Optik - International Journal for Light and Electron Optics 289 (2023) 171249

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Optik - International Journal for Light and Electron

Optics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijleo

Original research article

Optimization of the quality factor and sensitivity of one-dimensional

photonic crystal methane sensor with cryptophane A cavity
Francis Segovia-Chaves a ,∗, Herbert Vinck-Posada b , Hassen Dakhlaoui c
a Grupo de Física Teórica, Programa de Física, Universidad Surcolombiana, AA 385 Neiva, Colombia
b Grupo de Superconductividad y Nanotecnología, Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, AA 055051 Bogotá, Colombia
c
Nanomaterials Technology Unit, Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center (BASRC), Physics Department, College of Science of Dammam,
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: In this work, we introduce a sensor for measuring different methane concentration levels. The
Photonic crystal model is based on a defective one-dimensional photonic crystal composed of alternating layers
Transfer matrix method of air and Silicon with a cryptophane A cavity. We assume that the refractive index of silicon
Cryptophane A cavity
depends on temperature. The transmittance spectrum was calculated using the transfer matrix
Localized mode
method. This work also assessed the effects of temperature and methane concentration on the
wavelength shift of a localized mode within the photonic band gap. The results show the shift of
this localized mode toward longer wavelengths as temperature increases, with the quality factor
reaching its maximum value at around 8994.35. When maintaining a constant temperature,
we observed a blue-shift when the methane concentration is in a range of 0.0–3.5%, and the
quality factor decreases to 6358.26, with a maximum sensitivity of 144.485 nm by RIU. Due
to its excellent performance to store energy within the cavity, this sensor can be used to detect
different gas concentrations.

1. Introduction

Photonic Crystals (PCs) are artificial periodic heterostructures composed of materials with different refractive indexes [1].
This spatial periodicity is responsible for channeling the propagation of light through different frequency regions wherein light
is allowed to propagate within the heterostructure. When inserting a cavity, PC’s spatial periodicity is broken [2]; thereby, localized
modes of maximum transmittance originate within the frequency regions wherein light propagation is forbidden [3]. Among
the most commonly used materials for manufacturing PCs are semiconductors [4,5], superconductors [6,7], polymers [8,9], and
metamaterials [10,11]. Recently, the modulation of the optical properties of the PC through external agents, such as pressure [12,13],
temperature [14,15], or magnetic fields [16,17], has gained interest. These external factors are responsible for tuning light
propagation in a desired wavelength range. These types of photonic heterostructures through which light can be channeled are
implemented in different optoelectronic devices as well as in optical sensors [18]. Sensors are prominently used in commercial
detection technologies. By changing the refractive index of the cavity, the resonant frequency of the localized mode shifts, thereby
becoming a sensing signal. Among the configurations used as optical sensors by PCs, we can find one-dimensional PCs (1D-
PCs) [19,20], two-dimensional PCs (2D-PCs) [21,22], photonic crystal fibers [23,24], and photonic slabs [25,26]. In [27], the
authors theoretically design a ternary multilayer based on hyperbolic photonic crystal plasma material composed of dielectrics
and plasma materials. The authors calculate the reflection, transmission, and absorption spectra by changing the variation of the

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: francis.segoviac@gmail.com (F. Segovia-Chaves).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2023.171249
Received 9 July 2023; Received in revised form 29 July 2023; Accepted 31 July 2023
Available online 4 August 2023
0030-4026/© 2023 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
F. Segovia-Chaves et al. Optik 289 (2023) 171249

