University of Ottawa

Purpose

Remote sensing is a growing field that can provide valuable data from great distances without direct interaction with the test species. Photonic sensors enables the direct assessment of the molecular composition of the species under test. In this work, the team will be developing integrated photonic sensors based on miniature ring resonators in two distinct material platforms: silicon-based and III-V semiconductors. The specific goal of the research performed is to develop III-V semiconductor photonic sensors through fabricating high-quality compact rings on-a-chip based on air-bridge waveguide geometry where the semiconductor material si surrounded by the air. Addressing fabrication challenges associated with making high-quality air-bridge waveguides and microrings, performing numerical simulations to improve the design of the devices, and optical testing of the fabricated devices are the specific activities that will be undertaken.