Visible arrayed waveguide grating (400nm–700nm) for ultra-wide band (400–1700nm) integrated spectrometer for spectral tissue sensing

Summary form only given. Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) find increasing use in applications in life science and medical that use wavelengths covering the full visible, near and short wave infrared region. In this paper we describe a PIC spectrometer for spectral tissue sensing, that measures the response of a broad band source, emitting light from 400 to 1700nm, scattered from the tip of a photonic needle that is in close contact with tissue. [1]. The detected spectrum enables to distinguish between different tissue constituents and types and serves as real-time feedback to a physician during an intervention. Using PICs supports the desire to lower the size and increase the usability of such equipment, making it more portable.The ultra-wide band spectrometer described in this paper is fabricated in TriPleXTM waveguide technology [2,3]. This Si3N4/SiO2 waveguide platform has the specific advantage that it is transparent and has low propagation losses over a broad range (405 to 2350nm). Furthermore the waveguide cross-section can be tailored to match the single mode waveguide condition for the lower region (400-1000nm) and the higher region (1000-1700nm).