Loop-mirror-based slot waveguide refractive index sensor

Abstract

Loop mirror has been widely used in fiber optical devices and systems for it provides a smart way to make use of the fiber birefringence properties and can enhance the sensitivity greatly. On the other hand, slot waveguide is very promising for optical sensing applications because of their peculiar spatial mode profile. In this paper, we propose and analyze a loop-mirror-based slot waveguide (LMSW) sensor which can be routinely fabricated in modern high-volume complementary metal-oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) process. The finite element method (FEM) simulation results show that the birefringence can be as high as 0.8 which is orders of magnitude than that in conventional birefringent fiber loop mirror. High sensitivity up to 6 × 103 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) is achieved by this scheme.