SBIR Phase I: High-Performance Integrated Photonic Raman Analyzers

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of optical sensors that make on-demand and realtime chemical analysis accessible to everyone. Currently, most reliable chemical analyses and tests require expensive, bulky equipment that are only available in centralized laboratories. The lack of access to on-demand chemical analysis has negatively impacted both society and industries; for instance, the absence of quick chemical screening contributed to loss of life from fentanyl overdoses, and lack of realtime chemical data has led to inefficiencies in manufacturing industries. This SBIR project focuses on addressing chemical analysis needs of the industrial sector, which urgently requires sensor technology to advance research and development and improve manufacturing. While the optical sensors proposed in this project have demonstrated the ability to provide reliable chemical measurements, their high cost and large size have limited their widespread accessibility. This SBIR project proposes a novel approach that leverages advanced chip manufacturing technology to reduce the cost and size of these sensors, making them broadly accessible. This will not only ensure the commercial success of this technology but also its broader impact on society and manufacturing industries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on the design, optimization, modeling, and initial validation of a high-sensitivity integrated photonic Raman spectrometer. The large size and high cost of existing Raman systems have limited their broader impact, and the goal of this SBIR project is to demonstrate the feasibility of achieving the performance of large Raman spectrometers in a compact form-factor. This project employs a novel approach called swept-source Raman spectroscopy, where a tunable laser is used instead of a dispersive spectrometer for scanning the Raman spectrum. This new architecture is more amenable to miniaturization, as photonic integration of the tunable laser does not impact light-collection and sensitivity -- unlike the miniaturization of dispersive spectrometers. Nevertheless, this architecture requires widely tunable lasers, which are challenging to implement on-chip. A wide tuning range is required to build a generalized Raman spectrometer capable of covering the entire fingerprint region of the spectrum. This SBIR project explores novel integrated photonic architectures for implementing the tunable laser, as well as wavelength tracking devices to address the challenges of on-chip lasers. This project also studies the impact of fabrication tolerances to ensure that the proposed designs are robust for mass production. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.