Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguide

<p>Plasmonic waveguides have attracted much attention owing to the associated high field intensity at the metal–dielectric interface and their ability to confine the modes at the nanometer scale. At the same time, they suffer from relatively high propagation loss, which is due to the presence...

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Main Authors: P. Saeidi, B. Jakoby, G. Pühringer, A. Tortschanoff, G. Stocker, J. Spettel, T. Grille, R. Jannesari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2022-01-01
Series:Journal of Sensors and Sensor Systems
Online Access:https://jsss.copernicus.org/articles/11/15/2022/jsss-11-15-2022.pdf
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author P. Saeidi
B. Jakoby
G. Pühringer
A. Tortschanoff
G. Stocker
J. Spettel
T. Grille
R. Jannesari
author_facet P. Saeidi
B. Jakoby
G. Pühringer
A. Tortschanoff
G. Stocker
J. Spettel
T. Grille
R. Jannesari
author_sort P. Saeidi
collection DOAJ
description <p>Plasmonic waveguides have attracted much attention owing to the associated high field intensity at the metal–dielectric interface and their ability to confine the modes at the nanometer scale. At the same time, they suffer from relatively high propagation loss, which is due to the presence of metal. Several alternative materials have been introduced to replace noble metals, such as transparent conductive oxides (TCOs). A particularly popular TCO is indium tin oxide (ITO), which is compatible with standard microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. In this work, the feasibility of ITO as an alternative plasmonic material is investigated for infrared absorption sensing applications: we numerically design and optimize an ITO-based plasmonic slot waveguide for a wavelength of 4.26 <span class="inline-formula">µ</span>m, which is the absorption line of CO<span class="inline-formula"><sub>2</sub></span>. Our optimization is based on a figure of merit (FOM), which is defined as the confinement factor divided by the imaginary part of the effective mode index (i.e., the intrinsic damping of the mode). The obtained optimal FOM is 3.2, which corresponds to 9 <span class="inline-formula">µ</span>m and 49 % for the propagation length (characterizing the intrinsic damping) and the confinement factor, respectively.</p>
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spelling doaj.art-541dd11cd3bf42a3a86556b44340566b2022-12-21T21:20:16ZengCopernicus PublicationsJournal of Sensors and Sensor Systems2194-87712194-878X2022-01-0111152010.5194/jsss-11-15-2022Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguideP. Saeidi0B. Jakoby1G. Pühringer2A. Tortschanoff3G. Stocker4J. Spettel5T. Grille6R. Jannesari7Institute for Microelectronics and Microsensors, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Str. 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaInstitute for Microelectronics and Microsensors, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Str. 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaInstitute for Microelectronics and Microsensors, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Str. 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaSilicon Austria Labs GmbH, Europastr. 12, 9524 Villach, AustriaInfineon Technologies Austria AG, Siemensstr. 2, 9520 Villach, AustriaSilicon Austria Labs GmbH, Europastr. 12, 9524 Villach, AustriaInfineon Technologies Austria AG, Siemensstr. 2, 9520 Villach, AustriaInstitute for Microelectronics and Microsensors, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Str. 69, 4040 Linz, Austria<p>Plasmonic waveguides have attracted much attention owing to the associated high field intensity at the metal–dielectric interface and their ability to confine the modes at the nanometer scale. At the same time, they suffer from relatively high propagation loss, which is due to the presence of metal. Several alternative materials have been introduced to replace noble metals, such as transparent conductive oxides (TCOs). A particularly popular TCO is indium tin oxide (ITO), which is compatible with standard microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. In this work, the feasibility of ITO as an alternative plasmonic material is investigated for infrared absorption sensing applications: we numerically design and optimize an ITO-based plasmonic slot waveguide for a wavelength of 4.26 <span class="inline-formula">µ</span>m, which is the absorption line of CO<span class="inline-formula"><sub>2</sub></span>. Our optimization is based on a figure of merit (FOM), which is defined as the confinement factor divided by the imaginary part of the effective mode index (i.e., the intrinsic damping of the mode). The obtained optimal FOM is 3.2, which corresponds to 9 <span class="inline-formula">µ</span>m and 49 % for the propagation length (characterizing the intrinsic damping) and the confinement factor, respectively.</p>https://jsss.copernicus.org/articles/11/15/2022/jsss-11-15-2022.pdf
spellingShingle P. Saeidi
B. Jakoby
G. Pühringer
A. Tortschanoff
G. Stocker
J. Spettel
T. Grille
R. Jannesari
Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguide
Journal of Sensors and Sensor Systems
title Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguide
title_full Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguide
title_fullStr Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguide
title_full_unstemmed Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguide
title_short Numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium-tin-oxide-based plasmonic slot waveguide
title_sort numerical analysis of an infrared gas sensor utilizing an indium tin oxide based plasmonic slot waveguide
url https://jsss.copernicus.org/articles/11/15/2022/jsss-11-15-2022.pdf
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