In this numerical study, we show that by exploiting the advantages of the horizontal silicon slot wave-guide structure the nonlinear interaction can be significantly increased compared to vertical slot waveguides. The deposition of a 20 nm thin optically nonlinear layer with low refractive index sandwiched between two silicon wires of 220 nm width and 205 nm height could enable a nonlinearity coefficient gamma of more than 2 x 10(7) W(-1)km(-1).

In this work, we present a significant step toward in vivo ophthalmic optical coherence tomography and angiography on a photonic integrated chip. The diffraction gratings used in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography can be replaced by photonic integrated circuits comprising an arrayed waveguide grating. Two arrayed waveguide grating designs with 256 channels were tested, which enabled the first chip-based optical coherence tomography and angiography in vivo three-dimensional human retinal measurements. Design 1 supports a bandwidth of 22 nm, with which a sensitivity of up to 91 dB (830 µW) and an axial resolution of 10.7 µm was measured. Design 2 supports a bandwidth of 48 nm, with which a sensitivity of 90 dB (480 µW) and an axial resolution of 6.5 µm was measured. The silicon nitride-based integrated optical waveguides were fabricated with a fully CMOS-compatible process, which allows their monolithic co-integration on top of an optoelectronic silicon chip. As a benchmark for chip-based optical coherence tomography, tomograms generated by a commercially available clinical spectral-domain optical coherence tomography system were compared to those acquired with on-chip gratings. The similarities in the tomograms demonstrate the significant clinical potential for further integration of optical coherence tomography on a chip system.

A complementary cell analysis method has been developed to assess the dynamic interactions of tumor cells with resident tissue and immune cells using optical light scattering and impedance sensing to shed light on tumor cell behavior. The combination of electroanalytical and optical biosensing technologies integrated in a lab-on-a-chip allows for continuous, label-free, and noninvasive probing of dynamic cell-to-cell interactions between adherent and nonadherent cocultures, thus providing real-time insights into tumor cell responses under physiologically relevant conditions. While the study of adherent cocultures is important for the understanding and suppression of metastatic invasion, the analysis of tumor cell interactions with nonadherent immune cells plays a vital role in cancer immunotherapy research. For the first time, the direct cell-to-cell interactions of tumor cells with bead-activated primary T cells were continuously assessed using an effector cell to target a cell ratio of 10:1.

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The fabrication of flexible low-loss, thin-film, foil-based polymer waveguides with grating couplers employing a high-volume industrial roll-to-roll process is demonstrated. The embossed waveguides feature propagation losses of less than 1 dB/cm (633 nm, TE polarization), bending losses of 0.4-0.8 dB/360° for bending radii as small as 2 mm, and grating coupling efficiencies of up to 25%. In addition, the waveguides possess a thermo-optic coefficient of -1.58×10(-4) 1/°C. The fabricated waveguides are promising candidates for short-distance data communication as well as for sensing applications.