Optimization Analysis of Lateral-Offset Mach–Zehnder Interferometer Based on No-Core Fiber

In this work, we thoroughly evaluate different types of lateral-offset Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) to search for the optimized design. Three different structures (SNS, SMNMS, and SNNNS. S: single-mode fiber; N: no-core fiber; M: multi-mode fiber) are proposed and their performances are compared numerically. Besides, for the SNNNS sensor, the effect of different no-core fiber (NCF) diameters on the sensor performance is discussed. The numerical analyses demonstrate that the SNNNS sensor with NCF diameter of 61.5μm shows the best performance among all the sensors. The experimental results confirm that, when compared with the SNS sensor, the SNNNS sensor is insensitive to the lateral-offset distance. It ensures an excellent interference performance within a large offset range, which facilitates the sensor fabrication. The optimized design of the sensor device shows the potential integration applications in the ultra-low concentration biomolecule detection field.