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Optical Guided-wave Chemical and Biosensors II pp 195–219Cite as

Liquid-Core Waveguide Sensors

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Part of the book series: Springer Series on Chemical Sensors and Biosensors ((SSSENSORS,volume 8))

Abstract

Much of chemistry and biology involves liquid substances. It is, therefore, not surprising that a strong need for instruments that can sense the presence, absence, or properties of liquids and their constituents exists in both of these vast fields. The miniaturization paradigm that has driven many industrial developments, including the area of sensors, provides a strong push to use optical waveguides for implementing sensing functions in compact, robust, and convenient form. The most direct approach is the use of liquid-core waveguides, in which both light and liquids are guided through the same physical space, thus providing the most efficient interaction between the two. Fueled by recent developments of novel types of liquid-core waveguides, these devices are rapidly moving to the forefront of research and development of biological and chemical sensors. Here, we take a closer look at liquid-core waveguides by discussing the physical principles underlying the most important waveguide types, discussing the most popular optical sensing modalities, and reviewing representative examples for liquid-core waveguide-based chemical and biological sensors.

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Abbreviations

ARGOW:

Antiresonant guided optical wave

ARROW:

Antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide

FOCap:

Fiber-optical capillary

HC-PCF:

Hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber

LCORR:

Liquid-core optical ring resonators

LCWG:

Liquid-core waveguides

RIU:

Refractive index units

TIR:

Total-internal reflection

ZMWG:

Zero-mode waveguides

α:

Waveguide loss

λ:

Wavelength

ω:

Angular frequency

d :

Waveguide core dimension

L :

Interaction length

n :

Refractive index

n c :

Waveguide core index

n cl :

Waveguide cladding index

R :

Reflectivity

K :

Bloch wave vector

β:

Wave vector

θc :

Critical angle of incidence

P in :

Input power

P out :

Output power

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    Holger Schmidt

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  1. Holger Schmidt
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Correspondence to Holger Schmidt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. GDG Environnement Ltée, 430, rue St-Laurent, Trois-Rivières, Quebec, G8T 6H3, Canada

    Mohammed Zourob

  2. INRS Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, 1650, boul. Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Québec, J3X 1S2, Canada

    Mohammed Zourob

  3. Dept. Engineering Science & Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, SA, 16802, USA

    Akhlesh Lakhtakia

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Schmidt, H. (2010). Liquid-Core Waveguide Sensors. In: Zourob, M., Lakhtakia, A. (eds) Optical Guided-wave Chemical and Biosensors II. Springer Series on Chemical Sensors and Biosensors, vol 8. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02827-4_8

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