Analysis and optimization of hybrid plasmonic waveguide as a platform for biosensing

Abstract

Hybrid plasmonic waveguides (HPWGs) have received attention worldwide for many different kinds of applications, including on-chip polarization control, enhanced nonlinear optical effects, and biosensing. The HPWG sensor can achieve detection limit lower than possible with purely plasmonic sensors. It can be also used for obtaining additional information about complex biological samples. We analyze the effects of various parameters on such a sensor, optimize the sensor design, and predict the optimum performance achievable for an HPWG sensor in the Mach-Zehnder configuration. We also compare the performance of the HPWG sensor to those of other plasmonic sensors. © 2009-2012 IEEE.