Sensing of heavy metal Pb2+ ions in water utilizing the photonic structure of highly controlled hexagonal TiON/TiO2 nanotubes.

The detection of heavy metals in water, especially Pb2+ ions, is important due to their severe hazardous effects. To address this issue, a highly controlled hexagonal TiON/TiO2 heterostructure has been synthesized in this study. The fabrication process involved the utilization of atomic layer deposition and direct current sputtering techniques to deposit TiO2 and TiON layers onto a porous Al2O3 membrane used as a template. The resulting heterostructure exhibits a well-ordered hollow tube structure with a diameter of 345 nm and a length of 1.2 µm. The electrochemical sensing of Pb2+ ions in water is carried out using a cyclic voltammetry technique under both light and dark conditions. The concentration range for the Pb2+ ions ranges from 10-5 to 10-1 M. The sensitivity values obtained for the sensor are 1.0 × 10-6 in dark conditions and 1.0 × 10-4 in light conditions. The remarkable enhancement in sensitivity under light illumination can be attributed to the increased activity and electron transfer facilitated by the presence of light. The sensor demonstrates excellent reproducibility, highlighting its reliability and consistency. These findings suggest that the proposed sensor holds great promise for the detection of Pb2+ ions in water, thereby facilitating environmental monitoring, water quality assessment, and safety regulation across various industries. Furthermore, the eco-friendly and straightforward preparation techniques employed in its fabrication provide a significant advantage for practical and scalable implementation.

Characteristics of multi-absorption bands in near IR based on a 1D photonic crystal comprising two composite metamaterials.

The Matlab program has been utilized in this study to examine the absorption spectral properties of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1DPCs) comprising two composite metamaterials through near IR wavelengths. The composite metamaterials are designed from Ag of a gyroidal geometry (layer A) and hyperbolic metamaterial (layer B). Therefore, the introduced design is labeled as [Formula: see text] with n and m to define the periodicity of the hyperbolic metamaterial and the whole structure, respectively. The numerical findings have been introduced in the vicinity of the effective medium theory, transfer matrix method and the Drude model as well. In this regard, the numerical results demonstrate the appearance of some spectral absorption bands ranging from 0.7 µm to 3 µm for both TM and TE polarizations. Additionally, these bands are almost insensitive to the changes in the angle of incidence. Interestingly, we have considered the role played by some parameters such as the permittivities and thicknesses of both layers on the introduced absorption bands. Finally, we believe that the investigated results could be promising through many applications such as wavelength selective absorbers, solar energy, and smart windows as well.

Theoretical optimisation of a novel gas sensor using periodically closed resonators.

This study investigates using the phononic crystal with periodically closed resonators as a greenhouse gas sensor. The transfer matrix and green methods are used to investigate the dispersion relation theoretically and numerically. A linear acoustic design is proposed, and the waveguides are filled with gas samples. At the center of the structure, a defect resonator is used to excite an acoustic resonant peak inside the phononic bandgap. The localized acoustic peak is shifted to higher frequencies by increasing the acoustic speed and decreasing the density of gas samples. The sensitivity, transmittance of the resonant peak, bandwidth, and figure of merit are calculated at different geometrical conditions to select the optimum dimensions. The proposed closed resonator gas sensor records a sensitivity of 4.1 Hz m-1 s, a figure of merit of 332 m-1 s, a quality factor of 113,962, and a detection limit of 0.0003 m s-1. As a result of its high performance and simplicity, the proposed design can significantly contribute to gas sensors and bio-sensing applications.

Angular surface plasmon resonance-based sensor with a silver nanocomposite layer for effective water pollution detection.

For sensing various samples of polluted water and various sodium chloride concentrations using an angular surface plasmon resonance (ASPR), we have introduced a conventional structure and a hybrid heterostructure in the current research. The suggested structures are composed of silver metal, dielectric layers, silver nanocomposite, and a sensing medium. The reflectance spectra of all structures in the visible region were obtained through the utilization of the transfer matrix method by using the angular interrogation method depending on the Kretschmann configuration. Through our findings, five substrate parameters have been optimized to attain the utmost level of sensitivity across all structures: the thickness of Ag-metal, the type and thickness of dielectric materials, the host material type and the volume fraction of nanoparticles for the nanocomposite layer. In this regard, the suggested sensor provides excellent performance with a sensitivity of 448.1°[Formula: see text], signal-to-noise ratio of 0.787, sensor resolution of 0.284°, and figure of merit of 78.766 RIU-1. Therefore, we believe that the introduced design of our ASPR sensor presents a good candidate for an accurate and efficient detection of low concentrations of contaminated water and sodium chloride as well.

