5:45 PM - 6:00 PM
▲ [11p-S421-16] Miniature terahertz waveguides and the molecular sensing application in a microfluidic channel
Keywords:integrated waveguide optics, waveguide sensor, terahertz wave sensing
One miniature terahertz(THz) waveguide is developed in the presentation based on the metal-rod-array (MRA) structure and the molecular sensing application is experimentally realized with directly inserting MRA inside the microfluidic channel, where the waveguide length is only 1.4 mm, corresponding 1~2 wavelength. The extended optical path length along the MRA waveguide enables THz waves sufficiently overlapping the fluid molecules embedded among the rods, leading to strongly enhanced phase change by approximately one order of magnitude compared with the blank microfluidic channel. Based on the enhanced phase sensitivity, three kinds of colorless liquid analytes, namely, acetone, methanol, and ethanol, with different dipole moments are identified using the MRA-based microfluidic sensor.