Refractive Index Unit Research Articles

Design of a nanoscale gold-coated photonic crystal fiber biosensor

A simple two-layer refractive index sensor based on surface plasmon resonance has been proposed in this work, which evinces high sensitivity for detecting unknown analytes. This sensor design includes hexagonal- and octagonal-shaped air-hole rings, which have been introduced in the first and second layers, respectively. By performing this amalgamation of different types of air holes, this gold-coated plasmonic sensing scheme provides the broad sensing limit of the analyte, which is 1.32–1.40. The sensing performance has been examined by applying the finite element method, which is being used for modeling complex and irregular-shaped geometry. The wavelength interrogation method has demonstrated a maximal wavelength sensitivity of 9,000 nm/RIU (refractive index unit). The maximal amplitude sensitivity of 1902 RIU−1 has been exhibited in the y-polarized mode using the amplitude interrogation method. Moreover, the maximal sensor resolution of 1.11 × 10−5 RIU covers the entire sensing range. Furthermore, by adjusting the air-hole diameter, pitch, and depth of the gold layer coating, many more investigations have been demonstrated in this design. This highly sensitive sensor is very convincing to be used in many applications like chemical, biological, and also in physical sensing analyses.

Ferromagnetic Subwavelength Periodic Nanogroove Structure with High Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect for Sensing Applications

The transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) with gas sensing ability was comprehensively investigated in this study by directly patterning a subwavelength periodic nanogroove on a cobalt film. High-amplitude TMOKE was observed for the proposed structure, which was 243 times as intense as that of a smooth film. Further, the physical mechanism responsible for this significant improvement is elucidated by the effective activation of surface plasmon resonance at the gas–cobalt interface. The mechanism was established by investigating the electric field distributions at a resonant angle of incidence and the reflectance spectra associated with the metallic nanogroove grating structure. Moreover, we demonstrate that this scheme has a high detection sensitivity of up to 112.2° per refractive index unit and a large figure of merit, allowing the system to be integrated with microfluidics for sensing applications.

Graphene metasurface for broadband absorption and terahertz sensing

A plasmon-induced terahertz metamaterial absorber is proposed. The bottom ground layer uses gold to block the transmission of terahertz incident waves, and the pattern layer and the ground layer are separated by topas. The 90% absorption bandwidth frequency range of the absorber is 4.6–7.7 THz, and the average absorption rate in this range is 97.6%. Due to the geometric symmetry of the absorber, it has polarization insensitivity. In addition, when the incidence Angle reaches 60 degrees, more than 80% absorption can still be maintained. The numerical simulation shows that the frequency shift of the absorber has a good linear relationship with the change of the refractive index of the proposed absorber, and the sensitivity is 1100 GHz per refractive index unit (GHz/RIU). Therefore, the absorber can be used in more complex electromagnetic scenarios, or as a sensing element.

Multiple Features-Based Improved Nanohole Array Plasmonic Biosensor

In recent years, gold nanohole array-based biosensors have gained tremendous attention due to their high sensitivity, label-free biosensing, and real-time simultaneous multiple analyte detection capabilities. However, nanohole array-based biosensors using conventional sensing methods lack the resolution of traditional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. In this work, we present numerical methods utilizing multiple peaks of these biosensors’ transmission spectra to achieve higher sensitivity and lower detection limits. Using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, we compared the sensing performance of the proposed numerical methods to traditional peak-shift and spectral integration methods. We added noise to the transmission spectra to simulate a realistic system and determined the change in the performance. We also optimized the geometrical parameters of the gold nanohole array for optimal sensing performance. Finally, we applied the proposed method to two critical real-life biosensing applications and reported the sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD). The proposed numerical methods show much higher sensitivity and lower detection limits than the traditional techniques. The observed detection limits are as low as <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim {2} \times {10}^{-{6}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> refractive index unit changes near the surface. The proposed methods can be utilized for any sensing systems that employ transmission spectra and will outperform traditional methods if there are multiple peaks present in the transmission spectra.

