Two-dimensional photonic crystal based sensor for pressure sensing

In this paper, a two-dimensional photonic crystal (2DPC) based pressure sensor is proposed and designed, and the sensing characteristics such as the sensitivity and dynamic range are analyzed over the range of pressure from 0 GPa to 7 GPa. The sensor is based on 2DPC with the square array of silicon rods surrounded by air. The sensor consists of two photonic crystal quasi waveguides and L3 defect. The L3 defect is placed in between two waveguides and is formed by modifying the radius of three Si rods. It is noticed that through simulation, the resonant wavelength of the sensor is shifted linearly towards the higher wavelength region while increasing the applied pressure level. The achieved sensitivity and dynamic range of the sensor is 2 nm/GPa and 7 Gpa, respectively. © 2014 The Author(s).