Optimized silicon antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides for sensing applications

The development of an evanescent field sensor with an integrated Mach-Zehnd er interferometric (MZI) configuration requires the fabrication of optical waveguides with two main characteristics: 1) monomode behavior and 2) high surface sensitivity for sensing biomolecular interactions in a direct way ( without labels), In this paper, we present an experimental study for the op timization of the different parameters of the waveguides that will be the b asis of a highly sensitive optical sensor. After optimization, an MZI senso r has been fabricated and some sensing applications are shown. The designed waveguides are based on antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) structures and are fabricated with standard silicon technology.