A two-dimensional array of gold nano-patches on a highly reflective mirror is proposed for refractive index sensing based on changes in the reflected colors. The grating on the mirror creates localized surface plasmon resonances resulting in a minimum in the visible reflectance spectra. The wavelength of the resonance can be tuned by changing the width of the nano-patches and is also dependent on the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The color variation due to change in the refractive index is measured and used to realize a simple low-cost sensor with a refractive index resolution better than 10⁻⁵ just using image processing. The efficacy of the proposed sensor is also demonstrated for surface sensing by depositing thin layers of silicon dioxide. The color difference due to the addition of a 3 nm thick layer of silicon dioxide is detectable by the naked eye and deposition thickness of 2 Å can be resolved using image processing.

In this study, we demonstrate on-chip terahertz absorption spectroscopy using dielectric waveguide structures. The structures’ evanescent fields interact with the sample material surrounding the waveguide, enabling the absorption signature of the material to be captured. The ability of fabricated terahertz dielectric waveguide structures, based on the newly developed silicon-BCB-quartz platform, to capture the fingerprint of α-lactose powder (as an example material) at 532 GHz is examined. Enhancement of the spectroscopy sensitivity through techniques such as tapering the waveguide, confining the field in a slot dielectric waveguide, and increasing the interaction length using a spiral-shaped waveguide are investigated experimentally. The proposed on-chip spectroscopy structures outperform conventional and state-of-the-art approaches in terms of sensitivity and compactness.

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