Boosting Sensing Performance through Near-Field Engineering in Low-Q Metasurfaces
Abstract
Dielectric metasurfaces have introduced a new paradigm for substance detection by exploiting their resonant properties to enhance light-matter interaction. This enhancement can be used for sensing either through refractive index changes or through absorption-based mechanisms. Most works focus on high-quality factor resonators, aiming to increase field confinement in the vicinity of the resonant structure to improve sensitivity. In this work, we explore an alternative approach based on low-quality factor, fully dielectric metasurfaces, with engineered modes to enhance near-field concentration. We investigate different topologies that, despite their low-quality factors, achieve sensitivity and detection performance beyond what is typically reported for low-Q structures in the literature. This improvement is enabled by near-field engineering of the evanescent modes, allowing us to control the spatial distribution of the electromagnetic field and maximize its overlap with the analyte. Our results show that careful mode engineering provides a powerful strategy to boost sensing performance without relying on ultra-high-Q resonances.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{alvarezsanchis2026boosting,
title = {{Boosting Sensing Performance through Near-Field Engineering in Low-Q Metasurfaces}},
author = {José Antonio Álvarez-Sanchis and Luis Manuel Máñez-Espina and Teresa Mengual Chuliá and Amadeu Griol and Ana Díaz-Rubio},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.14676},
eprint = {2605.14676},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.14676},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Boosting Sensing Performance through Near-Field Engineering in Low-Q Metasurfaces
AU - José Antonio Álvarez-Sanchis
AU - Luis Manuel Máñez-Espina
AU - Teresa Mengual Chuliá
AU - Amadeu Griol
AU - Ana Díaz-Rubio
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/14
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.14676
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.14676
AB - Dielectric metasurfaces have introduced a new paradigm for substance detection by exploiting their resonant properties to enhance light-matter interaction. This enhancement can be used for sensing either through refractive index changes or through absorption-based mechanisms. Most works focus on high-quality factor resonators, aiming to increase field confinement in the vicinity of the resonant structure to improve sensitivity. In this work, we explore an alternative approach based on low-quality factor, fully dielectric metasurfaces, with engineered modes to enhance near-field concentration. We investigate different topologies that, despite their low-quality factors, achieve sensitivity and detection performance beyond what is typically reported for low-Q structures in the literature. This improvement is enabled by near-field engineering of the evanescent modes, allowing us to control the spatial distribution of the electromagnetic field and maximize its overlap with the analyte. Our results show that careful mode engineering provides a powerful strategy to boost sensing performance without relying on ultra-high-Q resonances.
ER -