Silicon‐Photonics Point Sensor for High‐Resolution Optoacoustic Imaging

The recent development of ultrasound sensing using the silicon-photonics platform has enabled super-resolution optoacoustic imaging not possible by piezoelectric technology or polymeric optical microresonators. silicon waveguide etalon detector (SWED) design exploits sub-micrometer light confinement in cross-section a strip to achieve sensor aperture which is 13-fold 30-fold smaller than cutoff wavelength sensor. While its performance near-field scanning been previously studied, operational characteristics this as it relates conventional applications are known. Here, for first time, application SWED mesoscopy investigated, interaction with far-field characterized, acoustic point spread function up depth 10 mm measured, and 3D vasculature-mimicking phantoms imaged. measured shows that surface waves can degrade lateral resolution. Nevertheless, superior resolution demonstrated over any state-of-the-art sensor, whole range depths interest mesoscopy. Silicon photonics proposed powerful promising new ultrasonics optoacoustics.