Independently tunable dual Fano resonances based on plasmonic MIM Sagnac loop coupling Taiji resonator.

In this paper, we first propose and demonstrate independently tunable dual Fano resonances based on a plasmonic structure composed of MIM (metal-insulator-metal) Sagnac loop with embedded Taiji resonator. An S-shaped crossover branch inside the Taiji ring resonator can tailor the propagating modes into their counter-propagating directions, finally tuning the number of whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) in Taiji resonator. Both Fano resonances originate from the interference between the discrete state generated from WGMs in Taiji resonator and continuous state from modes propagating in the plasmonic Sagnac loop. By stuffing a silver circle area (SCA) inside S-shaped branch, dual Fano resonances can be tuned independently as SCA has different sizes or locates at different places. Fano resonance would be influenced and shifted strongly when SCA locates at the energy intensity valley of WGM, while without any influence as SCA situates at the energy intensity peak of WGM. Thanks to the strong sub-wavelength light confinement of dual Fano resonances based on MIM plasmonic system, an optical refractometric sensor with figure of merit (FOM) of 100/RIU and high sensitivity of 1899 nm/RIU is demonstrated. Furthermore, this hybrid structure is also used for temperature sensing of ethanol with the maximal sensitivity of −0.793 nm/°C. This compact plasmonic Sagnac loop coupling Taiji resonator demonstrates impressive practical prospects for high-sensitivity biochemical sensors, nonlinear optics, and optical modulation. • Dual Fano resonances are observed and tuned based on MIM Sagnac loop coupling Taiji resonator. • Dual Fano resonances can be tuned independently in this hybrid system. • High-sensitivity refractometric sensing and temperature sensing are proposed, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]