S.V. Pham

Compact integrated optical sensors based on a Si 3 N 4 grated waveguide optical cavity

A grated waveguide (GWG), which is a waveguide with a finite-length grated section, acts as an optical resonator, showing sharp fringes in the transmission spectrum near the stop-band edges of the grating. These oscillations are due to Fabry-Perot resonances of Bloch modes propagating in the cavity defined by the grated section [1]. Any small structural changes in the environment of the GWG, which disturb the evanescent field of the GWG resonant modes, will lead to a shift of its transmission spectrum. Such an effect can be exploited for sensing applications, such as the detection of a bulk refractive index change [2] or nanodisplacements of a cantilever suspended above the GWG [3]. Here we present 3 applications: (1) a concentration sensor, based on the bulk index change of the GWG top cladding; (2) label-free protein sensing (PepN enzyme - the major Suc-LLVY-AMC-hydrolyzing enzyme in Escherichia coli), where the spectral shift of the GWG response is due to the antibody-antigen interaction, leading to growth of an ad-layer on it; and (3) gas sensing, where the GWG detects stress-induced deflections of a doubly-clamped microcantilever (microbridge) with a Pd top layer due to H2 gas absorption by the Pd receptor layer.

Grated waveguide cavity for label-free protein and mechano-optical gas sensing

We demonstrate the versatility of a silicon nitride grated waveguide optical cavity as compact integrated optical sensors for (bulk) concentration detection, label-free protein sensing, and — with an integrated cantilever suspended above it — gas sensing.