Refractive index sensing utilizing a cw photonic crystal nanolaser and its array configuration.

We demonstrate refractive index sensing using photonic crystal point shift nanolasers. These lasers operate continuously at room temperature by photopumping in a liquid, and exhibit a 50-dB peak intensity over the background level and a spectral linewidth of < 26 pm, the resolution limit of the present experiment. The lasing wavelength shifts by soaking in different liquids; the wavelength to index sensitivity was 350 nm/RIU, the highest value recorded to date for nanocavity- based sensors. An index resolution of 9.0 x 10(-5) was thus confirmed, leading to an expectation of a resolution of < 10(-6). We propose and demonstrate a spectrometer-free sensor based on nanolasers in an array configuration. These will be disposable sensors with very simple optical I/O. They are anticipated to be integrated with biochips and used for label-free single molecule detection.