Detection of high refractive index polymers via spectral Rabi splitting

High refractive index polymers (HRIPs) are characterized with high refractive index, low loss, impact resistance and high transparency, and play an important role in information recording, data storage and integrated circuits. However, their similar molecular structures and small refractive index differences often pose challenges for accurate identification during processing, especially for related polymers under the same chemical group. In this paper, we propose an optical sensor using Rabi splitting to detect HRIPs. The coupled oscillator model reveals the underlying physics, exhibiting an anticrossing gap of 62.04 meV in transmission spectra. Furthermore, the number of periods (N) of the 1D TPC and the position of WS₂ can regulate the coupling strength. Importantly, we have successfully achieved effective optical detection of the high refractive index polymers Polythiol-yne (P1–P5) by exploiting the peak changes of the two transmission peaks generated with Rabi splitting. This work provides an effective optical detection method for the accurate identification of HRIPs with the same chemical group, and will also provide a new way to enhance the development of sensing devices for exciton absorption and visible band sensing.