Tunable-Resonator-Based Temperature Sensor Interrogated through Optical Power Detection

An interrogation scheme based on optical power monitoring was proposed and implemented to demonstrate a compact photonic temperature sensor, which incorporates a tunable silicon resonator with a heating electrode, a single-wavelength light source, and a photodetector. The temperature is basically determined by tracking the notch of the resonator, which is displaced by the thermal effects. By utilizing the proposed interrogation scheme, which did not require any complex spectral scanning, the ambient temperature was successfully estimated with a resolution of better than 0.1 °C over the range of 20 to 50 °C, and the electrical power consumption was ~600 mW.