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Bound States in the Continuum in Photonics, Plasmonics, and Terahertz Technology

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Dr. Zhuo Wang

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Guest Editor

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Interests: nanophotonics; bound states in the continuum; light-matter interaction; optical metasurface; nonlinear optics

Dr. Fu Deng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Interests: nanophotonics; plasmonics; two-dimensional materials; light-matter interaction; bound states in the continuum

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of bound states in the continuum (BICs) originated from quantum mechanics in the early 20th century. It describes a class of non-radiative states embedded in the radiation continuum. Basically, BICs provide a widely applicable scheme for reducing radiative loss. High quality factor quasi-BICs can be obtained by perturbing the ideal condition of BICs, which is important for generating sharp resonances. In practice, the competition between radiative and dissipative losses should be considered. By adjusting the ratio of radiative to dissipative losses of quasi-BICs, one can access under-, critical-, and over-coupled regimes for the coupling between quasi-BICs and incident light. Therefore, the mechanism of BICs provides a powerful tool for enhancing light-matter interaction.

In addition, optical field manipulation empowered by BICs has attracted intensive interest. Representative results include strong circular dichroism produced by chiral BICs, topological-defect-induced unidirectional guided resonances, near-perfect absorption of tightly focused light achieved by flat-band BICs, and so on. The in-depth study of BICs will promote the development of optical devices with a wide range of applications.

The Special Issue aims to present cutting-edge research on the fundamentals and applications of BICs in photonics, plasmonics, and terahertz technology. We welcome broad, visionary contributions of original research articles and review papers. We are glad to invite researchers to submit their contributions to this Special Issue.

Dr. Zhuo Wang
Dr. Fu Deng
Guest Editors

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12 pages, 2629 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Q Resonances Enabled by Bound States in the Continuum for a Dual-Parameter Optical Sensing

by Hongshun Liu, Yuntao Pan, Hongjian Lu, Zongyu Chen, Xuguang Huang and Changyuan Yu

Photonics 2025, 12(6), 554; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12060554 - 30 May 2025

Viewed by 450

Abstract

Optical sensing technologies, particularly refractive index and temperature sensing, are pivotal in biomedical, environmental, and industrial applications. This study introduces a dual-parameter all-dielectric transmissive grating sensor leveraging symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum (BICs). A one-dimensional silicon grating on a silica substrate was designed and analyzed using finite element analysis software. The proposed grating structure enables the excitation of two distinct BICs, both exhibiting high quality factors (Q-factors) of

Q_{I} = 8.03 \times 10^{4}

for Mode I and

Q_{I I} = 4.48 \times 10^{4}

for Mode II. These modes demonstrate significantly different sensing characteristics due to their unique field distributions: Mode I predominantly confines its electromagnetic field within the grating slits, achieving an outstanding refractive index (RI) sensitivity of

{S_{R I}}^{I} = 406 n m / R I U

with a minor thermal sensitivity of

{S_{T}}^{I} = 0.052 n m / ° C

. In contrast, Mode II concentrates its field energy in the silicon substrate, resulting in enhanced thermal sensitivity of

{S_{T}}^{I I} = 0.078 n m / ° C

while maintaining a refractive index sensitivity of

{S_{R I}}^{I I} = 220 n m / R I U

. This complementary sensitivity profile between the two modes establishes an ideal platform for developing a dual-parameter sensing system capable of simultaneously monitoring both refractive index variations and temperature changes. These results highlight the correlation between mode field distribution characteristics and sensing sensitivity performance, and enabling high Q-factor dual-parameter sensing with potential applications in lab-on-a-chip systems and real-time biomolecular monitoring. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bound States in the Continuum in Photonics, Plasmonics, and Terahertz Technology)

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