Robust Merged Bound States in the Continuum for Ultrahigh-Q Optical Sensing
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Abstract
Symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum (SP-BIC), characterized by theoretically vanishing radiation loss, provide an effective platform for realizing high-Q metamaterial systems and improving optical sensing performance. Nevertheless, conventional isolated SP-BIC modes generally exhibit limited Q-factor enhancement and require delicate symmetry perturbations for excitation, which imposes stringent fabrication constraints and reduces practical feasibility. This paper proposes a BIC merging strategy to enhance resonant Q factors, maintaining ultrahigh Q values under considerable symmetry breaking. A double-layer silicon nanohole metamaterial is designed to merge SP-BIC and Fabry–Pérot BIC by adjusting interlayer spacing, which modifies the radiative characteristics of the initial SP-BIC. Numerical simulations reveal that the merged BIC configuration achieves a three-order-of-magnitude enhancement in the Q factor compared with isolated counterparts. The BIC-based structure presented here displays a refractive index sensitivity of 230 nm/RIU, and the FOM surpasses 4.8 × 105 RIU−1, which is much higher than the conventional isolated BIC structure. This work offers an effective solution for developing high-performance optical sensing devices based on merged BIC resonances.
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