Trojak, Oliver, Joe, Crane, Tom and Sapienza, Luca (2017) Optical sensing with Anderson-localised light. Applied Physics Letters, 111 (14), [141103]. (doi:10.1063/1.4999936).
Abstract
We show that fabrication imperfections in silicon nitride photonic crystal waveguides can be used as a resource to efficiently confine light in the Anderson-localised regime and add functionalities to photonic devices. Our results prove that disorder-induced localisation of light can be utilised to realise an alternative class of high-quality optical sensors operating at room temperature. We measure wavelength shifts of optical resonances as large as 15.2 nm, more than 100 times the spectral linewidth of 0.15 nm, for a refractive index change of about 0.38. By studying the temperature dependence of the optical properties of the system, we report wavelength shifts of up to about 2 nm and increases of more than a factor 2 in the quality factor of the cavity resonances, when going from room to cryogenic temperatures. Such a device can allow simultaneous sensing of both local contaminants and temperature variations, monitored by tens of optical resonances spontaneously appearing along a single photonic crystal waveguide. Our findings demonstrate the potential of Anderson-localised light in photonic crystals for scalable and efficient optical sensors operating in the visible and near-infrared range of wavelengths.
More information
Identifiers
Catalogue record
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
University divisions
- Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering (pre 2018 reorg) > Physics & Astronomy (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences > School of Physics and Astronomy > Physics & Astronomy (pre 2018 reorg)
School of Physics and Astronomy > Physics & Astronomy (pre 2018 reorg) - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering (pre 2018 reorg) > Physics & Astronomy (pre 2018 reorg) > Quantum, Light & Matter Group (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences > School of Physics and Astronomy > Physics & Astronomy (pre 2018 reorg) > Quantum, Light & Matter Group (pre 2018 reorg)
School of Physics and Astronomy > Physics & Astronomy (pre 2018 reorg) > Quantum, Light & Matter Group (pre 2018 reorg)
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.