Zinc-oxide optical sensor for highly sensitive refractive index sensing

Qiankun Zhang; Jing Liu

doi:10.1117/12.2214826

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27 February 2016 Zinc-oxide optical sensor for highly sensitive refractive index sensing

Proceedings Volume 9749, Oxide-based Materials and Devices VII; 97491O (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2214826
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2016, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We proposed a ZnO nanorod array based optical sensor for highly sensitive refractive index (RI) detection. The sensor was fabricated by sequentially growing a seed layer and ZnO nanorod array at the endface of an optical fiber. The light coupled into the optical fiber is partially reflected at the seed layer and nanorod arry-air interface, respectively, generating an interference spectrum. When the RI of the media filled among the ZnO nanorods changes, the light path between the two reflective surfaces changes, resulting in the shift of the interference spectrum. Therefore, by monitoring the interference shift, it is able to detect the RI change. The advantages of the sensor are that 1) small size and low cost; 2) easy access to analytes and integration with micro-fluidic system; 3) easy fabrication; 4) highly sensitive. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed sensor can detect the RI change caused by exposing it to various vapor-phase analytes, leading to a potential capability of gas sensing.

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Qiankun Zhang and Jing Liu "Zinc-oxide optical sensor for highly sensitive refractive index sensing", Proc. SPIE 9749, Oxide-based Materials and Devices VII, 97491O (27 February 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2214826

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