Abstract: There is provided a sensing chip capable of measuring a refractive index by utilizing a long-range surface plasmon polariton, accurately measuring an accumulative refractive index in a wide range, and more easily enabling sealing for measurement. The present invention relates to the sensing chip which has a thin metal film or a strip-like metal grown on an underlayer, and has a dielectric that limits a refractive index and a dielectric buffer layer on an upper surface and a lower surface of the thin metal film or the strip-like metal. The dielectric buffer layer is attached onto the thin metal film or the strip-like metal. The thin metal film or the strip-like metal and the buffer layer are sandwiched between two dielectric layers. A hole is made in a surface of the upper dielectric layer to serve as a measurement groove.

Abstract: There is provided a sensing chip capable of measuring a refractive index by utilizing a long-range surface plasmon polariton, accurately measuring an accumulative refractive index in a wide range, and more easily enabling sealing for measurement. The present invention relates to the sensing chip which has a thin metal film or a strip-like metal grown on an underlayer, and has a dielectric that limits a refractive index and a dielectric buffer layer on an upper surface and a lower surface of the thin metal film or the strip-like metal. The dielectric buffer layer is attached onto the thin metal film or the strip-like metal. The thin metal film or the strip-like metal and the buffer layer are sandwiched between two dielectric layers. A hole is made in a surface of the upper dielectric layer to serve as a measurement groove.

Abstract: A semiconductor TE/TM mode converter comprises a semiconductor waveguide layer including a compressive-strained first region and a tensile-strained second region, and a diffraction grating formed on the first region. The first region and second region are reversed-biased and forward-biased, respectively. TE mode light incident on the facet of the first region generates TM mode light outgoing from the facet of the second region. The diffraction grating in the first region has selective reflectance against TM mode light and reflects the TM mode light toward the second region, to lower the lasing threshold of TM mode light and raise the conversion efficiency.