Angle-multiplexed waveguide resonance of high sensitivity and its application to nanosecond dynamics of molecular assemblies.

We report here the experimental demonstration of a high-performance optical waveguide resonance (WR) platform based on a judicious design of a dielectric/metal stack and a fabrication process that delivers an extraordinarily low-loss optical waveguide over a noble-metal thin film. By using an atomic layer deposition process to grow a dielectric film (Al(2)O(3)) of exceptional optical quality and precise thickness over a metal layer (Ag), we have reached a deep and narrow WR that allowed us to experimentally measure a performance of the WR device that is 20 times superior to the conventional surface plasmon resonance sensor. To the best of our knowledge, these results represent the best performance of a WR device reported so far in the literature.

Low-Loss Optical Waveguides for the Near Ultra-Violet and Visible Spectral Regions with Al(2)O(3) Thin Films from Atomic Layer Deposition.

In this work, we report low-loss single-mode integrated optical waveguides in the near ultra-violet and visible spectral regions with aluminum oxide (Al(2)O(3)) films using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. Alumina films were deposited on glass and fused silica substrates by the ALD process at substrate/chamber temperatures of 200 °C and 300 °C. Transmission spectra and waveguide measurements were performed in our alumina films with thicknesses in the range of 210 - 380 nm for the optical characterization.

Investigations on the Q and CT Bands of Cytochrome c Submonolayer Adsorbed on an Alumina Surface Using Broadband Spectroscopy with Single-Mode Integrated Optical Waveguides.

In this work, we report experimental results on the molar absorptivity of cytochrome c adsorbed at different submonolayer levels onto an aluminum oxide waveguide surface; our data show a clear dependence of the protein optical properties on its surface density. The measurements were performed using the broadband, single-mode, integrated optical waveguide spectroscopic technique, which is an extremely sensitive tool able to reach submonolayer levels of detection required for this type of studies. This investigation focuses on the molar absorptivity at the Q-band (centered at 525 nm) and, for the first time to our knowledge, the weak charge transfer (CT) band (centered at 695 nm) of surface-adsorbed cyt c.