Silicon microring refractometric sensor for atmospheric CO 2 gas monitoring

We report a silicon photonic refractometric CO2 gas sensor operating at room temperature and capable of detecting CO2 gas at atmospheric concentrations. The sensor uses a novel functional material layer based on a guanidine polymer derivative, which is shown to exhibit reversible refractive index change upon absorption and release of CO2 gas molecules, and does not require the presence of humidity to operate. By functionalizing a silicon microring resonator with a thin layer of the polymer, we could detect CO2 gas concentrations in the 0-500ppm range with a sensitivity of 6 × 10−9 RIU/ppm and a detection limit of 20ppm. The microring transducer provides a potential integrated solution in the development of low-cost and compact CO2 sensors that can be deployed as part of a sensor network for accurate environmental monitoring of greenhouse gases.