Ultra-high sensitivity gas sensors employing Bloch-like surface waves in a metal-dielectric one-dimensional photonic crystal

Ultra-high sensitivity gas sensors employing Bloch-like surface waves in a metal-dielectric one-dimensional photonic crystal | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Ultra-high sensitivity gas sensors employing Bloch-like surface waves in a metal-dielectric one-dimensional photonic crystal Michal Gryga, Jakub Chylek, Dalibor Ciprian, Petr Hlubina This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8402439/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Bloch surface waves (BSWs), generated at the interface of a truncated one-dimensional photonic crystal (1DPhC) and the adjacent medium (analyte), are accompanied by narrow resonance dips that are very advantageous compared to wide resonance dips associated with the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon. Consequently, BSW-based sensors have been thoroughly studied and applied in the field of optical sensors, but their sensitivity to gaseous analytes does not outperform the sensitivity of the SPR-based sensors. One of the possible solutions to enhance the sensitivity represents metal-dielectric 1DPhCs. We report on a new sensing concept for gaseous analytes based on the wavelength interrogation and resonances supported by a metal-dielectric 1DPhC in the Kretschmann configuration. For a metal-dielectric 1DPhC comprising bilayers of TiO 2 /Au with a termination layer of TiO 2 , we show that the Bloch-like SW-based resonances for both TE and TM waves are resolved for the refractive index (RI) in a range of 1–1.0015, and the sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) for the TE wave are up to 10,900 nm/RIU and 474 RIU −1 , respectively. The analysis extended to the 1DPhC with the modified thicknesses of TiO 2 layers and gas, whose RI changes in a range of 1.0002–1.0022, leads to the sensitivity and FOM for the TM wave in a range of 10,680–28,000 nm/RIU and 434–1217 RIU −1 , respectively. This research is the demonstration of exceptional properties of the Bloch-like SW-based sensors employing a metal-dielectric 1DPhC that can be used in a simple sensing of a wide range of gaseous analytes. Optics/Lasers Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8402439","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":562830296,"identity":"d1a32329-ed5d-4c51-b52d-d8d1e0c4c478","order_by":0,"name":"Michal 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