Detection of Benzoic Acid Additive Based on a Terahertz Metasurface Sensor

Benzoic acid and its derivative benzoate are widely utilized as food preservatives. This paper presents a highly sensitive method for detecting benzoic acid using a cross-shaped aluminum resonator integrated on top of a polyimide substrate. The resonance dip for benzoic acid was designed to be at 0.93 THz. The terahertz (THz) transmission spectrum was simulated using a designed structure with varying thicknesses of benzoic acid. Analysis of the spectral response of the THz resonance dips to the thickness of the benzoic acid layer shows that the amplitude of the resonance dips generally increases with an increase in the benzoic acid concentration. The spectral frequency shifts and transmission intensities both demonstrate high sensitivity of the metasurface sensor to trace benzoic acid thicknesses. The sensor exhibits a sensitivity of approximately 0.247 THz/RIU (Refractive Index Unit) and FOM (figure of merit) of 3.927/RIU. The THz metasurface sensor is a fast and accurate sensing tool that can detect trace substances, making it crucial in the field of food safety.

Highly sensitive plasmonic biosensor enhanced by perovskite-graphene hybrid configuration

This study theoretically proposes a highly sensitive plasmonic biosensor comprising a silver film, perovskite nanosheets, bi-layer silicon nanosheets, and a graphene overlayer. The introduction of perovskite-graphene hybrid structure can reduce the optical reflectivity of the proposed biosensor configuration so that photons are converted into energy to support surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enhancement. Unlike conventional angular modulation, our proposed biosensor configuration is designed using phase modulation, offering sensitivity enhancements as high as 3 orders of magnitude. Excellent biosensing performances have been examined by optimizing the silver film thickness and the number of perovskite nanosheets. Considering a tiny refractive index change of 0.0012 refractive index unit (RIU) caused by biomolecules adsorption behavior, the optimal plasmonic biosensor configuration of 46-nm silver film–5.7-nm silicon interlayer-1-layer CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite film–0.7-nm silicon interlayer-1-layer graphene can produce the highest detection sensitivity of 1.2314 × 105 degree/RIU. In addition, an excellent linear response in the differential phase can be obtained, as the refractive index variation of the sensing interface can be as low as 10−6 RIU, showing great potential in performing ultrasensitive biosensing.

Double slot micro ring resonators with inner wall angular gratings as ultra-sensitive biochemical sensors.

We simulate and demonstrate experimentally an inner-wall grating double slot micro ring resonator (IG-DSMRR) with a center slot ring radius of only 6.72 µm based on the silicon-on-insulator platform. This novel photonic-integrated sensor for optical label-free biochemical analysis boosts the measured refractive index (RI) sensitivity in glucose solutions to 563 nm/RIU with the limit of detection value being 3.7 × 10-6 RIU (refractive index units). The concentration sensitivity for sodium chloride solutions can reach 981 pm/%, with a minimum concentration detection limit of 0.02%. Using the combination of DSMRR and IG, the detection range is enlarged significantly to 72.62 nm, three times the free spectral range of conventional slot micro ring resonators. The measured Q-factor is 1.6 × 104, and the straight strip and double slot waveguide transmission losses are 0.9 dB/cm and 20.2 dB/cm, respectively. This IG-DSMRR combines the advantages of a micro ring resonator, slot waveguide, and angular grating and is highly desirable for biochemical sensing in liquids and gases offering an ultra-high sensitivity and ultra-large measurement range. This is the first report of a fabricated and measured double-slot micro ring resonator with an inner sidewall grating structure.

Theoretical Enhancement of the Goos-Hänchen Shift with a Metasurface Based on Bound States in the Continuum.

