Lossy mode resonance optical sensors on-chip and on-fiber

Abstract

Lossy Mode Resonance Optical Sensors (LMROS) have attracted significant research interest due to their superior in material selection and sensing performance compared to Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) senors. This review provides the large map of LMROS configuration, focusing on the supporting platform on prism, optical fiber, and on chip. The discussion includes a concise introduction to the basic principles, and the configuration types following with various coupling techniques, concerning depositing techniques, tapering techniques in different circumstance. Firstly the prismatic configuration mainly in Kretschmann configuration is discussed with two layer structure and three layer structure on the prism surface. Then fiber based configuration is discussed from the cladding removed fiber, tapered fiber and cladding etched fiber, side polished fiber, fiber with grating structures, fiber tip structures, to novel fibers such as photonic crystal fiber, coreless fiber, and double cladding fiber configuration. And then the on-chip configurations are discussed with the chip as the center, which is coupled through fibers on its end-face and lateral-face, or though other coupling technique on the integrated optical waveguide, or photonic integrated circuits. Some inconsistent concepts are discussed, and critically some of conventional optical waveguide structures are discussed from the point of Lossy Mode Resonance (LMR) phenomenon, considering the applied materials, and sensing performance. Finally, the advantages and possible future trend of each configuration are discussed.