Nonlinear optical waveguide structure for sensor application: TM case

Abstract

In this work, we present an extensive theoretical analysis of nonlinear optical waveguide sensor. The waveguide under consideration consists of a thin dielectrica film surrounded by a self-focused nonlinear cladding and a linear substrate. The nonlinearity of the cladding is considered to be of Kerr-type. Both cases, when the effective refractive index is greater and when it is smaller than the index of the guiding layer, are discussed. The sensitivity of the effective refractive index to any change in the cladding index in evanescent optical waveguide sensor is derived for TM modes. Closed form analytical expressions and normalized charts are given to provide the conditions required for the sensor to exhibit its maximum sensitivity. The results are compared with those of the well-known linear evanescent waveguide sensors.