Abstract

Sensing platforms based upon photonic integrated circuits have shown considerable promise; however, they require corresponding advancements in integrated optical readout technologies. Here, we present an on-chip spectrometer that leverages an integrated thin-film lithium niobate modulator to produce a frequency-agile electro-optic frequency comb for interrogating chip-scale temperature and acceleration sensors. The chirped comb process allows for ultralow radiofrequency drive voltages, which are as much as seven orders of magnitude less than the lowest found in the literature and are generated using a chip-scale, microcontroller-driven direct digital synthesizer. The on-chip comb spectrometer is able to simultaneously interrogate both an on-chip temperature sensor and an off-chip, microfabricated optomechanical accelerometer with cutting-edge sensitivities of ≈5µK� Hz −1/2 and ≈130µm� s −2 � Hz −1/2 , respectively. This platform is compatible with a broad range of existing photonic integrated circuit technologies, where its combination of frequency agility and ultralow radiofrequency power requirements are expected to have applications in fields such as quantum science and optical computing.

Publication Details
Publication Type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2024
Volume
11
Issue
11
Number of Pages
7
ISSN Number
2334-2536
DOI
10.1364/OPTICA.506108
URL
https://opg.optica.org/abstract.cfm?URI=optica-11-3-392
Journal
Optica
Contributors
Start Page
392
Date Published
03/2024