Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

$Interference and Diffraction$ 02:18

Interference and Diffraction

Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.

Standing Waves in a Cavity

Standing Waves in a Cavity

A household microwave and lasers are examples of standing electromagnetic waves in a cavity. When two conducting metal plates are placed parallel at the nodal planes, it creates a cavity where standing waves are formed. The cavity between the two planes is analogous to a stretched string held at the points x = 0 and x = L. Here, the distance 'L' between the two planes must be an integer multiple of half of the wavelength. The wavelengths that satisfy this condition are given by:

The de Broglie Wavelength

The de Broglie Wavelength

In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...

Perception of Sound Waves

Perception of Sound Waves

The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...

Interference and Superposition of Waves

Interference and Superposition of Waves

When two waves of the same nature occur in the same region simultaneously, they result in interference. Interference of waves implies that the net effect of the waves is the sum of the individual waves' effects. However, it does not imply that the individual waves affect the propagation of other waves.
Interference occurs in mechanical waves, such as sound waves, waves on a string, and surface water waves. Mechanical waves correspond to the physical displacement of particles. Hence,...

Propagation of Waves

Propagation of Waves

When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Ultra-high sensitivity gas sensors employing Bloch-like surface waves in a metal-dielectric one-dimensional photonic crystal.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

A novel fiber optic temperature sensor based on CCT measurement and tipped with a PDMS-YAG:Ce phosphor mixture.

iScience·2026

Same author

Thickness and Wavelength Optimizations of a High-Performance SPR Sensor Employing a Silver Layer and Black Phosphorus in Principal Directions.

Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)·2025

Same author

From Bloch surface waves to cavity-mode resonances reaching an ultrahigh sensitivity and a figure of merit.

Optics letters·2023

Same author

Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer.

Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)·2022

Same author

Distributed Bragg Reflectors Employed in Sensors and Filters Based on Cavity-Mode Spectral-Domain Resonances.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Wideband Optical Detector of Ultrasound for Medical Imaging Applications

Wideband Optical Detector of Ultrasound for Medical Imaging Applications

Published on: May 11, 2014

Sensing concept based on Bloch surface waves and wavelength interrogation.

Michal Gryga, Dalibor Ciprian, Petr Hlubina

|February 29, 2020

Summary

Researchers developed a novel sensing method using Bloch surface waves (BSWs) and wavelength interrogation. This technique offers a new approach for detecting substances like ethanol vapors with high sensitivity.

More Related Videos

Terahertz Microfluidic Sensing Using a Parallel-plate Waveguide Sensor

Terahertz Microfluidic Sensing Using a Parallel-plate Waveguide Sensor

Published on: August 30, 2012

$Synthesis and Operation of Fluorescent-core Microcavities for Refractometric Sensing$

Synthesis and Operation of Fluorescent-core Microcavities for Refractometric Sensing

Published on: March 13, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Wideband Optical Detector of Ultrasound for Medical Imaging Applications

Wideband Optical Detector of Ultrasound for Medical Imaging Applications

Published on: May 11, 2014

Terahertz Microfluidic Sensing Using a Parallel-plate Waveguide Sensor

Terahertz Microfluidic Sensing Using a Parallel-plate Waveguide Sensor

Published on: August 30, 2012

$Synthesis and Operation of Fluorescent-core Microcavities for Refractometric Sensing$

Synthesis and Operation of Fluorescent-core Microcavities for Refractometric Sensing

Published on: March 13, 2013

Area of Science:

Photonics
Nanotechnology
Materials Science

Background:

Standard sensing methods using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) can be limited.
One-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPhCs) offer unique optical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a new sensing concept based on Bloch surface waves (BSWs).
To demonstrate the effectiveness of BSWs for sensing applications, offering an alternative to SPR.

Main Methods:

Utilized a 1DPhC multilayer structure (TiO2/SiO2) for BSW excitation.
Employed wavelength interrogation and interference of s- and p-polarized waves.
Verified the concept experimentally using ethanol vapors.

Main Results:

Achieved BSW excitation detectable as a dip in reflectance, comparable to SPR.
Demonstrated high sensitivities (3272 nm/RIU and 1403 nm/RIU) and figures of merit (43.7 RIU⁻¹ and 173.2 RIU⁻¹).
Successfully resolved BSW resonances within the band gaps of the 1DPhC.

Conclusions:

The developed BSW sensing concept is a viable and effective alternative to traditional SPR sensing.
This new method shows potential for broad applications in various sensing fields.
The study represents the first demonstration of this SPR-like response using BSWs.