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Ultrasensitive Silicon Photonic Refractive Index Sensor Based on Hybrid Double Slot Subwavelength Grating Microring
Kaiwei Lu1,2, Beiju Huang1,3,4, Xiaoqing Lv1
1Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 28, 2024
Summary
Researchers developed a novel hybrid waveguide Bragg double slot subwavelength grating microring resonator (HDSSWG-MRR) for enhanced refractive index sensing. This silicon photonic sensor achieves a record sensitivity of 1005 nm/RIU, significantly improving detection capabilities.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and optical sensing
- Materials science for sensor development
- Nanophotonics for chemical and biological detection
Background:
- Silicon photonic microring resonators offer compact, high-resolution refractive index sensing.
- Subwavelength grating (SWG) waveguides enhance light-matter interaction for improved sensitivity.
- Existing SWG ring resonator sensors face challenges in further sensitivity enhancement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate a novel hybrid waveguide Bragg double slot subwavelength grating microring resonator (HDSSWG-MRR) refractive index sensor.
- To significantly enhance the sensitivity and performance of silicon photonic refractive index sensors.
- To achieve a high Q-factor and a low limit of detection for precise analyte detection.
Main Methods:
- Design and fabrication of a hybrid waveguide Bragg double slot subwavelength grating microring resonator structure.
- Operation and characterization of the HDSSWG-MRR sensor in a water refractive index environment.
- Analysis of the sensor's sensitivity, Q-factor, and limit of detection.
Main Results:
- Achieved a record sensitivity of 1005 nm/RIU, surpassing existing silicon photonic micro ring sensors by 182 nm/RIU.
- Obtained a high Q-factor of 22,429, indicating excellent spectral resolution.
- Calculated a low limit of detection of 6.86 × 10-5 RIU, demonstrating high precision.
Conclusions:
- The proposed HDSSWG-MRR sensor architecture significantly advances silicon photonic refractive index sensing.
- The novel waveguide design enables unprecedented sensitivity and a low limit of detection for various analytes.
- This technology holds great promise for applications in chemical, biological, and gas detection.
