Design, fabrication and characterization of Si nanopillars-based photonic crystal for mechanical sensing

Abstract

In this work the first results of the experimental implementation of silicon nanopillars hexagonal arrays acting as photonic crystals with the aim of their use as force sensors are presented. The starting point are two previous bachelor and master thesis that have shown the theoretical potentialities of such a structure acting as a photonic crystal and as a mechanical sensor due to deflection of the nanopillars. Here we present the optimization of the fabrication procedure of these nanostructures, based on a sequence of complex processes carried out in Clean-Room environment, and the support of simulations and morphological analysis via Scanning Electron Microscopy and the results obtained from Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy characterisation match the simulations of the photonic crystal, with bandgaps in the near infrared range, and pave the way in the use of such structures for mechanical testing in biomedical applications.