Heterogeneous Integration of Mid-Infrared Detectors with Silicon-on-Sapphire Photonics for Compact Hyperspectral Imagers

Presenter: Max Lien
Organization: Northrop Grumman
Co-Authors: Richard Davis (NG), KK Loi (NG), Katherine Fountaine (NG), Nancy Lin (NG), Mark Knight (NG), Sam Keo (JPL), Cory Hill (JPL), David Ting (JPL), Sarath Gunapala (JPL), Alexander Soibel (JPL), Stephanie Sandor-Leahy (NG)

Abstract

Hyperspectral imaging in the mid- and long-wave infrared is a critical tool for remote sensing of the environment. Future proliferated Earth imaging missions will require new sensors for integration with miniaturized payloads. Photonic sensors offer a promising approach to miniaturization, but the development of mid- and long-wave infrared photonic components remains challenging. Under the ESTO ACT project “Integrated Photonics for IR Hyperspectral Sensing”, we address this technology gap in the mid-wave infrared by heterogeneously integrating type-II strained layer superlattice detectors with silicon-on-sapphire photonics. We measured the quantum efficiency of integrated detectors as well as the spectral characteristics of ring resonator wavelength filters that form the core of an integrated photonic spectrometer. Our results demonstrate integrated photonic components that can enable compact hyperspectral imaging spectrometers in the mid-wave infrared.