The enhancement of the Goos-Hänchen (GH) shift has become a research hotspot due to its promoted application of the GH effect in various fields. However, currently, the maximum GH shift is located at the reflectance dip, making it difficult to detect GH shift signals in practical applications. This paper proposes a new metasurface to achieve reflection-type bound states in the continuum (BIC). The GH shift can be significantly enhanced by the quasi-BIC with a high quality factor. The maximum GH shift can reach more than 400 times the resonant wavelength, and the maximum GH shift is located exactly at the reflection peak with unity reflectance, which can be applied to detect the GH shift signal. Finally, the metasurface is used to detect the variation in the refractive index, and the sensitivity can reach 3.58 × 106 μm/RIU (refractive index unit) according to the simulation's calculations. The findings provide a theoretical basis to prepare a metasurface with high refractive index sensitivity, a large GH shift, and high reflection.

Performance Enhancement of an Ag–Au Bimetallic SPR Sensor: A Theoretical and Experimental Study

Ag-Au bimetallic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors operating in the Kretschmann configuration were investigated by numerical modelling and experiment. While Ag-based sensors have good sensitivity, they suffer from poor stability, and the addition of an Au capping layer offers improved chemical resistance and reliable analyte bonding via thiol-gold interactions. Sensors were evaluated with an Ag-Au combined thickness of 50 nm but different thickness ratios, and SPR reflectivity curves were obtained for 632.8 nm wavelength light incident over a range of angles. Numerical modelling using the transfer matrix method showed the SPR response improving as Au thickness decreased, giving the best results for 45 nm of Ag and 5 nm of Au. Experimental characterisation of fabricated Ag-Au bimetallic sensors was carried out with a custom SPR testbed. Performance parameters, including minimum reflectivity, FWHM, stability, and sensitivity were measured and the results were compared to those of single-layer Ag and Au sensors. A 5 nm Au coating was unable to preserve stable bimetallic sensor performance; however, increasing the Au thickness to 10 nm was sufficient to protect the Ag sensing layer, allowing only a small variation in the minimum reflectivity and FWHM when exposed to analytes for multiple hours. The sensitivity of the single-layer Ag, bimetallic Ag-Au, and Au sensors was measured as 3041%/Refractive Index Unit (RIU), 1817%/RIU, and 1229%/RIU, respectively. The sensitivity of the thickness-optimized bimetallic layer was ~1.5× that of the single-layer Au sensor.

Tunable and ultrasensitive sensor covering terahertz to telecommunication range based on a Fabry–Perot interference of graphene plasmonic waves

We present an ultrasensitive tunable terahertz (THz) sensor that comprises monolayer graphene-based gratings integrated with a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity through precisely numerical modeling. Due to the vertical polarization of the incident light on the graphene gratings, they act as an electric dipole, which causes interference in the propagation of plasmonic waves, and provides an excellent foundation for a wide range of ultrasensitive refractive index (RI) sensing with an ultra-high-quality factor (Q). The main advantage of the proposed structure is not only sensing a wide range of refractive indices but due to its unique physical mechanism, it covers electromagnetic waves from a few terahertz to 300 THz, including the telecommunication bands. The primary physical mechanism in the proposed sensor is the FP interference in its active area. Also, due to the extreme sensitivity of FP interference (FPi) to the (RI) of the medium and the active area, the proposed structure owns an ultra-high sensitivity and Q. Our full-wave electromagnetic simulations demonstrate a frequency sensitivity of up to 83 THz per RI unit (RIU) and a high value of Q near 275. In addition, the proposed structure for index sensing has the functionality to be tuned in any desired frequency of interest from THz to the Mid-IR range and telecommunication band, which entirely covers 1–300 THz. The chemical potential of graphene can be electrically controlled to tailor the sensing capability and incident frequency. According to the applied gate voltage, the proposed structure can detect ammonia concentration in water with a high sensitivity of 70–85 THz/RIU and a quality factor of more than 275. The error of the ammonia concentration sensing is smaller than 0.5%. In addition, the proposed structure can detect different types of matter, including various microfluidics, air, gasoline, liquid paraffin, ethanol, glycerin, and glucose. The graphene plasmonic grating method suggested here is a good contender for on-chip integrated THz to mid-IR, including telecommunication bio-sensors.

