414317132-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2014
Priority date	Jun 27, 2014
Publication date	Nov 22, 2016
Grant date	Nov 22, 2016

Abstract

Techniques and mechanisms for a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC) to provide spectrometry functionality. In an embodiment, the PIC comprises a photonic device, a first waveguide and a second waveguide, wherein one of the first waveguide and the second waveguide includes a released portion which is free to move relative to a substrate of the PIC. During a metering cycle to evaluate a material under test, control logic operates an actuator to successively configure a plurality of positions of the released portion relative to the photonic device. In another embodiment, light from the first waveguide is variously diffracted by a grating of the photonic device during the metering cycle, where portions of the light are directed into the second waveguide. Different wavelengths of light diffracted into the second waveguide may be successively detected, for different positions of the released portion, to determine spectrometric measurements over a range of wavelength.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A spectrometer device comprising:
a photonic device disposed over a substrate, the photonic device including a grating;
a first waveguide disposed over the substrate;
a second waveguide disposed over the substrate, wherein one of the first waveguide and the second waveguide includes a released portion which is free to move relative to the substrate;
photodetector circuitry coupled to the second waveguide;
control logic to configure a plurality of positions of the released portion relative to the photonic device, wherein, for each of the plurality of positions, while the position is configured:
the first waveguide to exchange with the photonic device respective light from a material under test;
the grating to diffract a portion of the respective light into the second waveguide; and
the photodetector circuitry to take a respective spectrometric measurement of the material under test, including the photodetector circuitry to generate a signal indicating the level of the diffracted portion of the respective light directed into the second waveguide.

2. The spectrometer device of claim 1 , further comprising a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuator coupled to the released portion, wherein the control logic to configure the plurality of positions includes the control logic to signal the MEMS actuator.

3. The spectrometer device of claim 1 , wherein the control logic to configure the plurality of positions includes the control logic to configure an angular deflection of the released portion.

4. The spectrometer device of claim 1 , wherein the control logic to configure the plurality of positions includes the control logic to configure a lateral displacement of the released portion.

5. The spectrometer device of claim 1 , further comprising analyzer logic to generate, for each of the respective spectrometric measurements taken for the plurality of positions, information specifying a correspondence of the spectrometric measurement to a respective wavelength.

6. A method comprising:
successively configuring a plurality of positions, relative to a photonic device of a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC), of one of a first waveguide of the monolithic PIC and the second waveguide of the monolithic PIC;
for each of the plurality of positions, while the position is configured:
exchanging respective light from a first material to the photonic device via the first waveguide;
diffracting a portion of the respective light from a grating of the photonic device into the second waveguide; and
taking a respective spectrometric measurement of the first material, including generating with a photodetector a signal indicating the level of the diffracted portion of the respective light directed into the second waveguide.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein successively configuring the plurality of positions is performed with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuator.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the one of the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide includes a first portion anchored to a substrate and a second portion free to move relative to the substrate, and wherein successively configuring a plurality of positions includes configuring an angular deflection of the second portion.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the one of the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide includes a first portion anchored to a substrate and a second portion free to move relative to the substrate, and wherein successively configuring a plurality of positions includes configuring a lateral displacement of the second portion.

10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
for each of the respective spectrometric measurements taken for the plurality of positions, generating information specifying a correspondence of the spectrometric measurement to a respective wavelength.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by one or more processing units, cause the one or more processing units to perform a method comprising:
successively configuring a plurality of positions, relative to a photonic device of a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC), of one of a first waveguide of the monolithic PIC and the second waveguide of the monolithic PIC;
for each of the plurality of positions, while the position is configured:
exchanging respective light from a first material to the photonic device via the first waveguide;
diffracting a portion of the respective light from a grating of the photonic device into the second waveguide; and
taking a respective spectrometric measurement of the first material, including generating with a photodetector a signal indicating the level of the diffracted portion of the respective light directed into the second waveguide.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein successively configuring the plurality of positions is performed with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuator.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the one of the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide includes a first portion anchored to a substrate and a second portion free to move relative to the substrate, and wherein successively configuring a plurality of positions includes configuring an angular deflection of the second portion.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the one of the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide includes a first portion anchored to a substrate and a second portion free to move relative to the substrate, and wherein successively configuring a plurality of positions includes configuring a lateral displacement of the second portion.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , the method further comprising: for each of the respective spectrometric measurements taken for the plurality of positions, generating information specifying a correspondence of the spectrometric measurement to a respective wavelength.

16. A system comprising:
a processor;
a memory; and
a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC) coupled to at least one of the processor and the memory, wherein the monolithic PIC comprises the spectrometer device of any of claims 1 through 5 .

17. A photonic sensor, comprising:
a first waveguide disposed over a substrate, the first waveguide to receive light corresponding to a material under test;
a grating disposed over the substrate, the grating to direct a portion of light received from the first waveguide into a second waveguide disposed over the substrate;
a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuator coupled to a released portion of at least one of the first and second waveguides;
a controller coupled to the MEMS actuator, the controller to cause the MEMS actuator to displace the released portion between a first and second position relative to the grating; and
photodetector circuitry coupled to the second waveguide, the photodetector circuitry to generate signals indicative of an intensity of the light directed into the second waveguide corresponding to the first and second positions.

18. The sensor of claim 17 , further comprising analyzer logic to generate, for each of the positions, information associating the respective light intensity signals with corresponding wavelengths of the light.

19. The sensor of claim 17 , wherein:
the MEMS actuator is to induce an angular deflection of the released portion;
the waveguides comprise silicon; and
the MEMS

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Hutchison David N
• Kim Kyu Hyun
• Rong Haisheng
• Heck John
• Xu Shengbo

Classifications

• G01J3/1895

  using fiber Bragg gratings or gratings integrated in a waveguide · CPC title

• G02B6/4295 Primary

  coupling with semiconductor devices activated by light through the light guide, e.g. thyristors, phototransistors · CPC title

• G01J3/0259

  Monolithic · CPC title

• G01J3/32

  Investigating bands of a spectrum in sequence by a single detector · CPC title

• G01J3/1809 Primary

  Echelle gratings · CPC title