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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Terahertz Microfluidic Sensing Using a Parallel-plate Waveguide Sensor
Published on: August 30, 2012
Optofluidic refractive-index sensors employing bent waveguide structures for low-cost, rapid chemical and biomedical
Abstract:
We propose and develop an intensity-detection-based refractive-index (RI) sensor for low-cost, rapid RI sensing. The sensor is composed of a polymer bent ridge waveguide (BRWG) structure on a low-cost glass substrate and is integrated with a microfluidic channel. Different-RI solutions flowing through the BRWG sensing region induce output optical power variations caused by optical bend losses, enabling simple and real-time RI detection. Additionally, the sensors are fabricated using rapid and cost-effective vacuum-less processes, attaining the low cost and high throughput required for mass production. A good RI solution of 5.31 10-4 × RIU-1 is achieved from the RI experiments. This study demonstrates mass-producible and compact RI sensors for rapid and sensitive chemical analysis and biomedical sensing.
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