Dispersion engineered silicon nanocrystal photonic structures for trace biochemical surface sensing by nonlinear effects

In this paper we propose, for the first time to our knowledge, the theoretical investigation of silicon nanocrystals-based sandwiched slot waveguides which are dispersion engineered for trace biochemical surface sensing in photonic structures using nonlinear effects. In particular, we have investigated the feasibility of a new concept of photonic sensor based on nonlinear effects, such as Four Wave Mixing and optical soliton excitation inside very short structures (only a few mm long). In order to investigate the sensor performance, a self-consistent mathematical model has been developed by taking into account the space-time pulse evolution coupled with the electron dynamics inside the nanocrystals. Several parametric simulations have been carried out in order to find the best device configurations for sensing operation in near infrared, around 1550 nm.