Photonic crystal device for fluid sensing

1. An apparatus for sensing at least one property of a fluid, comprising:

a dielectric slab into which is defined a first photonic crystal structure and a second photonic crystal structure, said first and second photonic crystal structures comprising differently patterned arrays of channels extending through said dielectric slab; and

a fluid introduction device configured to introduce a common volume of the fluid into the channels of said first and second photonic crystal structures;

whereby the at least one property of the fluid can be sensed by measuring the propagation of radiation through said first and second photonic crystal structures.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:

a radiation introduction device configured to introduce radiation at a common wavelength into said first and second photonic crystal structures; and

a radiation measurement device configured to measure said radiation upon said propagation through said first and second photonic crystal structures.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said radiation introduction device is configured to apply an incident wavefront of said radiation to said first and second photonic crystal structures at a common angle at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of at least one of said first and second photonic crystal structures, and wherein said radiation measurement device is configured to measure an angle of refraction corresponding to each of said first and second photonic crystal structures.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein said radiation introduction device is configured to perturb said common angle, and wherein said radiation measurement device is configured to measure changes in said angles of refraction corresponding to said perturbations of said common angle.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of said first and second photonic crystal structures includes a defect pattern defined therethrough, and wherein said radiation is at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of at least one of said first and second photonic crystal structures.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said defect patterns of said first and second photonic crystal structures are non-adjacent and have distinct inputs and outputs.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said defect patterns of said first and second photonic crystal structures are positioned end-to-end such that a composite defect path is defined through said first and second photonic crystal structures, and wherein said frequency is near the edge of the photonic bandgap of each of said first and second photonic crystal structures.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a third photonic crystal structure defined in said dielectric slab and having an array of channels patterned differently than said first and second photonic crystal structures, said fluid introduction device being further configured to introduce the common volume of the fluid into the channels of said third photonic crystal structure, said at least one property being further sensed by measuring the propagation of radiation through said third photonic crystal structure.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said arrays of channels in said first and second photonic crystal structures are differently patterned with respect to at least one of channel pitch, channel cross-sectional shape, type of spatial pattern, and channel cross-sectional size.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said at least one property of the fluid is a refractive index.

11. A method, comprising:

introducing a common volume of a fluid into a plurality of columnar channels formed in a dielectric slab, said channels defining an array of photonic crystals in the dielectric slab, each photonic crystal in said array having a different channel pattern than the other photonic crystals in said array;

introducing electromagnetic radiation into said array of photonic crystals; and

sensing at least one property of the fluid by measuring the propagation of said electromagnetic radiation through said array of photonic crystals.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said electromagnetic radiation is at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of at least one of said photonic crystals.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein said electromagnetic radiation is at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of each of said photonic crystals.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein any two of said channel patterns of said plurality of photonic crystals differ with respect to at least one of channel pitch, channel cross-sectional shape, type of spatial pattern, and channel cross-sectional size.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said at least one property of the fluid is a refractive index.

16. The method of claim 11 , said array of photonic crystals forming a common input surface for receiving electromagnetic radiation, wherein said introducing electromagnetic radiation comprises applying an incident wavefront thereof to said common input surface at a non-normal angle at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of at least one of said photonic crystals, and wherein said sensing at least one property comprises measuring an angle of refraction corresponding to each of said photonic crystals.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising perturbing said non-normal angle and measure changes in said angles of refraction corresponding to said perturbations.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein each of said photonic crystals includes a defect pattern defined therethrough, and wherein said electromagnetic radiation is at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of at least one of said photonic crystals.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein said defect patterns of said photonic crystal structures are non-adjacent and have distinct inputs and outputs.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein said defect patterns are positioned end-to-end such that a composite defect path is defined through said array of photonic crystals, and wherein said frequency is near the edge of the photonic bandgap of each of said photonic crystals.

21. A fluid sensing device, comprising:

a first photonic crystal and a second photonic crystal formed into a common slab of bulk material, said first and second photonic crystals comprising differently patterned arrays of channels extending through said common slab;

means for introducing a common volume of the fluid into the channels of said first and second photonic crystals;

means for introducing electromagnetic radiation into said photonic crystals; and

means for measuring the propagation of said electromagnetic radiation through said photonic crystals to sense at least one property of the fluid.

22. The fluid sensing device of claim 21 , wherein said means for introducing electromagnetic radiation comprises means for applying an incident wavefront thereof to said photonic crystals at a common angle at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of at least one of said photonic crystals, and wherein said means for measuring comprises means for determining an angle of refraction corresponding to each of said photonic crystals.

23. The fluid sensing device of claim 21 , wherein each of said photonic crystals includes a defect pattern defined therethrough, and wherein said means for introducing electromagnetic radiation provides electromagnetic radiation at a frequency near an edge of a photonic bandgap of at least one of said photonic crystals.

24. The fluid sensing device of claim 23 , wherein said defect patterns of said photonic crystals are positioned end-to-end such that a composite defect path is defined therethrough, and wherein said frequency is near the edge of the photonic bandgap of each of said photonic crystals.

25. The fluid sensing device of claim 21 , wherein said at least one property of the fluid is a refractive index, and wherein said arrays of channels in said first and second photonic crystals are differently patterned with respect to at least one of channel pitch, channel cross-sectional shape, type of spatial pattern, and channel cross-sectional size.