Plasmofluidic Disk Resonators.
Min-Suk Kwon1, Bonwoo Ku1, Yonghan Kim1
1School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan 689-798, Republic of Korea.
Scientific Reports
|March 17, 2016
Summary
Researchers developed novel plasmofluidic disk resonators (PDRs) for advanced optical sensing and modulation. These silicon-based devices confine resonance modes in fluids, enabling highly sensitive refractive index detection and compact liquid crystal modulators.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Nanotechnology
- Integrated Optics
- Plasmonics
Background:
- Silicon ring and disk resonators are crucial for optical signal processing and sensing.
- Miniaturization of optical devices necessitates silicon-based plasmonic resonators.
- Existing silicon plasmonic resonators have limited fluid interaction due to mode confinement in solid regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report the realization of plasmofluidic disk resonators (PDRs) for enhanced fluid interaction.
- To enable effective use of resonance modes in fluids for sensing and modulation.
- To overcome limitations of existing silicon plasmonic resonators.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of PDRs using standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology.
- Design involves a submicrometer silicon disk surrounded by metal with a 30-nm fluid channel.
- Coupling PDRs to metal-insulator-silicon-insulator-metal waveguides.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated strong resonance mode confinement within the fluid channel.
- Observed a 30 nm transmission spectrum red-shift for a 0.141 refractive index change in fluid.
- Showcased potential for PDRs as highly sensitive refractive index sensors.
Conclusions:
- PDRs offer a promising platform for refractive index sensing with minimal analyte.
- PDRs integrated with liquid crystals could function as ultracompact intensity modulators controlled by low voltages.