A temperature sensor based on Si/PS/SiO2 photonic crystals.

The present research deals with the extremely sensitive temperature-sensing capabilities of defective one-dimensional photonic crystal structures (Si/PS/SiO2). The proposed structure is realized by putting a defective layer of material silicon Dioxide (SiO2) in the middle of a structure consisting of alternating layers of silicon (Si) and porous silica (PS). The transfer matrix method has been employed to examine the transmission characteristics of the proposed defective one-dimensional photonic crystal in addition to MATLAB software. The transmission spectra of the proposed structure in the visible light domain are computed throughout a temperature range of 25-900 °C, and we study the thermal properties related to the defective mode. Additionally, the impacts of changing the defect layer's thickness are examined. Due to the effects of thermal expansion and the thermo-optical coefficient, the defect mode varies significantly as the temperature increases. Our investigation shows that the proposed structure considerably impacts the transmission intensity of the defective mode. The theoretically obtained numeric values of the quality factor and sensitivity are 2216.6 and 0.085 nm/°C, respectively. The challenges presented by conventional temperature sensors could be overcome by the suggested defective photonic crystal sensor. These results are enough to support our claim that the present design can be used as an ultra-sensitive temperature sensor.

Ultra-high sensitive cancerous cells detection and sensing capabilities of photonic biosensor.

The ultra-high sensitive cancer cell detection capabilities of one-dimensional photonic crystal with defect have been theoretically examined in this work. The simulations of the work have been carried out with MATLAB programming and transfer matrix method. The performance of the proposed biosensor loaded separately with samples containing different cancer cells has been studied by changing the period number, defect layer thickness, and incident angle corresponding to s polarized light only to identify the parameters under which the proposed design becomes ultra-sensitive. The working principle of the proposed biosensor is to sense the minute change in the refractive index of the analytes containing different cancer cells of human. This sensing is done shifting the respective defect mode inside photonic band gap of the structure from one position to other near by position due to change in the refractive index of sample under consideration. Our structure under optimum conditions yields maximum shifting in the position of defect mode from 1538 to 1648 nm corresponding to the samples containing normal and Glioblastoma cells of refractive indices 1.350 and 1.4470 respectively which results a ultra-high sensitivity of 4270.525928 nm/RIU.

Ultra-sensitive pressure sensing capabilities of defective one-dimensional photonic crystal.

Present research work deals with the extremely sensitive pressure-sensing capabilities of defective one-dimensional photonic crystal structure (GaP/SiO2)N/Al2O3/(GaP/SiO2)N. The proposed structure is realized by putting a defective layer of material Al2O3 in the middle of a structure consisting of alternating layers of GaP and SiO2. The transfer matrix method has been employed to examine the transmission characteristics of the proposed defective one-dimensional photonic crystal in addition to MATLAB software. An external application of the hydrostatic pressure on the proposed structure is responsible for the change in the position and intensity of defect mode inside the photonic band gap of the structure due to pressure-dependent refractive index properties of the materials being used in the design of the sructure. Additionally, the dependence of the transmission properties of the structure on other parameters like incident angle and defect layer thickness has also studied. The theoretical obtained numeric values of the quality factor and sensitivity are 17,870 and 72 nm/GPa respectively. These results are enough to support our claim that the present design can be used as an ultra-sensitive pressure sensor.

Annular one-dimensional photonic crystals for salinity sensing.

The use of annular one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystals (PCs) for salinity sensing is studied in this research. Annular 1D-PCs provide small and integrated structures that facilitate the creation of portable and miniaturized sensor equipment appropriate for field use. In order to generate annular 1D-PCs, the research explores the finite element method (FEM) simulation technique utilizing the COMSOL Multiphysics approach, highlighting the significance of exact control over layer thickness and uniformity. Furthermore, we construct a 1D annular PCs structure in the form [Formula: see text], where A is silicon ([Formula: see text]) and B is silicon dioxide ([Formula: see text]) of 40 nm and 70 nm, respectively, with a number of periods equal to 9. By incorporating a central defect layer of saline water (220 nm thickness), the sensor achieves optimum performance at normal incidence with a sensitivity (S) of [Formula: see text], a quality factor (Q) of 10.22, and a figure of merit (FOM) of [Formula: see text]. The design that is suggested has several advantages over past work on planners and annular 1D-PCs, including ease of implementation, performance at normal incidence, and high sensitivity.

