Energy efficient polarizer free leaky mode sensors

The refractive index sensitivity of a variety of planar leaky mode devices was investigated using polarizer-free instrumentation. This was achieved by increasing the resolution and reducing the size of a well established optical configuration. These improvements also permitted use of a residual or free light source which further reduced the running and construction costs of the sensor. Our results show that polarizer free leaky mode devices can be fabricated from a variety of polymeric materials and possess all the attributes suitable for the development of simple, compact and energy efficient label-free chemical sensors.