Sensing based on Bloch surface wave and self-referenced guided mode resonances employing a one-dimensional photonic crystal

Abstract

Sensing abilities of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1DPhC) represented by a multilayer dielectric structure are analyzed theoretically and experimentally, using a new wavelength interrogation interference method. The structure comprising a glass substrate and six bilayers of TiO2/SiO2 with a termination layer of TiO2 is employed in both gas sensing based on the Bloch surface wave (BSW) resonance and liquid analyte sensing based on a self-referenced guide-mode resonance (GMR). We model the spectral interference reflectance responses in the Kretschmann configuration with a coupling prism made of BK7 glass and show that a sharp dip with maximum depth associated with the BSW excitation is red-shifted as the refractive index (RI) changes in a range of 1–1.005. Thus, a sensitivity of 1456 nm per RI unit (RIU) and figure of merit (FOM) of 91 RIU−1 are reached. Similarly, we model the responses for aqueous solutions of ethanol to show that dips of maximum depth are associated with the GMRs, and the highest sensitivity and FOM reached are 751 nm/RIU and 25 RIU−1, respectively. Moreover, we show that one of the dips is with the smallest shift as the RI changes, and hence it can be used as a reference. The theoretical results are confirmed by the experimental ones when the BSW resonance is used in sensing of humid air with a sensitivity of 0.027 nm/%relative humidity (RH) and FOM of 1.4×10−3 %RH−1. Similarly, the GMR is used in sensing of aqueous solutions of ethanol, and the highest sensitivity and FOM reached 682 nm/RIU and 23 RIU−1, respectively. The reference dip is also resolved and this self-reference makes the measurement more accurate and repeatable, and less sensitive to optomechanical drifts.

Efficient Optical Sensing Based on Phase Shift of Waves Supported by a One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal

“…In Figure 4 b, the reflectance of the structure with 100 bilayers of SiO 2 /TiO 2 as a function of is shown. The matrix formalism was used in calculating the reflectance, assuming approximate extinction coefficients for TiO 2 and SiO 2 layers of and , respectively [ 16 , 17 ]. This figure clearly shows that the Bloch surface wave resonance shows up as a shallow dip in the reflectance spectrum.…”

“…The 1DPhCs can also act as planar waveguides [ 4 ] and the guided waves (GWs) can be used in sensing applications [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Last but not the least, the Bloch surface waves (BSWs) propagating along the interface of the 1DPhC with an external medium are widely used in sensing, including the angular [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] or wavelength [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ] interrogations. Thus, the BSW-based sensors extend mature technologies applied in sensing that have several applications in different fields of biology [ 18 ], physics [ 18 ], and chemistry [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Novel Photonic Bio-Chip Sensor Based on Strained Graphene Sheets for Blood Cell Sorting

“…Second order partial differential equations, named as wave equations, are the fundamental formulas that are utilized to analyze the propagation of an electromagnetic wave, theoretically in both uniform and layered structures [34,35]. The homogeneous form of these equations is considered as:…”

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

“…Complex dielectric structures [ 1 ] such as one-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPhCs) or distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) have attracted enormous interest in research of various topics and applications, such as omnidirectional reflectors [ 2 ], polarization selectors [ 3 ], optical filters [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], and optical sensors, including Bloch surface wave (BSW) based sensors [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], Tamm plasmon (TP)-based sensors [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], gas sensors [ 15 , 26 , 27 ], and photonic biosensors [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”