High-sensitivity Goos-Hanchen shift sensing based on Bloch surface wave

•A novel high-sensitivity sensing scheme based on the Goos-Hanchen shift is proposed.•A bulk refractive index sensitivity of 2.0*10-9 RIU/nm is achieved, significantly surpassing the SPR-based Goos-Hanchen shift sensor.•Goos-Hanchen shift is giantly enhanced by the excitation of Bloch surface wave based on a truncated photonic crystal sensor structure.•Simple sensing setup based on a position sensitive detector is demonstrated. A novel and simple sensing scheme based on the giant Goos-Hanchen shift enhanced by the excitation of the Bloch surface wave in a truncated one-dimensional photonic crystal structure is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The significantly enhanced Goos-Hanchen shift is directly measured by a position sensitive detector and the following amplifier. The bulk refractive index sensitivity of the sensor is investigated by utilizing sodium chloride solutions and glycerol solutions with different concentrations as test samples. The results show that the Goos-Hanchen shift sensor has a superior sensitivity of 2.0*10−9 RIU/nm, which outperforms the SPR enhanced Goos-Hanchen shift sensors.