Analysis of Manufacturing Process Errors on the Functionality of Photonic Crystal Sensors

In this article, a novel study utilizing statistical simulations explores the fabrication errors (Fab-errors) associated with optical sensors based on 2-D photonic crystals (PCs). The findings indicate that these Fab-errors, stemming from the arrangement of dielectric rods within the structures, adhere to a Gaussian distribution. This suggests that numerous resonators are present, each capable of influencing the overall performance of the optical sensor. Considering the available technologies, in this work, the effects of 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, and 15% tolerances of dielectric rods with Gaussian distribution have been investigated. Results show that these tolerances lead to variations in both the range and quantity of optical modes within the photonic bandgap (PBG). Also, the simulation results indicate that the distribution of the sensor resonance wavelengths follows a Gaussian function in accordance with the fabrication tolerance percentage, which is a very interesting and unique result. The research also investigates how these fabrication tolerances affect the sensitivity of the proposed optical sensor, revealing significant changes at higher tolerance levels, reaching approximately twice that of the error-free scenario, which poses considerable challenges for sensor applications.