Resonant Optics for Sensing and Light Management

The recent breakthroughs in miniaturized, efficient sensors, particularly in portable field applications, have utilized resonant optics in achieving superior results. This has been made possible through the utilization of surface plasmon resonances, diffractive optics, and resonant cavity geometries, thereby allowing customized light-matter interactions in an extremely miniaturized form. This enables precise, real-time monitoring of atmospheric quality, harmful chemicals, and biological materials through fast and label-free analysis. This resonant geometry has managed to confine light at the nanoscale, thereby achieving unprecedented sensitivity to minute refractive index changes due to target materials. This miniaturized, low-energy form is particularly useful in remote, resource-poor environments, thereby allowing instant multi-parametric analysis in environmental, healthcare, and security applications. Another potential application is to use artificial intelligence to overcome the complexity in optimizing these nanostructures, particularly in achieving desired results in sensing applications.This Research Topic’s main objective is to compile reviews and research papers regarding a novel class of ultra-compact, intelligent photonic sensors that use resonant optics for multi-parametric, real-time detection in practical settings. The goal is to develop portable devices that can simultaneously assess atmospheric quality, identify chemicals, and detect biological threats by integrating surface plasmon resonance, diffractive optics, and resonant cavity architectures into an integrated platform. These sensors favorably operate with low power consumption and no complicated laboratory infrastructure while providing sensitivity and specificity comparable to those found in laboratories.One goal is to use the improved light-matter interaction made possible by carefully designed nanophotonic structures to achieve true real-time responsiveness, which would reduce detection times from hours or minutes to seconds. The ultimate aim of the work will be an adaptive sensing platform with the ability to be quickly repurposed for various sensing applications. To accomplish this high degree of performance and flexibility, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques maybe be used to speed the inverse design process, allowing new geometries of nanostructure to be found beyond those of existing technology.The Research Topic is open to designs and methods on the convergence of nanophotonics and portable sensing technology. It is encouraged that the research articles presented will highlight the development of miniaturized optical technologies for the real-time sensing applications. Of particular interest are articles highlighting innovative designs, applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques and computational techniques for the enhancement of the sensing performance of the optical sensors. Manuscripts should report novel research work that has been experimentally or computationally validated. The manuscripts must provide detailed descriptions of resonant optical structures, fabrication techniques, as well as sensing parameters like limit of detection, specificity, and response time. The manuscripts can also utilize computational optimization methods to attain superior device performance. In addition, manuscripts that use artificial intelligence must provide detailed descriptions of datasets used for training, neural networks employed, as well as validation procedures. Topic editors: MAHMOUD HAMDY ELSHORBAGY, Javier Alda, Eleazar Samuel Kolosovas-Machuca, Alexander Cuadrado Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80759/resonant-optics-for-sensing-and-light-management