Indium Arsenide-Based High-Sensitivity Pressure Sensor with a 2D Photonic Crystal Waveguide Coupled to Two Microcavities

In this work, a hydrostatic pressure sensor based on two microcavities coupled to a photonic crystals waveguide is presented. The pressure sensing part is formed by a double asymmetrical microcavities made in the slab of the sensor, with the aim of creating a sharp resonant output spectral response. These defects introduce a pressure detection mechanism based on the change of the Indium arsenide semiconductor (InAs) slab refractive index when an applied pressure on his active surface changes and this refractive index change leads a shift of the response resonant wavelength. The proposed structure provides very distinguishing resonance peaks with good quality factor of 210³ for the considered pressure range, and a pressure sensitivity reaching 26.1 nm/GPa. In addition, our proposed design ensures an impeccable linear relationship between the resonance wavelength and the corresponding applied pressure, which offer a highly selective pressure detection.