Bloch Surface Wave Applications in Photonic Sensors

Bloch surface waves (BSWs) are electromagnetic modes confined at the interface between a periodic dielectric multilayer and its surrounding medium. Their low propagation losses, sharp resonance features and strong field localisation make them ideal for sensing applications. By engineering the multilayer stack and surface functionalisation, BSW platforms detect minute changes in refractive index, molecular binding events or environmental parameters through shifts in resonance wavelength or intensity. Dielectric materials offer greater chemical and mechanical stability than metals, enabling reusable, label-free biosensors, high-Q waveguiding devices and on-chip integration. Recent advances exploit BSWs to enhance fluorescence signals, achieve self-referenced detection, and integrate dynamic tuning mechanisms, thereby addressing challenges in point-of-care diagnostics, environmental monitoring and lab-on-chip photonics.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Researchers have developed lasing devices based on guided BSW modes by integrating a gain medium atop a dielectric multilayer. These all-dielectric BSW lasers exhibit exceptionally narrow linewidths and low thresholds, while their output characteristics respond sensitively to changes in the ambient environment, indicating potential for ultra-sensitive refractometric detection. In another study, the confinement of BSWs to a single polymeric nanofibre placed on a tailored multilayer has been demonstrated both numerically and experimentally. This configuration supports one-dimensional light guidance with surface-enhanced field localisation, offering a robust route to miniaturised sensing elements capable of multi-colour operation and selective analyte detection.

Bloch Surface Wave Applications in Photonic Sensors publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in bloch surface wave applications in photonic sensors across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Bloch surface wave (BSW): An electromagnetic surface mode confined at the boundary of a periodic dielectric multilayer, characterised by low loss and sharp resonance.

One-dimensional photonic crystal: A stack of alternating dielectric layers that creates a photonic band gap and supports surface or guided modes.

Refractometric sensing: Detection of analyte-induced changes in refractive index by monitoring optical resonance shifts.

Guided-mode resonance (GMR): A resonance arising when incident light couples to waveguide modes in a periodic structure, producing narrow reflection or transmission features.

Self-referenced sensing: A method using two or more resonances—one as a sensing channel and another as a reference—to correct for environmental or instrumental fluctuations.

Optically-induced birefringence: Anisotropy created in a material by an external light field, enabling dynamic tuning of optical resonances.

References

1. High-Q lasing via all-dielectric Bloch-surface-wave platform. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Bloch surface waves confined in one dimension with a single polymeric nanofibre. Nature Communications (2017).
3. Spectral tuning of Bloch Surface Wave resonances by light-controlled optical anisotropy. Nanophotonics (2023).
4. Detection of anti-SARS CoV-2 antibodies in human serum by means of Bloch surface waves on 1D photonic crystal biochips. Biosensors and Bioelectronics X (2023).
5. Sensing based on Bloch surface wave and self-referenced guided mode resonances employing a one-dimensional photonic crystal.. Optics Express (2021).