Fabrication of an integrated optical Mach–Zehnder interferometer based on refractive index modification of polymethylmethacrylate by krypton fluoride excimer laser radiation

Design and Optimization of High Sensitivity Photonic Interferometric Biosensors on Polymeric Waveguides

“…In this paper, we focus on integrated optical biosensors based on polymeric waveguides assembled into Mach-Zehnder (MZI) and Michelson (MI) interferometric configurations. Interferometric biosensors exploit the refractive index change induced by the biological agent, and the consequent change in the interference condition, to achieve high sensitivity values combined with simple design rules and low manufacturing cost, thanks to the use of polymers [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…In this work, we focus on two particular polymers, i.e., the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and the epoxy resin SU-8. The PMMA is a transparent material having good properties of hardness, rigidity and a high UV stability [25,26]. The SU-8 is a common negative photoresist combining advantageous properties such as flexibility, adhesion and chemical resistance.…”

“…It combines the excellent mechanical properties, with excellent adhesion and electrical insulation as well as a strong resistance to chemical agents and temperature. The SU-8 photoresist and the PMMA are among the most biocompatible polymers and this, together with their physical and optical properties, make them suitable for biological and chemical sensing applications [25,27].…”