Efficient Chemical Sensing by Coupled Slot SOI Waveguides.docVIP

Sensors 2009, 9, 1012-1032; doi:10.3390/OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Efficient Chemical Sensing by Coupled Slot SOI Waveguides Vittorio M. N. Passaro *, Francesco Dell’Olio, Caterina Ciminelli and Mario N. Armenise Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica ed Elettronica, Politecnico di Bari, via Edoardo Orabona n. 4, 70125 Bari, Italy * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail: passaro@deemail.poliba.it, http://dee.poliba.it/photonicsgroup Received: 29 January 2009; in revised form: 11 February 2009 / Accepted: 13 February 2009 / Published: 16 February 2009 Abstract: A guided-wave chemical sensor for the detection of environmental pollutants or biochemical substances has been designed. The sensor is based on an asymmetric directional coupler employing slot optical waveguides. The use of a nanometer guiding structure where optical mode is confined in a low-index region permits a very compact sensor (device area about 1200 μm2) to be realized, having the minimum detectable refractive index change as low as 10-5. Silicon-on-Insulator technology has been assumed in sensor design and a very accurate modelling procedure based on Finite Element Method and Coupled Mode Theory has been pointed out. Sensor design and optimization have allowed a very good trade-off between device length and sensitivity. Expected device sensitivity to glucose concentration change in an aqueous solution is of the order of 0.1 g/L. Keywords: Integrated optics, Optical sensor, Slot waveguides, Silicon-on-insulator. 1. Introduction In recent years considerable research effort has been developed to employ electronic and optical micro- and nano-sensors in a great number of application fields such as medicine, microbiology, particle physics, automotive, environmental safety and defence. Sensor and actuator monolithic integration in micro-electro