This paper describes experimental measurement results for photonic crystal sensor devices which have been functionalized for gas sensing applications. The sensor consists of a two dimensional photonic crystal etched into a slab waveguide having a refractive index of 1.7-1.9. Test devices were fabricated from SiON material on silicon / silicon dioxide platform, and also in polymer materials on silicon platform. The inorganic photonic crystals were made using direct write electron-beam lithography and reactive ion etching. The polymeric devices were made by nano-imprint lithography using the SiON structure as the imprint master. The high refractive index polymer was composed of a TiO2 - UV resin nanocomposite having a nanoparticle fraction between 50 and 60 wt%. This resulted in a tunable refractive index between 1.7 and 1.85. Devices were functionalized for gas sensing applications by coating the surface with a chemical receptor. This responsive layer reacts with the target gas and changes its refractive index. This change causes the angle of out-coupling to change slightly. In this paper we report successful detection of formaldehyde in air at sub ppm levels, and discuss details of chemical functionalization of the PC sensor.
Limitations of current sensors include large dimensions, sometimes limited sensitivity and inherent single-parameter measurement capability. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy can be utilized for environment and pharmaceutical applications with the intensity of the Raman scattering enhanced by a factor of 106. By fabricating and characterizing an integrated optical waveguide beneath a nanostructured precious metal coated surface a new surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensing arrangement can be achieved. Nanostructured sensors can provide both multiparameter and high-resolution sensing. Using the slab waveguide core to interrogate the nanostructures at the base allows for the emission to reach discrete sensing areas effectively and should provide ideal parameters for maximum Raman interactions. Thin slab waveguide films of silicon oxynitride were etched and gold coated to create localized nanostructured sensing areas of various pitch, diameter, and shape. These were interrogated using a Ti:Sapphire laser tuned to 785-nm end coupled into the slab waveguide. The nanostructured sensors vertically projected a Raman signal, which was used to actively detect a thin layer of benzyl mercaptan attached to the sensors.
The intensity of Raman scattering can be enhanced by a factor of 106 using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). In this method, molecules are placed within a few nm of a rough/nanostructured metal surface. In this paper we show fabrication and characterisation of an integrated optical waveguide beneath a nano-structured precious metal coated surface. By using a waveguide core, the excitation field comes from underneath and enters the nanostructures at the base. This allows the emission to reach the discrete sensing areas effectively and should provide ideal parameters for maximum Raman interactions. The nanostructured geometry projects the Plasmon field into free space, thus increasing the cross section of interaction between the analyte molecules and optical fields, thereby increasing device sensitivity. Thin films of silicon oxynitride were deposited using PECVD on to thermal oxide coated 4 inch wafers and annealed at various temperatures to obtain low loss layers suitable for the waveguide core material. Based on the results from our simulations, nanostructured features of various diameters/feature lengths and pitch were etched into the low loss silicon oxynitride layer. The sensor area was coated with a thin layer of gold (25nm) and a variety of optical measurements were completed for many of the processed test chips including broadband reflectrometry, normal incident Raman spectroscopy and waveguide Raman spectroscopy using a Raman probe above the sensor area. The results showed that detection of a Raman active molecule (Benzyl Mercaptan) was possible when excited from the underlying waveguide core with 104 sensitivity.
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) allows the intensity of Raman scattering to be enhanced by a factor of 106 by placing molecules within a few nm of a rough metal surface. In this paper we continue our investigation into a completely different configuration for a SERS sensor platform, incorporating an optical waveguide beneath a nanostructured precious metal coated surface. The nanostructured geometry projects the Plasmon field into free space, thus increasing the cross section of interaction between the analyte molecules and optical fields, thereby increasing device sensitivity. In this arrangement the excitation field comes from underneath and enters the nanostructures at the base. This allows the emission to reach the discrete sensing areas effectively and should provide ideal parameters for maximum Raman interactions. Using Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) modelling methods the waveguide coupled SERS nanostructures were fully analyzed and their theoretical performance simulated by using frequency domain power monitors around the nanostructures. The model investigates efficiency of coupling between the waveguide and surface plasmons, but also investigates spatial localization around sharp features of the geometry. Simulations were completed using different types of etched nanostructures (pyramidal, circular, square) and dimensions to determine a suitable sensor area which would allow for maximum field intensity within the features when excited from underneath. The simulations suggested that a pitch of 2500nm, a circular feature length of 500nm and an etch depth of 400nm showed more field intensity within the nanostructured pits.
Gallium lanthanum oxysulfide (GLSO) is a promising host material for observing strong upconversion emission
from trivalent rare-earth ions such as erbium (Er3+). Its attractive properties include high rare-earth solubility
due to the lanthanum content of the glass former, a high refractive index (n = 2.2 at 550nm) for high radiative
efficiency, and a low maximum phonon energy of approximately 425cm
-1. Photonic crystals meanwhile can
provide controlled light extraction, and may be capable of suppressing unwanted IR emission from lower lying
metastable states. Here, we describe the fabrication of photonic crystals in annealed films of Er3+-doped GLSO
deposited by RF sputtering. The most intense visible upconversion emission is observed in films annealed at
550°C, close to the bulk glass transition temperature. Hexagonal lattice photonic crystals are subsequently
milled into the films using a focused ion beam (FIB). The milling parameters are optimized to produce the most
vertical sidewall profile.
