Optical biosensor based on a photonic crystal with a defective layer designed to determine the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in water

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel optical biosensor using a photonic crystal with a defect layer to detect SARS-CoV-2 in water by observing defect mode shifts, optimizing parameters for sensitivity and mode operation.

Contribution

The study develops a new photonic crystal-based biosensor with optimized defect layer parameters for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in water, including mode operation considerations.

Findings

Optimal defect layer thickness identified for maximum sensitivity.

Reflection mode outperforms transmission mode in the presence of absorption.

Sensor's wavelength shift correlates with SARS-CoV-2 concentration.

Abstract

We propose a new optical biosensor based on a photonic crystal with a defect layer, which can determine the SARS-CoV-2 concentration in water by the defect mode shift. Two models of the dependence of the refractive index of the defect layer on the concentration of the pathogen in water were considered. The optimal parameters for the photonic crystal in our device and the optimal thickness of the defect layer were determined. It was also demonstrated that in the presence of absorption in the investigated structure it is much more advantageous to work in the reflection mode compared to the transmission mode. Finally, the wavelength dependence of the defect mode on the SARS-CoV-2 concentration was obtained and the sensitivity of the sensor was determined.