Planar waveguide-coupled, high-index-contrast, high-Q resonators in chalcogenide glass for sensing

High-index-contrast compact microdisk resonators in thermally evaporated As2S3 and Ge17Sb12S71 chalcogenide glass films are designed and fabricated using standard UV lithography and characterized. Our pulley coupler configuration demonstrates coupling of the resonators to monolithically integrated photonic wire waveguides without resorting to demanding fine-line lithography. Microdisk resonators in As2S3 support whispering-gallery-mode with cavity quality factors (Q) exceeding 2 x 10(5), the highest Q value reported in resonator structures in chalcogenide glasses to the best of our knowledge. We have successfully demonstrated a lab-on-a-chip prototype sensor device with the integration of our resonator with planar microfluidic systems. The sensor shows a refractive index sensitivity of 182 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and a wavelength resolution of 0.1 pm through a resonant peak fit. This corresponds to a refractive index detection limit of 8 x 10(-7) RIU at 1550 nm in wavelength, which could be further improved by shifting the operating wavelength to a region where water absorption is reduced. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America