Design, fabrication, and characterization of a lithium niobate optomechanical photodetector based on released whispering-gallery-mode microdisk resonators

Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) is a piezoelectric material that also exhibits promising optical characteristics such as low optical loss and high electro-optic coefficient, making it an interesting choice for Radio Frequency (RF) micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) and devices, electro-optical modulators and tunable filters, and other high-speed and low-loss photonic devices. In this work, an opto-electro-mechanical device for detecting light power is developed on a Lithium Niobate platform using a combination of Whispering-Gallery-Mode (WGM) micro-disk optical resonators and suspended RF MEMS acoustic resonators. The fundamental idea behind this device is changing the device’s measured impedance by shifting the resonance frequency of the acoustic resonator, which is performed by an increase in the temperature of the device caused by the input light. The theory, design, simulation, fabrication process, as well as the measured response of the device are presented. The device manifests a responsivity of up to 123 Ω/mW or %3.44/mW at its 3.5 GHz fundamental mode. Lastly, the results are analyzed, and potential ideas for future research based on this work are proposed.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Meygoo Lavasani, Ali

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gong, Songbin

• Lithium Niobate, Whispering-Gallery-Mode (WGM) Micro-disk Optical Resonators, RF MEMS Acoustic Resonators, Optomechanical Photodetector.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2021 Ali Lavasani

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110486

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110486