Photonic band gaps (PBGs) are highly sensitive to lattice geometry and dielectric contrast. Here, we report
theoretical and experimental confirmation of PBGs in photonic crystals (PhCs) with increasing levels of structural
isotropy. These structures are: a standard 6-fold hexagonal lattice, a locally 12-fold Archimedean-like crystal,
a true quasicrystal generated by non-random Stampfli inflation, and a biomimetic crystal based on Fibonacci
phyllotaxis. Experimental transmission spectra were obtained at microwave frequencies using high-index alumina
(ε = 9.61) rods. The results were compared to FDTD-calculated transmission spectra and PWE-calculated band
diagrams. Wide and deep (> 60dB) primary TM gaps present in all high-index samples are related to reciprocal
space vectors with the strongest Fourier coefficients. Their mid-gap frequencies are largely independent of the
lattice geometry for comparable fill factors, whereas the gap ratios shrink monotonically as structural isotropy
increases.
Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can be used to amplify the Raman cross-section of signals by several orders
of magnitude, when a mixed photon-Plasmon mode (surface Plasmon polaritons) couples to molecules on a nano
textured metallo-dielectric substrate. In this paper we demonstrate a comprehensive 3D computational model based on
Rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) for the purpose of analysing propagating and localised surface Plasmon
polaritons supported by planar SERS substrates based on periodic array of metal coated inverted pyramidal
nanostructures. Although studies [1, 2] have explored the optical properties of inverted square pyramidal pits using
simulation and experimentation, there has yet been no investigation performed on rectangular inverted pyramidal pits.
Here we perform 3D modelling and simulation on rectangular pit arrays with aspect ratio 1:1.2 over 400nm thick gold.
We investigate the effect of incident polarisation and electric-field density within the pits and show that inverted
rectangular pyramidal pit array can be used as highly effective SERS and Plasmonic substrates.
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can be used to amplify Raman signals by several orders of magnitude, by
utilizing Plasmon polariton (photonic and surface Plasmon mode) coupling to test molecules disposed on a textured
metallo-dielectric surface. Previously the 'KlariteTM' substrate consisting of an inverted array of square pyramidal
nanostructures patterned onto a Silicon substrate has been demonstrated to afford highly reproducible SERS signals. In
this paper, we investigate a new rectangular lattice arrangement and investigate the effect of aspect ratio on SERS
enhancement factor. Nanostructured test substrates are coated with gold by thermal evaporation, followed by a
monolayer of benzenethiol or benzyl mercaptan which provides a stable test molecule for signal enhancement
comparison. SERS signals are analyzed with Renishaw (MS20) Invia Raman Spectrometer at a wavelength of 785nm.
The resulting SERS enhancement shows an improvement in signal level of 786% (~ 8 times) compared to standard
Klarite. In addition to high enhancement we are able to maintain less than 8.8% relative standard deviation for the peak
signal.
Waveguide grating couplers permit efficient coupling to planar waveguides, complete with relaxed alignment
tolerances and the possibility of wafer scale device testing without cleaving. To date, most solutions have been
implemented as 1D gratings in high index contrast waveguides (typically SOI) with high coupling strengths
and lateral mode converters. Here, we report the design and optimization of 1D grating couplers in polymer
waveguides with much lower index cores (n = 1.8). Basic parameters from grating theory are used as the basis
for FDTD simulations scanning over etch depth and grating period. Several optimizations are tested, including
top claddings, buried dielectric mirrors, and buried metal mirrors. More than 80% coupling efficiency to air is
predicted for a uniform symmetric grating, 20 periods long, with a carefully positioned buried metal reflector.
The designs are intended for monolithic integration in polymeric planar lightwave circuits mass-produced by a
roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography process, where metallic mirrors can be safely and successfully incorporated.
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) allows the intensity of Raman scattering to be enhanced by a factor of
106 by placing molecules within a few nm of a rough metal surface. In this paper we investigate a completely different
configuration for the excitation mechanism, incorporating an optical waveguide beneath a nano-structured precious metal
surface. The pyramidal geometry projects the Plasmon field into free space, thus increasing the cross section of
interaction between the analyte molecules and optical fields, thereby increasing device sensitivity. In this arrangement
the excitation field comes from underneath and enters the nanostructures at the base. This allows the emission to reach
the discrete sensing areas effectively and provides ideal parameters for maximum Raman interactions. Using FDTD
modeling methods the waveguide coupled SERS nanostructures were analyzed and its performance at different gold
thicknesses was determined. The model investigates efficiency of coupling between the waveguide and surface
plasmons, but also investigates spatial localization around sharp features of the geometry. Thin films of aluminum oxide
and silicon oxynitride were reactively sputtered and characterized to determine their suitability as the waveguide core
material. It was found that silicon oxynitride slab waveguide losses were too high to be considered as the core. The 2D
and 3D simulations were based on an aluminum oxide core.
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