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Silicon-based surface plasmon resonance sensing with two surface plasmon polariton modes
Sergiy Patskovsky1, Andrei V Kabashin, Michel Meunier
1Laser Processing Laboratory, Department of Engineering Physics, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Case Postale 6079, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3A7, Canada. psv@canada.com
Applied Optics
|December 10, 2003
Summary
This study explores silicon-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing. It identifies two modes, one highly sensitive for detection and another as a stable reference for portable SPR systems.
Area of Science:
- Optoelectronics
- Nanotechnology
- Chemical Sensing
Background:
- Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a powerful label-free sensing technique.
- Silicon-based platforms offer advantages for miniaturization and integration in SPR sensors.
- Developing portable and multichannel SPR systems requires robust reference signals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate SPR properties on a silicon-dielectric-gold film structure.
- To achieve simultaneous excitation of two distinct plasmon polariton modes.
- To establish conditions for narrow and well-separated SPR intensity minima.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a combined silicon-dielectric layer-gold film structure.
- Analysis of SPR properties under varying sample medium conditions.
- Characterization of external and internal plasmon polariton modes.
Main Results:
- Identified conditions for simultaneous excitation of two plasmon polariton modes.
- Demonstrated that the external mode is highly sensitive to sample refractive index changes.
- Showed the internal mode is insensitive to the sample medium, acting as a stable reference.
Conclusions:
- The external plasmon mode is suitable for sensitive detection in SPR sensing.
- The internal plasmon mode can serve as an effective reference zero point.
- This approach enables the development of miniature, portable, and multichannel SPR sensing systems for field applications.