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Type: 
Journal
Description: 
The realization of an efficient optical sensor based on a photonic crystal metasurface supporting bound states in the continuum is reported. Liquids with different refractive indices, ranging from 1.4000 to 1.4480, are infiltrated in a microfluidic chamber bonded to the sensing dielectric metasurface. A bulk liquid sensitivity of 178 nm/RIU is achieved, while a Q-factor of about 2000 gives a sensor figure of merit up to 445 in air at both visible and infrared excitations. Furthermore, the detection of ultralow-molecular-weight (186 Da) molecules is demonstrated with a record resonance shift of 6 nm per less than a 1 nm thick single molecular layer. The system exploits a normal-to-the-surface optical launching scheme, with excellent interrogation stability and demonstrates alignment-free performances, overcoming the limits of standard photonic crystals and plasmonic resonant configurations.
Publisher: 
Optical Society of America
Publication date: 
1 Jul 2018
Authors: 

Silvia Romano, Gianluigi Zito, Stefania Torino, Giuseppe Calafiore, Erika Penzo, Giuseppe Coppola, Stefano Cabrini, Ivo Rendina, Vito Mocella

Biblio References: 
Volume: 6 Issue: 7 Pages: 726-733
Origin: 
Photonics Research