Recent Advances in Silicon Photonic Sensors

Dear Colleagues,

Silicon photonic sensors have emerged as a transformative enabling technology in the era of miniaturized, high-performance sensing systems, leveraging compatibility with mature CMOS manufacturing processes, exceptional sensitivity, low power consumption, and inherent integration capabilities. These sensors are now integral to a diverse range of cutting-edge applications: in optical communication, they are integrated with data transmission modules to enable real-time link monitoring and wavelength stabilization; in biomedical engineering, they facilitate label-free molecular detection, single-cell analysis, and wearable health monitoring; in environmental and industrial sectors, they support trace gas analysis, precision temperature/pressure measurement; and in autonomous systems, they serve as core components of solid-state LiDAR for obstacle recognition and environmental perception.

At the same time, silicon photonic measurements are known to be degraded by inherent challenges, such as on-chip insertion loss, thermal drift and cross-sensitivity to external vibrations. These issues can lead to reduced measurement accuracy, unstable long-term performance, and barriers to cost-effective mass production. To address these limitations, silicon photonic sensor signals are increasingly combined with complementary technologies—including heterogeneous material integration and advanced signal processing. Innovative design paradigms are being developed to enhance robustness; machine learning algorithms have emerged as a powerful tool for real-time calibration. These advances collectively aim to minimize the impact of technical bottlenecks on the performance of silicon photonic sensing systems.

This Special Issue aims to gather novel developments in the field of silicon photonic sensors, encompassing both groundbreaking methodological advances and pioneering results in real-world applications. 

Dr. Beiju Huang
Dr. Zan Zhang
Guest Editors

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