filling fraction of the hyperbolic metamaterial. They observe that the absorption increases with the filling fraction, which can be
employed in designing tunable optical filters. Methane gas is flammable and highly explosive; therefore, the safe use of this gas in
leak detection is crucial. Different designs of sensitive and low-cost methane sensors, such as fiber optic sensors, have been reported
in the literature [28]. J. Yang et al. [29] fabricate a modal interference-based photonic crystal fiber (PCF) methane sensor with a
coating of a fluoro-siloxane nanoparticle incorporating cryptophane A on the inner surface of the PCF coating air holes. The results
reveal that the film’s refractive index response decreases linearly with increasing methane gas concentration. The PCF methane
sensor is fabricated using a capillary dip coating technique and an offset splicing method, obtaining a sensor with a sensitivity of
0.514 nm%−1 for a film thickness of 240 nm. In [30], a photonic slab of lattice constant 415 nm is fabricated in a 220 nm thick GaAs
layer on a sacrificial AlGaAs layer. For the optical characterization, the sample was mounted under controlled temperature inside an
airtight chamber, allowing measurements in vacuum and different gaseous environments. The results show that a refractive index
change of 10−4 leads to a resonance shift of 8 pm, easily detectable due to the high-quality factor. Silicon PCs have also been used
in refractive index sensing applications. PC cavities take up less space than ring-based sensors while maintaining high Q. When an
analyte is exposed to a PC sensor, the effective waveguide index or cavity mode changes, resulting in a defective mode shift.C. Kang
et al. [31] design and fabricate a photonic slab with multiple holes, reporting that the experimental sensitivity for a refractive index
change is 100 nm/RIU. Due to its high sensitivity and low-cost advantages, the PCF-based sensor becomes an excellent candidate
for methane measurement. However, the cross-sensitivity to the temperature still needs to be solved. One solution to this problem
is the design flexibility of the PCF to achieve a multi-channel structure that allows methane detection to change with temperature.
In [32], the authors designed a liquid-infiltrated PCF methane sensor composed of two larger holes near the core area with a
methane-sensitive composite film. The proposed sensor measures methane concentration by temperature compensation. The results
show that the sensitivity reaches 20.07 nm%−1 because the methane concentration is within the range of 0–3.5%. On the other
hand, sensors based on magneto-optical surface plasmon resonance have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. J. Li
et al. [33] theoretically investigate the transmittance spectrum in a 1D-PC for methane detection. They report a high sensitivity
of the sensor to the variation of methane concentration due to the combination of the magneto-optical effect and the ultralong
propagation of the surface plasmon. This work proposes an optical sensing system for methane gas detection based on a 1D-PC with
a cavity infiltrated by a cryptophane A molecule. We assume that cryptophane A’s refractive index decreases linearly with methane
concentration. This work is organized as follows. In Sections 2 and 3, we introduce the theoretical model and provide the main
numerical results obtained for the transmittance spectrum, respectively. In Section 4, we discuss our conclusions.

2. Theoretical model

The transmittance spectrum was calculated using the transfer matrix method (TMM). This method is one of the best techniques
for simulating regular and defective 1D-PCs. Through the boundary conditions, the amplitudes of the electric and magnetic fields
are related in each constituting layer within the 1D-PC [34]. For the normal incidence of light, these amplitudes are determined by
the following matrix,
𝑀𝑗 = D𝑗 P𝑗 D−1
𝑗 (1)
( ) ( 𝑖𝜑 )
1 1 𝑒 𝑗 0
In Eq. (1), subscript 𝑗 represents the material layer, D𝑗 = and P𝑗 = are known as dynamic and
𝑛𝑗 −𝑛𝑗 0 𝑒−𝑖𝜑𝑗
propagation matrices, respectively. 𝑛𝑗 represents the refractive index, and 𝜑𝑗 is the phase given by 𝜑𝑗 = 2𝜋𝑑𝑗 𝑛𝑗 ∕𝜆. Incident light
wavelength and layer thickness are represented by 𝜆 and 𝑑𝑗 , respectively. Fig. 1 illustrates a defective 1D-PC surrounded by air,
composed of alternating A and B layers, and a cavity C in the center of the heterostructure. Layer materials are linear, homogeneous,
and isotropic, with homogeneity across the xy plane and periodicity on the z axis. As per TMM, for the 1D-PC described in Fig. 1:
( )
𝑚11 𝑚12 ( )𝑁 ( )𝑁
𝐌= = D−1
𝑎 𝑀𝐴 𝑀𝐵 𝑀𝐶 𝑀𝐵 𝑀𝐴 D𝑎 (2)
𝑚21 𝑚22
where N is the number of bilayers surrounding the cavity, D𝑎 is the dynamic air matrix, and 𝑀𝐶 = D𝐶 P𝐶 D−1 𝐶
. Based on the 𝑚11
| 1 |2
matrix element from Eq. (2), we obtain the transmittance for 𝛶 = || 𝑚 || . This work focuses on an optical gas sensor, assuming that
| 11 |
the A and B layers within the defective 1D-PC are air and Silicon (Si), respectively. The inserted cryptophane A in cavity C is used
to measure methane gas. When we include the dependence of the Si refractive index on the applied temperature applied [35,36],
then:
𝑒−3𝛿(𝑇 )
𝑛2𝐵 (𝜆, 𝑇 ) = 𝜖(𝑇 ) + (𝐴0 + 𝐴1 𝑇 + 𝐴2 𝑇 2 ) (3)
𝜆2
where,
𝜖(𝑇 ) = 11.4445 + 2.7739 × 10−4 𝑇 + 1.7050 × 10−6 𝑇 2 − 8.1347 × 10−10 𝑇 3 (4)
𝛿(𝑇 ) = −0.021 − 4.149 × 10−7 𝑇 − 4.620 × 10−10 𝑇 2 + 1.482 × 10−11 𝑇 3 , 𝑇 = [20 − 293𝐾] (5)
−4 −8
𝐴0 = 0.8948, 𝐴1 = 4.3977 × 10 , 𝐴2 = 7.3835 × 10 (6)
The refractive index 𝑛𝐶 of cryptophane A molecule decreases linearly depending on methane concentration (c) [29], as follows:

