Polished laser-written surface waveguides for integrated-photonic chemical sensors
K. Becker1,†, J. Schnegas2,†, A. Thies3, F.U.J. Klauck1, T. Korn1, A. Szameit1,4, T.A.W. Wolterink1, U. Kragl2,4, and M. Heinrich1
Published in:
Opt. Mater. Express, vol. 15, no. 10, pp. 2437-2446, doi:10.1364/OME.566302 (2025).
Abstract:
Integrated photonic sensors are widely used in sensing applications such as lab-on- a-chip devices. Evanescent sensing, in particular, harnesses the interaction of light guided by a waveguide with an analyte in its direct proximity, enabling responsive miniaturized sensors that can be unobtrusively integrated into a variety of applications. Key to this is the capability to fabricate waveguides that intermittently approach the surface while being shielded inside the bulk substrate outside well-defined interaction regions. We present a mechanical polishing approach for creating laser-written surface waveguides in glass. In this vein, we construct an integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a surface-waveguide sensing arm and demonstrate its performance in refractive index measurements of chemical analytes.
1 Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 23-24, 18059 Rostock, Germany
2 Institute of Chemistry, Industrial and Analytical Chemistry, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 3a, 18059 Rostock, Germany
3 Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik (FBH), Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 4, 12489 Berlin, Germany
4 Department Life, Light & Matter, Faculty for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 25, 18059 Rostock, Germany
† These authors contributed equally
Related Topics:
Chemical sensors; Effective refractive index; Fiber optic sensors; Glass waveguides; Index measurements; Refractive index
© 2025 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement
Full version in pdf-format.