Design and analysis of a fiber-optic deep-etched silicon photonic crystal temperature sensor

ABSTRACT

A novel silicon fiber-optic temperature sensor based on a 1D photonic crystal is theoretically discussed in this paper. The sensing element consists of a 1D photonic crystal with a central defect at the end of a U-groove that can be created in a silicon substrate by silicon deep etching which facilitates the integration of fiber-optic and sensor in a single silicon die. Temperature variations can be monitored by scanning the shift in wavelength of reflection peak, which is induced by the thermo-optic effect and thermal expansion effect. This sensing configuration shows a nearly linear temperature response over the large temperature range of 0–200°C with a sensitivity of 68 pm/°C that is seven times better than the conventional FBG sensors.

KEYWORDS:

• 1D photonic crystals
• integrated optics
• fiber-optic sensors
• silicon photonics
• temperature sensors

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Prof. Mahmoud Shahabadi from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, for his invaluable advice and Mr. Amideddin Mataji-Kajouri from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, for supplying the TLM matlab code.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.