A novel optical refractive index sensor is proposed and theoretically investigated by cascading a PANDA and a Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on the Vernier effect. The PANDA acts as a filter in this structure. Also, the MZI is a function of the refractive index variation. Therefore, the MZI structure acts as a refractive index sensing element in the proposed structure. Detailed modeling and instructions are provided for the design of such devices. These are supposed to be manufactured on platforms compatible with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS). It is shown that the proposed sensor reaches high sensitivity (600 m/RIU) and limit of detection (LOD 3.4\(\times\)10\(^{-5}\) RIU), which is more sensitive than the single MZI. In addition, the sensitivity of the sensor was measured when the temperature changed from 26 to 35 \(^{\circ }\)C. This system has many applications in the field of high-sensitivity biosensing and environmental monitoring.

通过级联PANDA和基于游标效应的Mach-Zehnder干涉仪（MZI），提出并理论研究了一种新型光学折射率传感器。PANDA 在此结构中充当过滤器。此外，MZI 是折射率变化的函数。因此，MZI 结构在所提出的结构中充当折射率传感元件。为此类设备的设计提供了详细的建模和说明。这些应该在与绝缘体上硅 (SOI) 互补金属氧化物半导体 (CMOS) 兼容的平台上制造。结果表明，所提出的传感器达到了高灵敏度 (600 m/RIU) 和检测限 (LOD 3.4 \(\times\) 10 \(^{-5}\)RIU)，比单个 MZI 更敏感。另外，当温度从26改变为35，测量传感器的灵敏度\（^ {\ CIRC} \） C.本系统具有高灵敏度的生物传感和环境监测领域的许多应用。