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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Engineering Antiviral Agents via Surface Plasmon Resonance
Published on: June 14, 2022
Surface plasmon effects induced by uncollimated emission of semiconductor microstructures
Dominic Lepage1, Jan J Dubowski
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Center of Excellence for Information Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
We developed a novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) device using quantum wells (QWs) for enhanced biosensing. This innovative design achieves up to 100 times higher SPR coupling efficiency compared to indirect methods.
Area of Science:
- Optoelectronics
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is a label-free optical technique widely used in biosensing.
- Traditional SPR devices often face limitations in sensitivity and integration.
- Quantum well (QW) semiconductor emitters offer unique optical properties for device integration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and analyze an innovative microstructure for monolithically integrated SPR devices.
- To investigate Surface Plasmon (SP) coupling in QW semiconductor-based SPR architectures for biosensing.
- To enhance SPR coupling efficiency for improved biosensing performance.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical calculations describing SP coupling in SPR architectures.
- Modeling of a device comprising a metal-coated SiO(2) layer atop a photoluminescence-emitting QW wafer.
- Analysis of SP modes coupling in the 0th diffraction order.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that injected in-plane wavevectors from QW structures can meet SPR conditions.
- Identified the coupling of two SPs modes in the 0th diffraction order.
- Achieved up to 100 times higher SPR coupling efficiency compared to indirect SP injection.
Conclusions:
- The proposed QW-based SPR microstructure enables highly efficient SP coupling.
- This innovative design significantly enhances SPR coupling efficiency for biosensing applications.
- Monolithic integration of QW emitters with SPR devices offers a promising pathway for advanced biosensors.
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