On-Chip Virus Sensing Using Silicon Nitride Waveguide

Here we study the silicon nitride waveguide platform for virus sensing. Our study cover different wavelengths from the visible to the mid-infrared range where the silicon nitride is transparent. At each wavelength we do sensitivity analysis to get the optimum waveguide dimensions for virus detection. Analysis show that operating at lower wavelengths results in higher sensitivities. The optimized waveguides can work for different viruses. Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) sensors based on the optimized waveguides are designed showing sensitivity as high as 5573 nm/RIU.