Photonic Gas Sensor Using a Silicon Strip Waveguide

Abstract

Sensing of gases is a promising area for applications of photonic systems operating in the mid-infrared spectral range. We present an infrared evanescent-field absorption gas sensor based on a silicon strip waveguide, which was specifically designed for CO2 sensing. We discuss finite element simulations that were used to design the strip waveguide and furthermore present experimental data of quantitative CO2 measurements with the devised structures. The first demonstrator device detects concentrations down to 5000 ppm CO2 which is the workplace exposure limit in most jurisdictions.

Keywords

• infrared gas sensing
• silicon waveguide
• evanescent-field absorption