𝑛𝑐 = 1.4478 − 0.0038𝑐 (7)

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F. Segovia-Chaves et al. Optik 289 (2023) 171249

Fig. 1. Representation of the defective 1D-PC surrounded by air. With a C cavity located in the center of the crystal.

3. Numerical results and discussion

Fig. 2 shows the results obtained from the transmittance spectrum using the TMM, where the layer thickness is kept constant
throughout this work (𝑑𝐴 = 600 nm, 𝑑𝐵 = 400 nm and 𝑑𝐶 = 1000 nm). Fig. 2(a) shows the transmittance spectrum for the regular
1D-PC, 𝐴𝑖𝑟∕(𝐴𝐵)10 ∕𝐴𝑖𝑟 at a temperature of 𝑇 = 20 K. We observe a wavelength range where the transmittance is zero (maximum
reflectance); within this wavelength range, the propagation of light is not allowed, which is called photonic band gap (PBG). The
periodicity of the heterostructure described in Fig. 1 is broken by the insertion of a cavity with a cryptophane A, whose refractive
index depends on methane concentration (see Eq. (7)). In the transmittance spectrum of the defective 1D-PC, we observe a maximum
transmittance peak located within the PBG, called localized mode. The localized mode in the proposed photonic sensor must be
sensitive to variations in temperature and methane concentration for detection within a suitable wavelength range. This sensor
is susceptible to thermal fluctuations since the constituting materials of the PC have non-zero thermo-optic coefficients. Small
temperature changes cause changes in the refractive index of the material, thereby changing the spectral position of the localized
mode. The resonant mode’s wavelength change is converted to the sensing signal. Fig. 2(b) shows the variation of the transmittance
spectrum when temperature increases from 20 to 293 K maintaining the methane concentration constant (=0.0). As the temperature
increases, the localized mode is tuned to longer wavelengths. At 𝑇 = 20 K, the position of the localized mode, 𝜆𝑝 , is 1271.81 nm,
while at 280 K, 𝜆𝑝 = 1275.489 nm. The photonic heterostructure can be used as a gas sensor considering that, in the cavity, the
refractive index is affected by methane concentration. Fig. 2(c) shows that the localized mode is sensitive to methane concentration
changes at a constant temperature of 20 K. The decrease of the cryptophane A refractive index causes a blue-shift for the localized
mode. The optimization of the energy stored in the sensor cavity is determined by the quality factor (Q), 𝑄 = 𝜆𝑝 ∕𝐹 𝑊 𝐻𝑀, where
FWHM is the full-width half-max of the mode amplitude. Fig. 3(a) and (b) display the quality factor based on the position of the
localized mode (𝜆𝑝 ), after increasing temperature and methane concentration, respectively. For sensor design, narrow bandwidth
modes with high Q values for the resonant peak within the PBG are desired. This is verified by increasing temperature, thus favoring
an increase in the quality factor: from Q = 6996.041 at 𝑇 = 20 K to Q = 8994.356 at 𝑇 = 280 K. Temperature is a mechanism for
optimizing the energy stored within the cavity due to Q increase, as shown in Fig. 3(a). However, the quality factor decreases as
methane concentration increases because the localized mode shifts toward the band gap limit. By maintaining a constant temperature
(20 K), the quality factor decreases from a maximum value of Q = 6996.041 for c = 0 (𝑛𝑐 = 1.4478) to a minimum value of Q =
6358.265 for c = 3.5 (𝑛𝑐 = 1.4345), as shown in Fig. 3(b).
Finally, to assess the detection performance of the proposed sensor, we examined the effects on sensitivity (S) to methane
concentration. This detection mechanism is based on the shifts detected in the transmittance spectrum due to changes in the
refractive index of the localized mode. Sensitivity is given by
𝛥𝜆
𝑆= (8)
𝛥𝑛
where 𝛥𝜆 is the change in the position of the localized mode inside the PBG due to refractive index (𝛥𝑛) changes. As the refractive
index increases, the FWHM of the localized mode increases from a minimum value of 0.181 nm to a maximum value of 0.199 nm.
All these observations are summarized in Table 1, where FWHM and sensitivity values are presented after increasing methane
concentration at a fixed temperature of 20 K. From the data summarized in Table 1, we can conclude that sensitivity exhibits a
non-monotonic behavior, where the condition for obtaining a minimum FWHM value is desirable to obtain high Q values (see
Fig. 3(a)). Based on the estimated parameters, we have obtained an efficient sensor with a high quality factor of ≃8994.356 (at
𝑇 = 280 K) and a high sensitivity of 144.485 nm by RIU. However, increasing the temperature while maintaining the methane
concentration fixed (c = 0) generated a decrease in FWHM and a slight increase in sensitivity, as shown in Table 2. With the results
reported in this work, we have found that temperature is an external parameter that can be taken into account in the design of
sensors to achieve both localized mode tuning in the PBG as well as to reach maximum values of confined energy in the cavity for
different values of methane concentration. We believe that the proposed sensor may have potential applications in optoelectronic
and gas sensors, where temperature is a factor that must be considered in their design.
Table 3 compares different values of the quality factor and sensitivity of the sensor with the values recorded in other works. The
comparative results show that the proposed sensor’s accuracy is better than existing sensors.

