Enhanced sensitivity of silicon-photonics-based ultrasound detection via BCB coating

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that coating silicon waveguides with BCB significantly enhances ultrasound sensitivity by increasing photo-elastic response and reducing susceptibility to reverberations, outperforming traditional silica cladding.

Contribution

Replacing silica with BCB over-cladding in silicon waveguides markedly improves ultrasound detection sensitivity and reduces reverberation effects, a novel approach in silicon photonics.

Findings

BCB coating increases photo-elastic response by an order of magnitude.

Enhanced sensitivity comparable to polymer waveguides.

Reduced surface acoustic wave reverberations with BCB.

Abstract

Ultrasound detection via silicon waveguides relies on the ability of acoustic waves to modulate the effective refractive index of the guided modes. However, the low photo-elastic response of silicon and silica limits the sensitivity of conventional silicon-on-insulator (SOI) sensors, in which the silicon core is surrounded by a silica cladding. In this paper, we demonstrate that the sensitivity of silicon waveguides to ultrasound may be significantly enhanced by replacing the silica over-cladding with bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB) - a transparent polymer with a high photo-elastic coefficient. In our experimental study, the response to ultrasound, in terms of the induced modulation in the effective refractive index, achieved for a BCB-coated silicon waveguide with TM polarization was comparable to values previously reported for polymer waveguides and an order of magnitude higher than the response achieved by an optical fiber. In addition, in our study the susceptibility of the sensors to surface acoustic waves and reverberations was reduced for both TE and TM modes when the BCB over-cladding was used.