| High qualify factor (Q) integrated micro-cavities are not only one of the key elements in integrated photonics but also have numerous other applications such as fundamental physics studies and biosensing. Since the invention of silica ultra-high quality factor micro-disks and micro-toroids, they have proven to be very efficient in these applications. However, currently, optical fiber tapers are used to couple light into the micro-disks and toroids. In order to use them in practical applications, they have to be fabricated with a waveguide on the same substrate. The focus of this dissertation is the design of a new waveguide which enables the development of a fully integrated waveguide-resonator system.;The silica integrated waveguides which are directly fabricated on a silicon substrate are demonstrated in the first part of the thesis. Silica splitters based on the silica waveguides are demonstrated as another essential element in photonic circuitry. The loss mechanisms which impact the quality factor of micro-toroids are investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Then, a novel approach for fabricating fully-integrated silica ultra-high Q toroidal resonators integrated with on-chip waveguides is demonstrated. Temperature sensing, UV sensing and power dependence experiments are performed using this fully integrated ultra-high Q toroidal resonator system. |
