Nowadays, optical devices and circuits are becoming fundamental components in several application fields such as medicine, biotechnology, automotive, aerospace, food quality control, chemistry, to name a few. In this context, we propose a complete review on integrated photonic sensors, with specific attention to materials, technologies, architectures and optical sensing principles. To this aim, sensing principles commonly used in optical detection are presented, focusing on sensor performance features such as sensitivity, selectivity and rangeability. Since photonic sensors provide substantial benefits regarding compatibility with CMOS technology and integration on chips characterized by micrometric footprints, design and optimization strategies of photonic devices are widely discussed for sensing applications. In addition, several numerical methods employed in photonic circuits and devices, simulations and design are presented, focusing on their advantages and drawbacks. Finally, recent developments in the field of photonic sensing are reviewed, considering advanced photonic sensor architectures based on linear and non-linear optical effects and to be employed in chemical/biochemical sensing, angular velocity and electric field detection.

Silicon photonics has been a very buoyant research field in the last several years mainly because of its potential for telecom and datacom applications. However, prospects of using silicon photonics for sensing in the mid-IR have also attracted interest lately. In this paper, we present our recent results on waveguide-based devices for near- and mid-infrared applications. The silicon-on-insulator platform can be used for wavelengths up to 4 μm; therefore, different solutions are needed for longer wavelengths. We show results on passive Si devices such as couplers, filters, and multiplexers, particularly for extended wavelength regions and finally present integration of photonics and electronics integrated circuits for high-speed applications.

Recently, the Vernier effect has been proved to be very efficient for significantly improving the sensitivity and the limit of detection (LOD) of chemical, biochemical and gas photonic sensors. In this paper a review of compact and efficient photonic sensors based on the Vernier effect is presented. The most relevant results of several theoretical and experimental works are reported, and the theoretical model of the typical Vernier effect-based sensor is discussed as well. In particular, sensitivity up to 460 μm/RIU has been experimentally reported, while ultra-high sensitivity of 2,500 μm/RIU and ultra-low LOD of 8.79 × 10⁻⁸ RIU have been theoretically demonstrated, employing a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) as sensing device instead of an add drop ring resonator.

We present Vernier-effect photonic microcavities based on a germanium-on-silicon technology platform, operating around the mid-infrared wavelength of 3.8 μm. Cascaded racetrack resonators have been designed to operate in the second regime of the Vernier effect, and typical Vernier comb-like spectra have been successfully demonstrated with insertion losses of $\sim 5\mathrm{dB}$, maximum extinction ratios of $\sim 23\mathrm{dB}$, and loaded quality factors higher than 5000. Furthermore, an add–drop racetrack resonator designed for a Vernier device has been characterized, exhibiting average insertion losses of 1 dB, extinction ratios of up to 18 dB, and a quality factor of $\sim 1700$.