Perforated hollow-core optical waveguides for on-chip atomic spectroscopy and gas sensing.

A hollow-core waveguide structure for on-chip atomic spectroscopy is presented. The devices are based on Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguides and may be used for a wide variety of applications which rely on the interaction of light with gases and vapors. The designs presented here feature short delivery paths of the atomic vapor into the hollow waveguide. They also have excellent environmental stability by incorporating buried solid-core waveguides to deliver light to the hollow cores. Completed chips were packaged with an Rb source and the F = 3 ≥ F' = 2, 3, 4 transitions of the D2 line in 85Rb were monitored for optical absorption. Maximum absorption peak depths of 9% were measured.