Open AccessUltra-small photonic crystal (PhC)-based test tool for gas permeability of polymers
Author(s) -
Qifeng Qiao,
Chenyu Peng,
Jianling Xia,
Chengkuo Lee,
Guangya Zhou
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.27.035600
Subject(s) - materials science , polydimethylsiloxane , photonic crystal , finite difference time domain method , wafer , microelectromechanical systems , permeation , polymer , optics , optoelectronics , composite material , membrane , chemistry , physics , biochemistry
We present an ultra-small photonic crystal-based test tool for gas permeability of polymers. It features a fully-etched photonic crystal (PhC) structure occupying an area of 20 µm × 800 µm on silicon-on-insulator wafer. The light-matter interaction in the PhC cavity with deformed Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) under pressure difference was investigated with finite element method and finite-difference time-domain method numerically. Next, three PDMS membranes of different mixing ratios were utilized for the characterization of gas permeation flux. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed working mechanism are verified through clearly distinguishing the gas permeability of these three testing samples. Compared with conventional test tools, this proposed test tool has fast response while it consumes less testing gas volume in a testing system with reduced footprint. Potentially, it can be integrated into lab-on-a-chip devices to measure gas permeation in nano scale.