Silicon photonic micro-disk resonators for label-free biosensing

Silicon photonic biosensors are highly attractive for multiplexed Lab-on-Chip systems. Here, we characterize the sensing performance of 3 mu m TE-mode and 10 mu m dual TE/TM-mode silicon photonic micro-disk resonators and demonstrate their ability to detect the specific capture of biomolecules. Our experimental results show sensitivities of 26 nm/RIU and 142 nm/RIU, and quality factors of 3.3x10(4) and 1.6x10(4) for the TE and TM modes, respectively. Additionally, we show that the large disks contain both TE and TM modes with differing sensing characteristics. Finally, by serializing multiple disks on a single waveguide bus in a CMOS compatible process, we demonstrate a biosensor capable of multiplexed interrogation of biological samples. (c) 2013 Optical Society of America