Subwavelength film sensing based on terahertz anti-resonant reflecting hollow waveguides.

A simple dielectric hollow-tube has been experimentally demonstrated at terahertz range for bio-molecular layer sensing based on the anti-resonant reflecting wave-guidance mechanism. We experimentally study the dependence of thin-film detection sensitivity on the optical geometrical parameters of tubes, different thicknesses and tube wall refractive indices, and on different resonant frequencies. A polypropylene hollow-tube with optimized sensitivity of 0.003 mm/μm is used to sense a subwavelength-thick (λ/225) carboxypolymethylene molecular overlayer on the tube's inner surface, and the minimum detectable quantity of molecules could be down to 1.22 picomole/mm(2). A double-layered Fabry-Pérot model is proposed for calculating the overlayer thicknesses, which agrees well with the experimental results.