Strongly enhanced sensitivities of CMOS compatible plasmonic titanium nitride nanohole arrays for refractive index sensing under oblique incidence.

Titanium nitride (TiN) is a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible material with large potential for the fabrication of plasmonic structures suited for device integration. However, the comparatively large optical losses can be detrimental for application. This work reports a CMOS compatible TiN nanohole array (NHA) on top of a multilayer stack for potential use in integrated refractive index sensing with high sensitivities at wavelengths between 800 and 1500 nm. The stack, consisting of the TiN NHA on a silicon dioxide (SiO2) layer with Si as substrate (TiN NHA/SiO2/Si), is prepared using an industrial CMOS compatible process. The TiN NHA/SiO2/Si shows Fano resonances in reflectance spectra under oblique excitation, which are well reproduced by simulation using both finite difference time domain (FDTD) and rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) methods. The sensitivities derived from spectroscopic characterizations increase with the increasing incident angle and match well with the simulated sensitivities. Our systematic simulation-based investigation of the sensitivity of the TiN NHA/SiO2/Si stack under varied conditions reveals that very large sensitivities up to 2305 nm per refractive index unit (nm RIU-1) are predicted when the refractive index of superstrate is similar to that of the SiO2 layer. We analyze in detail how the interplay between plasmonic and photonic resonances such as surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs), Rayleigh Anomalies (RAs), and photonic microcavity modes (Fabry-Pérot resonances) contributes to this result. This work not only reveals the tunability of TiN nanostructures for plasmonic applications but also paves the way to explore efficient devices for sensing in broad conditions.

Tunable and controllable multi-channel time-comb absorber based on continuous photonic time crystals.

To date there have been many studies on multi-channel absorbers for conventional photonic crystals (PCs). However, the number of absorption channels is small and uncontrollable, which cannot satisfy applications such as multispectral or quantitative narrowband selective filters. To address these issues, a tunable and controllable multi-channel time-comb absorber (TCA) based on continuous photonic time crystals (PTCs), is theoretically proposed. Compared with conventional PCs with fixed refractive index (RI), this system forms a stronger local electric field enhancement in the TCA by absorbing externally modulated energy, resulting in sharp multi-channel absorption peaks (APs). Tunability can be achieved by adjusting the RI, angle, and time period unit (T) of the PTCs. Diversified tunable methods allow the TCA to have more potential applications. In addition, changing T can adjust the number of multi-channels. More importantly, changing the primary term coefficient of n1(t) of PTC1 can control the number of time-comb absorption peaks (TCAPs) in multi-channels within a certain range, and the mathematical relationship between the coefficients and the number of multiple channels is summarized. This will have potential applications in the design of quantitative narrowband selective filters, thermal radiation detectors, optical detection instruments, etc.

A Fully Integrated Miniaturized Optical Biosensor for Fast and Multiplexing Plasmonic Detection of High- and Low-Molecular-Weight Analytes.

Optical biosensors based on plasmonic sensing schemes combine high sensitivity and selectivity with label-free detection. However, the use of bulky optical components is still hampering the possibility of obtaining miniaturized systems required for analysis in real settings. Here, a fully miniaturized optical biosensor prototype based on plasmonic detection is demonstrated, which enables fast and multiplex sensing of analytes with high- and low molecular weight (80 000 and 582 Da) as quality and safety parameters for milk: a protein (lactoferrin) and an antibiotic (streptomycin). The optical sensor is based on the smart integration of: i) miniaturized organic optoelectronic devices used as light-emitting and light-sensing elements and ii) a functionalized nanostructured plasmonic grating for highly sensitive and specific localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detection. The sensor provides quantitative and linear response reaching a limit of detection of 10-4 refractive index units once it is calibrated by standard solutions. Analyte-specific and rapid (15 min long) immunoassay-based detection is demonstrated for both targets. By using a custom algorithm based on principal-component analysis, a linear dose-response curve is constructed which correlates with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 3.7µg mL-1 for lactoferrin, thus assessing that the miniaturized optical biosensor is well-aligned with the chosen reference benchtop SPR method.

