Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada As Represented by the Minister of Industry Through the Communications Research Centre Canada

Chantal Blanchetiere

Claire Callender

Stephen J Mihailov

Patrick Dumais

Ping Lu

Dan Grobnic

Huimin Ding

Robert Walker

Xiaoli Dai

Christopher W Smelser

Gino Cuglietta

Chris Ledderhof

Julian Noad

Glendon Lovell

An optical sensor for sensing information relating to an analyte liquid or gas, has a a planar substrate having a refractive index n. The planar substrate supports a ridge waveguide having an unclad top portion having a refractive index n. The substrate serves as cladding layer for the ridge waveguide at a location where the ridge waveguide contacts the substrate. A Bragg grating inscribed in the ridge waveguide has two modes for providing information relating to both temperature and refractive index of the surrounding analyte liquid or gas. A cladding mode has a different response to the analyte when compared to a Bragg resonance response. Both modes have a same reaction to temperature, wherein said Bragg grating is formed within the unclad region of ridge waveguide, wherein n&#x3c;n. Advantageously multiple parameters can be sensed using only a single Bragg grating.

Ridge waveguide optical sensor incorporating a Bragg grating

The invention provides a method for fabricating planar waveguiding structures with embedded microchannels. The method includes the step of depositing, over a planar template having at least one indented feature comprising a ridge of a first optical material and a narrow trench adjacent thereto, a second optical material, and the step of subsequent annealing thereof, so that an embedded hollow microchannel forms within the trench. The method provides planar structures wherein the ridge and the embedded microchannel cooperate to form an optical waveguiding structure having a waveguiding direction collinear with the embedded microchannel. Embodiments of the method for forming microfluidic devices integrating ridge waveguides with hollow microchannels having surface access points for fluid delivery, and for forming photonic crystals, are disclosed together with corresponding device embodiments.

Waveguiding structures with embedded microchannels and method for fabrication thereof

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Chantal Blanchetiere