Optical characterization of refractive index sensors based on planar waveguide Fabry-Perot Bragg grating cavity

The evanescent field-based polymeric planar waveguide refractive index sensors having a high Q Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity between identical dual Bragg gratings corrugated on the surface of the planar waveguide were developed. The FP Bragg gratings cavity was fabricated with a cavity size of 5 and 7 mm, respectively. The spectra of light reflected from fabricated Bragg gratings, which were butt joined, were measured and compared with different indices of surrounding media. It was obtained that the FP Bragg gratings cavity is more sensitive than the single Bragg grating. The sensor developed shows much promise in the application of biomedical diagnostics such as a biosensor and/or environmental monitoring systems. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.