Light sources are used in optofluidic devices for real-time system control and quantitative analysis of important process parameters. In this work, we present a random laser source using a hollow-core antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (HC-ARROW) containing the gain media inside a reservoir to reduce dye bleaching, which is connected to microchannel waveguides to increase beam directionality. The device is pumped externally and emits a highly coherent and collimated laser beam.

In this paper we present the fabrication and characterization of pedestal-type optical waveguides using aluminum nitride (AlN) as core layer. To the best knowledge of the authors, the utilization of AlN as core layer in pedestal-type waveguides has not been studied. The AlN thin films were obtained by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering from a pure aluminum target. The AlN refractive index was determined by ellipsometry. The optical waveguides were fabricated by the pedestal technique, which consists in etching the silicon oxide lower cladding layer before depositing the core layer. Thus, the waveguide geometrical definition is simplified because etching the AlN core is not necessary. AlN thin films of 0.6, 1, and 1.2 μm thick were deposited on thermally grown silicon dioxide using crystalline silicon (100) as substrate. The pedestal profile was defined using conventional photolithography, followed by plasma etching of the cladding layer. Optical propagation losses were measured for pedestal heights of 1 μm and widths from 1 to 100 μm.

The design of passive photonic devices based on geometry optimization can lead to energy-efficient, small-footprint, and fabrication-ready geometries. In this work, we propose an angle-based parametrization method to optimize Y-junction splitters based on multimode interferometers. The selected figure of merit was the transmittance in the SCL and OESCL optical fiber communication bands. The performances of three optimization methods were compared: (i) particle swarm optimization (PSO), (ii) genetic algorithm (GA), and (iii) the covariance matrix adaptation-evolution strategy (CMA-ES). The results show that CMA-ES parametrization produces similar transmittance results (≤1.5% of difference) to PSO in the first 40 generations. The CMA-ES results are identical in the SCL (1460–1625 nm) and OESCL (1260–1625 nm) bands, whereas the GA and PSO executions are slightly different in terms of the rate and similarity of the figure of merit.

Aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were deposited by reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering from pure aluminum target, onto Si (100), ultra dense flat carbon, and quartz. Series of samples were obtained varying the Ar and N₂ gaseous mixture. The characterizations performed were Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, visible optical absorption, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and residual stress measurements by Stoney’s equation. In this paper we report on the Ar/N₂ ratio needed to produce preferential (002) AlN growth. Correlations between X-ray diffraction and FTIR are made for highly oriented (002) AlN films.

This work explores the production and characterization of pedestal-type active waveguides based on PbO–GeO₂ (PGO) thin films codoped with Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺ rare earth ions. Silicon wafers containing around 1.7 μm of SiO₂ thickness were used as substrate, and the pedestal structure was obtained by conventional photolithography and plasma etching in a reactive ion etching reactor. Plasma etching procedures were made in steps to reduce roughness at the laterals and sidewalls of waveguides. Around 0.5 μm of Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped PGO thin film was obtained by radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposition after etching procedures. Results of scanning electron microscopy confirmed the waveguide pedestal profile. Optical propagation losses around 4, 5, and 20 dB/cm were observed at 1050, 633, and 543 nm, respectively, for waveguide width in the 30–100 μm range. Near field profiles at these wavelengths and also at 980 nm are also reported and confirmed the multimode coupling behavior. The present results corroborate the possibility of using Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped PGO thin films as active waveguides for photonic applications.

Photonic crystal slabs with a lower-index material surrounding the core layer are an attractive choice to circumvent the drawbacks in the fabrication of membranes suspended in air. In this work we propose a photonic crystal (PhC) slab structure composed of a triangular pattern of air holes in a multilayer thin film of aluminum nitride embedded in silicon dioxide layers designed for operating around 450 nm wavelengths. We show the design of an ideal structure and analyze the effects of material dispersion based on a first-order correction perturbation theory approach using dielectric functions obtained by experimental measurements of the thin film materials. Numerical methods were used to investigate the effects of fabrication induced disorder of typical nanofabrication processes on the bandgap size and spectral response of the proposed device. Deviation in holes radii and positions were introduced in the proposed PhC slab model with a Gaussian distribution profile. Impacts of slope in holes sidewalls that might result from the dry etching of AlN were also evaluated. The results show that for operation at the midgap frequency, slope in holes sidewalls is more critical than displacements in holes sizes and positions.