Abstract

A high $Q/V$ mid-infrared 1D photonic crystal cavity in chalcogenide glass AMTIR-1 (${\mathrm{Ge}}_{33}{\mathrm{As}}_{12}{\mathrm{Se}}_{55}$) resonating at ${\lambda }_R=5.26\mathrm{\mu m}$ has been proposed as a key element of a sensor able to evaluate the nitric oxide (NO) concentration in the exhaled breath, namely fraction exhaled NO. The cavity design has been carried out through 3D finite-element method simulations. A $Q$-factor of $1.1\times {10}^4$ and a mode volume $V=0.8{(\lambda /n)}^3$, corresponding to a $Q/V$ ratio of $1.4\times {10}^4{(\lambda /n)}^{-3}$, have been obtained with a resonance transmission coefficient $T=15\%$. A sensitivity of 10 ppb has been calculated with reference to the photothermal physical property of the material. Such a result is lower than the state-of-the-art of NO sensors proposed in literature, where hundreds of parts per trillion-level detection seem to have been achieved, but comparable with the performance obtained by commercial devices. The main advantages of the new device are in terms of footprint ($=150{\mathrm{\mu m}}^2$), smaller at least 1 order of magnitude than those in literature, fast response time (only few seconds), and potential low cost. Such properties make possible in a handheld device the sensor integration in a multi-analysis system for detecting the presence of several trace gases, improving prevention, and reducing the duration of drug treatment for asthma and viral infections.

© 2015 Optical Society of America

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