Fano Resonance in an Asymmetric MIM Waveguide Structure and Its Application in a Refractive Index Nanosensor

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 19; no. 4; p. 791
• Main Authors: Wang, Mengmeng, Zhang, Meng, Wang, Yifei, Zhao, Ruijuan, Yan, Shubin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 15.02.2019; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Fano resonance; finite element method; metal–insulator–metal waveguide; plasmonic refractive index sensor; Fano resonance; finite element method; metal–insulator–metal waveguide; plasmonic refractive index sensor
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s19040791

Herein, the design for a tunable plasmonic refractive index nanosensor is presented. The sensor is composed of a metal⁻insulator⁻metal waveguide with a baffle and a circular split-ring resonator cavity. Analysis of transmission characteristics of the sensor structures was performed using the finite element method, and the influence of the structure parameters on the sensing characteristics of the sensor is studied in detail. The calculation results show that the structure can realize dual Fano resonance, and the structural parameters of the sensor have different effects on Fano resonance. The peak position and the line shape of the resonance can be adjusted by altering the sensitive parameters. The maximum value of structural sensitivity was found to be 1114.3 nm/RIU, with a figure of merit of 55.71. The results indicate that the proposed structure can be applied to optical integrated circuits, particularly in high sensitivity nanosensors.