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Design and Simulation of a Resonance-Based Plasmonic Sensor for Mass Density Sensing of Methane and Carbon Dioxide Gases

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Abstract

In this paper, a method for sensing the mass densities of \({\mathrm{CO}}_{2}\) and \({\mathrm{CH}}_{4}\) gases is proposed based on the theoretical index–density relation of Lorentz–Lorenz using a resonance-based plasmonic refractive index sensor. Metal–insulator–metal (MIM) plasmonic bus waveguide, known for its very high mode confinement, is utilized for the propagation of plasmonic mode between input and output. An edge-coupled disk resonator and two of its modifications are investigated to find the desired operational parameters like refractive index sensitivity and free spectral range (FSR) of resonances. The introduced mechanism translates any deviation in the resonance wavelength of the sensor to specified variations in the mass density of test gases. The achieved mass density sensitivities are \(118\;\mathrm{ nm}/\left(\mathrm{gr}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}\right)\) at the range of \(0-0.21\;\mathrm{ gr}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}\) for \({\mathrm{CO}}_{2}\) gas, and \(319.8\;\mathrm{ nm}/\left(\mathrm{gr}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}\right)\) at the range of \(0-0.08\;\mathrm{ gr}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}\) for \({\mathrm{CH}}_{4}\) gas. Also, in a 2D modal analysis, the achieved waveguide sensitivities in a MIM waveguide, whose insulator is treated as a functional material for the concentration of \({\mathrm{CO}}_{2}\) gas, in the two cases of applying or ignoring the refractive index of gas in simulations are compared. Hence, a rigorous method in 3D simulations for achieving gas sensitivities based on Lorentz–Lorenz formula is proposed.

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Data Availability

The data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Code Availability

The simulation code supporting this study’s findings is available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Photonics Research Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, 15875-4413, Iran

    Babak Moeinimaleki & Hassan Kaatuzian

  2. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Science and Technology of Mazandaran, Behshahr, 48518-78195, Iran

    Abdolber Mallah Livani

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  1. Babak Moeinimaleki
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  2. Hassan Kaatuzian
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Contributions

BM came up with the manuscript’s core ideas, performed software simulations and validation of results, and wrote the original draft. HK performed the manuscript’s technical–review and editing, supervision, and project administration. AML performed the manuscript’s writing and structural–review and editing, supervision, and project administration.

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Correspondence to Babak Moeinimaleki or Hassan Kaatuzian.

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Moeinimaleki, B., Kaatuzian, H. & Mallah Livani, A. Design and Simulation of a Resonance-Based Plasmonic Sensor for Mass Density Sensing of Methane and Carbon Dioxide Gases. Plasmonics 18, 225–240 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-022-01753-1

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