A Sensitive Biosensor Based on Plasmonic-Graphene Configuration for Detection of COVID-19 Virus.

In this paper, four individual structures based on graphene-plasmonic nano combinations are proposed for detection of corona viruses and especially COVID-19. The structures are arranged based on arrays in the shapes of half-sphere and one-dimensional photonic crystal formats. The half-sphere and plate shaped layers are made of Al, Au, SiO2 and graphene. The one-dimensional photonic crystals lead the wavelength and peak corresponding to the absorption peak to lower and higher amounts, respectively. In order to improve the functionality of the proposed structures, effects of structural parameters and chemical potentials are considered. A defect layer of GZO is positioned in the middle of one-dimensional photonic crystal layers to shift the absorption's peak wavelength to the appropriate wavelength range for diagnosing corona viruses (~300 nm to 600 nm). The last proposed structure is considered as a refractive bio-sensor for detection of corona viruses. In the final proposed structure (based on different layers of Al, Au, SiO2, GZO and graphene), corona viruses are considered as the biomolecule layer and the results are obtained. The proposed bio-sensor can be a good and functional candidate for detection of corona viruses and especially COVID-19 in photonic integrated circuits with the satisfying sensitivity of ~664.8 nm/RIU (refractive index unit).

Distributed Refractive Index Sensing Based on Etched Ge-Doped SMF in Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry.

A distributed optical fiber refractive index sensor based on etched Ge-doped SMF in optical frequency domain reflection (OFDR) was proposed and demonstrated. The etched Ge-doped SMF was obtained by only using wet-etching, i.e., hydrofluoric acid solution. The distributed refractive index sensing is achieved by measuring the spectral shift of the local RBS spectra using OFDR. The sensing length of 10 cm and the spatial resolution of 5.25 mm are achieved in the experiment. The refractive index sensing range is as wide as 1.33-1.44 refractive index units (RIU), where the average sensitivity was about 757 GHz/RIU. Moreover, the maximum sensitivity of 2396.9 GHZ/RIU is obtained between 1.43 and 1.44 RIU.

Design of Suspended Slot Racetrack Microring Refractive Index Sensor Based on Polymer Nanocomposite.

Recently, polymer nanocomposites have attracted great interest due to their remarkable characteristics of high performance and enabling production of low-cost devices. This article explores the reflective index sensing application of the polymer nanocomposite IOC-133, which is a TiOx/polymer nanocomposite with a reflective index between 1.8 and 1.9. Considering the material properties of high reflective index, low absorption loss, and compatibility with nanoimprint lithography, a microring-based reflective index sensor with a suspended slot waveguide structure is proposed. We combined the sensing mechanism of slot waveguides with high reflective index polymer nanocomposites and designed the suspended structure to address the problem of decreasing sensitivity caused by residual layers. The sensing device was adopted as a microring resonator, which is conducive to large-scale integration. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method was employed to analyze the effects of several key parameters. The results showed that the racetrack microring sensor we propose can achieve a high sensitivity of 436 nm/RIU (Refractive Index Units), about six times higher than the microring sensor with a ridge waveguide. The Q factor of the microring reaches 1.42 × 104, and the detection limit is 1.38 × 10-4 RIU. The proposed suspended slot microring sensor has potential value in the field of nanoprinted photonic integrated circuits.

