Silicon Photonic Wire Waveguide Sensors

Silicon photonic wire evanescent field (PWEF) waveguide sensors have a very high intrinsic response to molecular adsorption. This response arises from the high refractive index contrast and small size of these waveguides, which in combination cause much of the electric field to be localized to a thin layer adjacent to the waveguide surface. We describe the basic theory of PWEF waveguide sensors and compare the predicted PWEF sensor performance …