High-Q Fano Resonance in Subwavelength Stub-Wall-Coupled MDM Waveguide Structure and Its Terahertz Sensing Application

Waveguide structures effectively controlling and guiding terahertz (THz) waves can achieve interesting resonance effects when combined with resonators. At present, achieving high quality factor (Q-factor) resonance in THz resonator-coupled waveguide structure is still a critical consideration to expand its practical application. Here, a high Q-factor Fano resonance based on a metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) waveguide consisting of a stub resonator and a metal wall with an aperture in the center is investigated theoretically and numerically in the THz region. The results show that the sharp and asymmetric Fano resonance peak is induced by the destructive interference between the stub resonator and metal wall which act as a Fabry-Pérot cavity. Q-factor is obviously improved about 60 times (3.72 to ~225) by introducing the metal wall into the stub-coupled MDM waveguide. Moreover, Fano resonance can be effectively tuned by varying different structure parameters. Owing to the high sensitivity of Fano resonance peak to dielectric surroundings, a large-range refractive index (RI) sensor based on the proposed structure with a high sensitivity of 96480 nm/RIU is obtained. The figure of merit (FOM) of 195 is greatly improved compared to other THz Fano-based RI sensors. These results provide possibilities for subwavelength MDM waveguide structure to apply for THz bio/chemical sensing, bandpass filters, and on-chip highly integrated plasmonic device.