OPTICAL DENSITY MEASURING APPARATUS AND OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE

An optical density measuring apparatus and an optical waveguide capable of increasing the degree of design freedom are provided. The optical density measuring apparatus is for measuring density of a gas or a liquid to be measured and includes a light source capable of irradiating light into a core layer, a detector capable of receiving light propagated through the core layer, and an optical waveguide. The optical waveguide includes a substrate and the core layer, which includes a diffraction grating unit and a light propagation unit capable of propagating light in an extending direction of the light propagation unit. The diffraction grating unit and a portion of the core layer are separated in the thickness direction of the optical waveguide.