Design and analysis of Si photonic NaCl sensors based on suspended microdisk resonators

Abstract

In this paper, two optical refractive index sensors, respectively based on a suspended microdisk resonator (SMDR) and a sub-wavelength Bragg grating suspended microdisk resonator (SWG-SMDR) have been designed on a silicon on insulator (SOI) platform, and their optical and sensing performances have been analyzed using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. It has been shown that the Bragg grating increases the optical confinement factor in the sensing region and, consequently, improves the light–matter interaction and sensitivity. Considering concentrations of 0 to 25% for the NaCl dissolved in the deionized water, the enhanced sensitivity and FOM of the SWG-SMDR sensor with the miniaturized optimal geometrical dimensions are 163.77 nm RIU−1 and 10.81 RIU−1, respectively. This compact optical sensor enhances the sensitivity and FOM by combining effects of the Bragg grating and suspension configuration in improving the light–matter interaction.