Monitoring and simulation of the fuel irradiation behavior in nuclear reactors based on phononic crystal structure.

We have presented in the current work a novel idea for simulating the irradiation behaviors of the nuclear fuel pellets in nuclear reactors by using a one-dimensional defective phononic crystal (1D-DPnC) design was presented. The transmission spectra of the incident mechanical waves were considered basic data for expressing the characteristics of different nuclear fuel-pellets. Herein, the density, sound speed, and Young's modulus of the fuel-pellets represent the key parameters that are influenced by the irradiation behaviors of these pallets. Mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel is considered the main fuel in the present study. In addition, a comparison is performed for this fuel with other types of nuclear fuels. Moreover, the mechanical properties of these MOX-pellets are dependent on the porosity, the ratio of oxygen-to-metal (O/M), and the plutonium (Pu-content). The theoretical treatments depend on the transfers matrix method to compute the transmission spectra through the 1D-DPnC. The numerical findings provided that the MOX-pellet has the highest performance compared to other fuel pellets and with sensitivity equal to 59.388 × 103 Hz s/m. It was also reported that the effects of the percentage of the O/M and Pu- content in MOX had a minor effect in a comparison with the impact of porosity. The theoretical simulation agreed extremely with the experimental data reported for these nuclear fuels. Because of the close relationship between sound speed and density, this sensor can be utilized to monitor the porosity, O/M, Pu-content, and density of fuel-pellets as a quick and non-destructive evaluation technique in a nuclear fuel fabrication laboratory. This article has proven theoretically that MOX fuel produced from nuclear waste of uranium dioxide and plutonium dioxide gives excellent results compared to other types of nuclear fuels, and this agrees with experimental researches. Thus, it may contribute in preserving the environment from nuclear waste, and this can be considered a novel kind of purification of environmental pollution treatment.

Design of phononic crystal using open resonators as harmful gases sensor.

This paper investigates the ability to use a finite one-dimensional phononic crystal composed of branched open resonators with a horizontal defect to detect the concentration of harmful gases such as CO2. This research investigates the impact of periodic open resonators, defect duct at the center of the structure, and geometrical parameters such as cross-sections and length of the primary waveguide and resonators on the model's performance. As far as we know, this research is unique in the sensing field. Furthermore, these simulations show that the investigated finite one-dimensional phononic crystal composed of branched open resonators with a horizontal defect is a promising sensor.

MATLAB simulation based study on poliovirus sensing through one-dimensional photonic crystal with defect.

The present work, theoretically examined the poliovirus sensor model composed of one-dimensional photonic crystal with defect. The transfer matrix method with the help of MATLAB software has been used to detect poliovirus present in the water sample. The main objective of the present work is to design an efficient sensor by identifying the minute variation in the refractive index of water sample due to change in the poliovirus concentration present in the sample. The alternate layers of aluminum nitride and gallium nitride has been taken to realize Bragg reflector having defect layer of air at center of the Bragg reflector. The effect of change in thickness of defect layer region, period number and incident angle corresponding to transverse electric wave has been examined to optimize the structure which correspond maximum performance of the proposed poliovirus sensing structure. The maximum performance of the structure has been obtained with optimum value of defect layer thickness 1200 nm, period number 10 and incident angle 40°. Under optimum condition maximum sensitivity of 1189.65517 nm/RIU has been obtained when the structure is loaded with waters sample of poliovirus concentration C = 0.005 g/ml whereas figure of merit, quality factor, signal to noise ratio, dynamic range, limit of detection and resolution values become 2618.28446 per RIU, 3102.06475, 2.27791, 2090.99500, 1.91E-05 and 0.24656 respectively.

A combination of angle insensitive stopband/passband filters based on one-dimensional hyperbolic metamaterial quasiperiodic photonic crystals.

In the present work, we demonstrate the transmittance properties of one dimensional (1D) quasi-periodic photonic crystals that contain a superconductor material and a hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM). A HMM layer is engineered by the subwavelength undoped and doped Indium Arsenide (InAs) multilayers. Many resonance peaks with angle stability are obtained from the proposed Fibonacci sequence structure using the transfer matrix method (TMM). In this case, the Fibonacci sequence serves as the mainstay in the design of our structure. The permittivity of the utilized superconductor and the HMM are also analyzed, respectively. The numerical findings showed that the incident angle has no effect on the wavelength positions of the resonance peaks. The effects of many parameters such as the superconductor material thickness, Fibonacci sequence number, and sequence type are discussed for the proposed structure. At various operating temperatures and superconductor material types, the transmittance characteristics of the proposed structure were also examined. The designed structure can serve as a combination of pass/stop band filters for near-infrared (NIR) applications.

