Nanofluidic refractive-index sensors formed by nanocavity resonators in metals without plasmons

Nanocavity resonators in metals acting as nanofluidic refractive-index sensors were analyzed theoretically. With the illumination of transverse electric polarized light, the proposed refractive index sensor structure acts as a pure electromagnetic resonator without the excitation of surface plasmons. The reflected signal from the nanocavity resonators can be very sensitive to the refractive index of the fluids inside the nanocavities due to the enhancement of the electric field of the resonant mode inside the cavities. Such a sensor configuration can be a useful tool for probing the refractive index change of the fluid inside the nanocavities using the spectral, angular or intensity interrogation schemes. The wavelength sensitivity of 430 nm/RIU, angular sensitivity of 200-1,000 deg/RIU and intensity sensitivity of 25.5 RIU(-1) can be achieved in the proposed sensor configuration.