Spectrometer-Free Graphene Plasmonics Based Refractive Index Sensor

We propose a spectrometer-free refractive index sensor based on a graphene plasmonic structure. The spectrometer-free feature of the device is realized thanks to the dynamic tunability of graphene’s chemical potential, through electrostatic biasing. The proposed sensor exhibits a 1566 nm/RIU sensitivity, a 250.6 RIU(−1) figure of merit in the optical mode of operation and a 713.2 meV/RIU sensitivity, a 246.8 RIU(−1) figure of merit in the electrical mode of operation. This performance outlines the optimized operation of this spectrometer-free sensor that simplifies its design and can bring terahertz sensing one step closer to its practical realization, with promising applications in biosensing and/or gas sensing.