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

Abstract 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.