New approaches in biochemical sensing using photonic crystals in the terahertz region

Peculiar properties of photonic crystals open up the potential applicability of them for bio-sensing purposes. We carried out electromagnetic simulations of two-dimensional photonic-crystal waveguide (PCW) and coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) structures created by changing the radii of air holes in a given row to investigate the effects in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum of introducing small quantities of molecules, such as DNA, in the air holes.