Novel silicon nanoparticle-based optical sensor to confine bloch surface wave for optical applications

In this paper, a novel silicon nanoparticle-based sensor has been investigated. Bloch surface wave excitation in a one-dimensional photonic crystal using a silicon nanoparticle on the top defect layer is examined on various parameters. This paper compares the confinement of Bloch surface wave using with and without silicon nanoparticles. The confinement of surface waves is modified by varying the size of the silicon nanoparticle. The structural parameters are optimized for an 850 nm (nm) central wavelength. At the central wavelength of 850 nm, the confinement of surface waves gets modified by varying the size of the silicon nanoparticle. The proposed novel silicon nanoparticle-based sensor was investigated and its efficacy in terms of sensitivity, quality factor, and Figure of merit was evaluated. The sensitivity is demonstrated to be 148.88 Degree/Refractive index unit (RIU), with a quality factor of 10,146.83 nm and a figure of merit (FOM) of 1777.24 per Refractive index unit (RIU^− 1) for sensors with a silicon nanoparticle-based multilayer structure.