In this chapter, the definitions of the photonic crystals (PhCs) are presented and the photonic crystal-based sensors are described. The structures of some photonic crystal biosensors that can detect chemical or biochemical molecules are also investigated. Sensing mechanism in the most photonic crystal sensors is based on the refractive index (RI) change mechanism. By binding the chemical or biochemical molecules to active sensing surface, the refractive index will be changed. So, the resonant wavelength or the intensity of the transmission spectrum is changed. This process can be used as a way to measure the concentration of the molecules. To simulate the optical wave behavior in the structure and evaluating the ability of biosensing, the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (2D-FDTD) and plane-wave expansion (PWE) methods are used. The sensors that are presented in this chapter are mostly based on photonic crystal resonators. Some structures based on micro-/nano-resonators, structures based on LX resonators, and structures based on ring resonator are investigated. Important parameters on sensing applications for these structures are also calculated.
Part of the book: Progresses in Chemical Sensor