NOVEL LIQUID SENSOR-BASED ON POROUS SILICON OPTICAL WAVE-GUIDES

The introduction of solvents into the pores of optical waveguides form ed using porous silicon is shown to dramatically reduce the interfacia l scattering loss of the waveguides (by as much as 34-dB.cm(-1) in one example), in a reversible manner. The degree of loss reduction is dep endent on the type of solvent introduced, These observations, combined with the fact that a substantial portion of the guided-mode field int eracts with the solvent introduced into the pores, indicate that an en hanced sensitivity for sensor applications may be achievable across a broad range of operational wavelengths.