Biophotonic sensor for swift detection of malignant brain tissues by using nanocomposite YBa2Cu3O7/dielectric material as a 1D defective photonic crystal.

In the present research work we have theoretically examined the biosensing capabilities of proposed one dimensional defective photonic crystal for swift detection of malignant brain tissues. The transfer matrix formulation and MATLAB computational tool have been used to examine the transmission properties of proposed structure. The identical buffer layers of nanocomposite superconducting material have been used either side of cavity region to enhance the interaction between incident light and different brain tissue samples poured into the cavity region. All the investigations have been carried out under normal incidence to suppress the experimental liabilities involved. We have investigated the biosensing performance of the proposed design by changing the values of two internal parameters (1) the cavity layer thickness (d4) and (2) volume fraction (η) of nanocomposite buffer layers one by one to get the optimum biosensing performance from the structure. It has been found that the sensitivity of the proposed design becomes 1.42607 µm/RIU when the cavity region of thickness 15dd is loaded with lymphoma brain tissue. This value of sensitivity can be further increased to 2.66136 µm/RIU with η = 0.8. The findings of this work are very beneficial for designing of various bio-sensing structures composed of nanocomposite materials of diversified biomedical applications.

A doped-polymer based porous silicon photonic crystal sensor for the detection of gamma-ray radiation.

In this research, a theoretical investigation of the one-dimensional defective photonic crystals is considered for the detection of gamma-ray radiation. Each unit cell of the considered one-dimensional photonic crystals (1D PhCs) is composed of two layers designed from porous silicon infiltrated by poly-vinyl alcohol polymer doped with crystal violet (CV) and carbol fuchsine (CF) dyes (doped-polymer) with different porosity. In addition, a single layer of doped-polymer is included in the middle of the designed 1D PhCs to stimulate the localization of a distinct resonant wavelength through the photonic band gap. In particular, the appearance of this resonant mode represents the backbone of our study towards the detection of γ-ray radiation with doses from 0 to 70 Gy. The Bruggeman's effective medium equation, the fitted experimental data to the refractive index of the doped-polymer, and the Transfers Matrix Method (TMM) serve as the mainstay of our theoretical treatment. The numerical findings provide significant contributions to some of the governing parameters such as the thicknesses of the considered materials on the performance of the presented sensor, the effect of incidence angle and the porosity of the considered materials on the resonance wavelength. In this regard, at optimum values of these parameters the sensitivity, quality factor, signal-to-noise ratio, detection limit, sensor resolution, and figure of merit that are obtained are 205.7906 nm RIU-1, 9380.483, 49.315, 2.05 × 10-5 RIU, 3.27 × 10-5, and 2429.31 RIU-1, respectively. Therefore, we believe that the suggested design could be of significant interest in many industrial, medical, and scientific applications.

Multiplication of photonic band gaps in one-dimensional photonic crystals by using hyperbolic metamaterial in IR range.

The light-slowing effect near band endpoints is frequently exploited in photonic crystals to enhance the optical transmittance. In a one-dimensional binary photonic crystal (1DPC) made of hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs), we theoretically examined the angle-dependent omnidirectional photonic bandgap (PBG) for TM polarization. Using the transfer matrix approach, the optical characteristics of the 1DPC structure having dielectric and HMM layers were examined at the infrared range (IR). As such, we observed the existing of numerous PBGs in this operating wavelength range (IR). Meanwhile, the HMM layer is engineered by the subwavelength dielectric- nanocomposite multilayers. The filling fraction of nanoparticles have been explored to show how they affect the effective permittivity of the HMM layer. Furthermore, the transmittance properties of the suggested structure are investigated at various incident angles for transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric polarizations. Other parameters such as, the permittivity of the host material, the filling fraction of nanoparticles, and the thickness of the second layer (HMM) are also taken into account. Finally, we investigated the effect of these parameters on the number and the width of the (PBGs). With the optimum values of the optical parameters of the nanocomposite (NC) layer, this research could open the way for better multi-channel filter photonic crystals.

Performance analysis of the salinity based on hexagonal two-dimensional photonic crystal: computational study.

