Detection of primary chemical analytes in the THz regime with photonic crystal fiber

This paper represents a design mechanism and numerical investigations of a PCF sensor that contains a hollow core for sensing the primary chemical analytes namely water, ethanol, and benzene in the 1-2 THz regime. Rectangular air holes are used in the cladding region and an absorbing layer, PML is imposed for investigating a number of optical properties. After a complete investigation, our designed PCF sensor provides a higher sensitivity of 92.9%, 93.8%, and 94.2% with a larger effective area of 3.11 x 10(5) mu m(2), 3.12 x 10(5) mu m(2), and 3.13 x 10(5) mu m(2) respectively for water, ethanol, and benzene. Also, a negligible amount of confinement loss and EML is attained. Besides, numerical aperture and propagation constant for this proposed sensor are also analyzed. The present fabrication methodologies are feasible for the generation of our designed sensor. This PCF sensor can be used in a broader range of chemical, gas, and bio-sensing applications.

Automated summary

This study presents a unique design of a PCF sensor for efficient sensing of water, ethanol, and benzene in the 1-2 THz regime, with a larger effective area and minimal loss. The sensor also shows higher sensitivity and is feasible for various chemical, gas, and bio-sensing applications.