Silica-based monolithic sensing plates for waveguide-mode sensors

We developed a monolithic sensing plate for a waveguide-mode sensor. The plate consists of a SiO2 glass substrate and a thin silicon layer the surface of which is thermally oxidized to form a SiO2 glass waveguide. We confirmed that the sensing plate is suitable for high-sensitivity detection of molecular adsorption at the waveguide surface. In addition, a significant enhancement of the sensitivity of the sensor was achieved by perforating the waveguide with holes with diameters of a few tens of nanometers by selective etching of latent tracks created by swift heavy-ion irradiation. Possible strategies for optimizing the plate are discussed. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.