A High-Sensitivity Sensor Based on Insulator-Metal-Insulator Structure

In this paper, a theoretical model of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor based on the insulator-metal-insulator (IMI) structure is proposed. The sensor mainly consists of two IMI structures, MgF2/Au/Al2O3 and Al2O3/Au/sensing medium structure, respectively. Benefits from the symmetrical modes stimulated by the IMI structure, i.e., the electric field strength inside the sensing medium, are reinforced, resulting in a better overall performance in sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM). The influences of the thickness of the metal layers, the parameters of the dielectric layer materials, and the number of structural layers on the performance of this sensor are discussed. When the refractive index (RI) of the analyte varies in the range of 1.3494–1.3495, the optimized sensor could achieve a maximum wavelength sensitivity of 220 μm/RIU (refractive index unit) and a FOM of 3013.70 RIU−1. Compared with the conventional SPR sensor, the sensitivity and FOM of this structure are significantly improved.

Label-free multiplex sensing from buffer and immunoglobulin G sensing from whole blood with photonic crystal slabs using angle-tuning of an optical interference filter.

Direct detection of biomarkers from unpurified whole blood has been a challenge for label-free detection platforms, such as photonic crystal slabs (PCS). A wide range of measurement concepts for PCS exist, but exhibit technical limitations, which render them unsuitable for label-free biosensing with unfiltered whole blood. In this work, we single out the requirements for a label-free point-of-care setup based on PCS and present a wavelength selecting concept by angle tuning of an optical interference filter, which fulfills these requirements. We investigate the limit of detection (LOD) for bulk refractive index changes and obtain a value of 3.4 E-4 refractive index units (RIU). We demonstrate label-free multiplex detection for different types of immobilization entities, including aptamers, antigens, and simple proteins. For this multiplex setup we detect thrombin at a concentration of 6.3 µg/ml, antibodies of glutathione S-transferase (GST) diluted by a factor of 250, and streptavidin at a concentration of 33 µg/ml. In a first proof of principle experiment, we demonstrate the ability to detect immunoglobulins G (IgG) from unfiltered whole blood. These experiments are conducted directly in the hospital without temperature control of the photonic crystal transducer surface or the blood sample. We set the detected concentration levels into a medical frame of reference and point out possible applications.

Plasmonic refractive index sensing in the early diagnosis of diabetes, anemia, and cancer: An exploration of biological biomarkers

This article presents a novel refractive index nanosensor based on a metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide that incorporates a silver nanorod embedded in a rectangular resonator with two baffles. The suggested sensor has great potential in the medical field for early disease diagnosis and research, as it can detect and identify many biological components by using the interdependence between the refractive index and the resulting change in the resonant wavelength. To perform the numerical calculation, the finite element method has been utilized. The maximum sensitivity of the sensor is recorded as 2963.73 nm per refractive index unit (RIU), with a figure of merit (FOM) and sensing resolution of 25.1 and 3.37×10−7 RIU, respectively. The high sensitivity and precision of the sensor make it capable of detecting glucose concentration and distinguishing between different degrees of diabetes. Additionally, the sensor can measure hemoglobin concentration, which is useful in classifying anemia into different categories. This information can be a vital factor in identifying the severity level of anemia and taking appropriate measures. The sensor’s high performance facilitates the differentiation of healthy cells from cancerous ones, making it an essential tool for the early detection of cancer. Furthermore, the sensor has the potential to identify biological components in the brain and blood, which may pave the way for future research and development in the field of medicine.

Photonic crystal with magnified resonant peak for biosensing applications

A theoretically and numerically photonic crystal structure with parity-time symmetry is investigated to realize the design of a biomedical sensor for biosensing applications. The transmittance spectra of the structure are investigated, and various performance parameters are evaluated. Different structure parameters such as the unit cell number, the thickness of the sample layer, macroscopic Lorentz oscillation intensity in the PT-symmetry unit cell, the porosity of gallium nitride, and incident angle are theoretically and numerically investigated. To improve the performance of the device, an optimization technique is used. The relatively high sensitivities of 496 nm RIU (the change in the resonant peak wavelength per refractive index unit) and 1002142%/RIU (the change in the transmittance of the resonant peak per refractive index unit) are achieved. The proposed device can be a relatively high-precision detection device for biosensing applications.