Refractive Index Sensing Using a Three-Port Interferometer and Comparison with Ring Resonators
article
In this paper, we compare ring resonator and three-port Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) devices fabricated on silicon-on-insulator for the purpose of refractive index sensing. Their respective sensitivities and limits of detection (LOD) were determined with NaCl solutions. A sensitivity of 113.07 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) and LOD of 2.47e-6 RIU was reached for the ring resonators. The most sensitive three-port MZI has a sensitivity of 13051 rad/RIU, and an LOD of 2.76e-8 RIU is shown to be attainable. A three-port MZI combines several advantages of both ring resonators and normal MZI devices, including a constant and scalable sensitivity, high-bandwidth readout, no directional ambiguity, and a simple interrogation setup. Such a device is promising for applications such as pressure, gas, and biosensing.
Topics
Ring resonatorThree-port Mach-Zehnder interferometerBiosensorsInterferometersMach-Zehnder interferometersOptical resonatorsPhotonicsResonatorsSilicon on insulator technologyHigh bandwidthIntegrated photonicsLimits of detectionNaCl solutionRefractive index sensingRefractive index unitsRefractive index
TNO Identifier
574262
ISSN
1077260X
Source
IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 23(2)
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Article nr.
7548369
Files
To receive the publication files, please send an e-mail request to TNO Repository.