4. Conclusions

We have proposed a sensor model for measuring methane concentration in this work. This sensor is based on a defective one-
dimensional photonic crystal composed of air/Si with a cryptophane A refractive index cavity. The TMM results reveal the existence

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F. Segovia-Chaves et al. Optik 289 (2023) 171249

Fig. 2. (a) Transmittance spectrum of the regular 1D-PC. Transmittance spectrum of the defective 1D-PC against (b) Temperature, and (c) Methane Concentration.
(For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 3. Quality factor variations and position of the localized mode in the 1D-PC by increasing (a) Temperature and (b) Methane Concentration.

of a localized mode, which reaches a maximum quality factor value at Q = 8994.356 as temperature increases. In addition, results
also reveal that the localized mode shifts toward shorter wavelengths as methane concentrations increase, accompanied by a decrease
in quality factor and a non-monotonous behavior of sensitivity.

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F. Segovia-Chaves et al. Optik 289 (2023) 171249

Table 1
FWHM and sensitivity values at different methane concentrations (c).
c 𝑛𝑐 FWHM (nm) Sensitivity nm per RIU
0.0 1.4478 0.181 –
0.25 1.44685 0.182 138.168
0.5 1.4459 0.183 137.321
0.75 1.44495 0.185 137.235
1.0 1.444 0.186 137.094
1.25 1.44305 0.187 136.831
1.5 1.4421 0.188 136.882
1.75 1.4415 0.189 144.485
2.0 1.4402 0.191 136.953
2.25 1.43925 0.192 121.548
2.5 1.4383 0.193 136.866
2.75 1.43735 0.195 135.909
3.0 1.4364 0.196 136.138
3.25 1.43545 0.197 136.058
3.5 1.4345 0.199 126.250

Table 2
FWHM and sensitivity values at different temperature.
T (K) FWHM (nm) Sensitivity nm per K
20 0.181 –
40 0.178 0.0204
60 0.177 0.0217
80 0.174 0.0233
100 0.172 0.0247
120 0.169 0.0259
140 0.164 0.0273
160 0.162 0.0284
180 0.158 0.0296
200 0.155 0.0307
220 0.152 0.0318
240 0.148 0.0328
260 0.144 0.0338
280 0.141 0.0348

Table 3
Comparison of the sensitivity of the current work with the sensitivity reported in other works.
Reference Year Maximum sensitivity (nm/RIU)
30 2008 80
31 2010 98
32 2019 20.07
Current work 2023 144.48

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability

No data was used for the research described in the article.

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