Design of optimized SOI slot waveguides for homogeneous optical sensing in near infrared

In this paper a detailed investigation of slot waveguides for optical sensing in near-IR wavelength region is carried out, assuming Silicon-on-Insulator technology. Optimized guided-wave structures are found in terms of high sensitivity (S
_h
) and low propagation losses (α
_prop
) and design guidelines are clearly selected. A number of possible application fields for environmental monitoring are covered, including gas sensing (gas identification or measure of their physical parameters as pressure) and liquid sensing (as pollutants in water). Influence of fabrication tolerances and wavelength dependence are also studied.