We have designed a unique structure for a liquid sensor based on two-dimensional PCs with a triangular lattice constant in the periodicity by drilling a hexagonal cylinder in a dielectric host material. Using the COMSOL multiphysics approach, we investigated the given structure and sensing performance based on the finite element method. We will optimize two-dimensional hexagonal photonic crystals to localize the photonic band gap region in the mid and far infra-red frequency range, as water is a good absorber for this range of frequencies. Then, we inject the central hexagonal cylinder with saline water and calculate the sensor parameters for different values of the refractive index of saline water at different frequencies related to photonic band gaps. We could reach the optimum conditions of the salinity sensor as the half diagonal of the hexagonal shape (R) = 500 nm, the perpendicular distance between the two diagonal hexagonal (D) = 250 nm, and the number of periods (N) = 5, which gives a high efficiency with sensitivity (S) = 525 nm/RIU, figure of merit (FOM) = 80.7 RIU-1, and quality factor (Q) = 375. The effects of structural characteristics on sensing performance are investigated, with new approaches for improving salinity sensors proposed. Furthermore, traditional salinity sensors may be replaced by the proposed method in the photo-sensing application, which is simple and practical for use in the thermal desalination techniques.

Photonic crystals umbrella for thermal desalination: simulation study.

For sustainable water desalination, there is a worldwide push towards solar thermal desalination with the objective to limit the amount of consumed energy in other desalination technologies and maximize the resulting freshwater from saline water. Here, we demonstrate a photonic crystals solar umbrella that covers the saline water surface, demanding to absorb all the incident electromagnetic wave and remit it as greater wavelengths in the range of mid-infrared (MIR) to be highly absorbed and localized close to the water surface. The temperature of the saline water with a refractive index of 1.3326 is reached to [Formula: see text] after one hour of illumination with the incident power intensity equal 680 [Formula: see text]. Hence, by adding one-dimensional PCs the surface temperature is reached [Formula: see text]. Also, by adding 2D PCs to allow the vapor to flow up through the pores of the structure with the diameter of the pore equal to 500 nm, the surface temperature is reached [Formula: see text] after three hour of illumination. Thus, the effective use of electromagnetic waves and warmth localization at the surface of saline water is accomplished by radiative coupling with the effect of 2D PCs. We design the considered structure by using COMSOL multiphysics which based on the finite element method (FEM).

Simulation study of gas sensor using periodic phononic crystal tubes to detect hazardous greenhouse gases.

Here, we investigate a gas sensor model based on phononic crystals of alternating tubes using the transfer matrix method to detect hazardous greenhouse gases. The effect of the thicknesses and cross-sections of all tubes on the performance of the proposed sensor is studied. The results show that longitudinal acoustic speed is a pivotal parameter rather than the mass density variations of the gas samples on the position of the resonant peaks due to its significant impact on the propagation of the acoustic wave. The suggested sensor can be considered very simple and low-cost because it does not need a complicated process to deposit multilayers of different mechanical properties' materials.

Transmittance properties of one-dimensional metamaterial nanocomposite photonic crystal in GHz range.

We have theoretically demonstrated and explored the transmittance characteristics of a one-dimensional binary photonic crystal composed of metamaterial (MM) and nanocomposite (NC) layers. The NC layer was designed from silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) in a host material as Yttrium oxide (Y2O3). Using the transfer matrix approach (TMM), the optical properties of a one-dimensional binary periodic structure having MM and NC layers in the Giga Hertz (GHz) range were examined. The filling fractions of nanoparticles have been explored to see their effect on the effective permittivity of NC materials. Furthermore, the transmittance properties of the suggested structure were investigated at various incident angles for the transverse electric (TE) polarization. In addition to that, different parameters, such as the thickness of the MM layer, the permittivity of the host dielectric material, the filling fraction, and the thickness of the NC layer are also taken into account. We also discussed the effect of these parameters on the width of the photonic bandgap (PBG). With the optimum values of the optical parameters of NC layer, this research could open the way for better photonic crystal circuits, splitters, switches and others.

Refractive index sensor with magnified resonant signal.

Herein, we theoretically suggest one-dimensional photonic crystal composed of polymer doped with quantum dots and porous silicon. The present simulated design is proposed as a refractive index biosensor structure based on parity-time symmetry. Under the parity-time conditions, the transmittance of the resonant peaks is magnified to be 57,843% for refractive index 1.350, 2725% for 1.390, 2117% for 1.392, 1502% for 1.395, 1011% for 1.399, and 847% for 1.401. By magnification, we can distinguish between different refractive indices. The present design can record an efficiency twice the published designs as clear in the comparison table. Results clear that the sensitivities are 635 nm/RIU and 1,000,000%/RIU. So, it can be used for a broader range of detection purposes.