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Plasmonic Perfect Absorber Utilizing Polyhexamethylene Biguanide Polymer for Carbon Dioxide Gas Sensing Application
Muhammad Irfan1, Yousuf Khan1, Atiq Ur Rehman1
1Nanophotonics Research Group, Department of Electronic Engineering, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta 87300, Pakistan.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 13, 2023
Summary
This study introduces a novel photonic crystal cavity sensor for detecting carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. The plasmonic sensor achieves high sensitivity by utilizing silver structures and a functional polymer, offering a compact design for gas sensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Materials Science
- Chemical Sensing
Background:
- Photonic crystal cavities (PhC-cavities) offer unique light-matter interaction properties.
- Plasmonic effects, particularly with metallic nanostructures, enhance light absorption and sensing capabilities.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensing is crucial for environmental monitoring and industrial process control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To numerically investigate a perfect absorber based on a PhC-cavity for CO2 gas sensing.
- To harness plasmonic effects using silver structures for enhanced absorption.
- To develop a compact and sensitive sensor for detecting CO2 concentrations.
Main Methods:
- Numerical investigation of a four-layer sensor design incorporating a PhC-cavity and silver stripes.
- Utilizing Polyhexamethylene biguanide polymer as the host functional material.
- Analyzing the shift in resonant wavelength due to changes in the host material's refractive index with varying CO2 concentrations.
Main Results:
- The sensor demonstrates perfect absorption, leveraging plasmonic effects from silver.
- A maximum sensitivity of 17.32 pm/ppm was achieved for CO2 detection up to 524 ppm.
- A figure of merit (FOM) of 2.9 RIU⁻¹ was obtained at 366 ppm CO2 concentration.
- The sensor exhibits a blue shift in resonant wavelength as CO2 concentration increases, due to a decrease in the host material's refractive index.
Conclusions:
- The proposed PhC-cavity sensor with plasmonic enhancement is effective for CO2 gas detection.
- The straightforward and compact design allows for potential adaptation to other sensing applications with different host materials.
- The study highlights the sensor's potential for precise environmental monitoring of CO2 levels.
