High-Q photonic crystal resonator with large hole for microfluidic integration for biosensing

In this work, we demonstrate a photonic crystal (PC) resonator with a large hole in the center for biosensing in the terahertz (THz) regime. The design has the potential to be integrated with a microfluidic channel for automated pathogen detection. The strongly concentrated electric field around the hole and high Q factor lead to high sensitivity and high figure of merit (FOM) for a thin layer (in the µm range) of analyte. The resonator is fabricated by laser cutting of high resistance silicon (HRSi) and its sensing performance is experimentally characterized.