Refractive Index and Alcohol-Concentration Sensor Based on Fano Phenomenon

A novel nano-refractive index sensor based on the Fano resonance phenomenon is proposed in this paper. The sensor consists of the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide and a V-ring cavity with a groove (VRCG). We analyzed the performance of the nanoscale sensor using the finite element method. The simulation results show that the asymmetry of the geometric structure itself is the main factor leading to Fano resonance splitting. In Fano splitting mode, the Fano bandwidth of the system can be significantly reduced when the sensor sensitivity is slightly reduced, so that the figure of merit (FOM) of the sensor can be substantially improved. Based on the above advantages, the sensor’s sensitivity in this paper is as high as 2765 nm/RIU, FOM = 50.28. In addition, we further applied the sensor to alcohol concentration detection. The effect is good, and the sensitivity achieves about 150. This type of sensor has a bright future in the precision measurement of solution concentrations.