Optical Characteristics of Double Layered Plasmonic Structure Using Nanopatterning Process

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Photonics

Background:

• Plasmonic sensors are crucial for detecting analytes.
• Enhancing the sensitivity of plasmonic sensors is an ongoing challenge.
• Existing plasmonic devices have limitations in sensing performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and analyze a double-layered plasmonic device for improved sensing characteristics.
• To investigate the impact of nanosphere integration on plasmonic sensor performance.
• To optimize the structural parameters of the double-layered plasmonic device for maximum sensitivity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) method for device simulation.
• Fabricated double-layered plasmonic devices using a polystyrene nanosphere transferring technique.
• Investigated gold (Au) nano-hole structures with varying diameters and thicknesses.

Main Results:

• The double-layered plasmonic device demonstrated enhanced sensing characteristics compared to conventional systems.
• Optimized device parameters include a film thickness of 15 nm, hole thickness of 15 nm, and nano-hole size of 246 nm.
• Achieved a maximum sensitivity of 67.7 degree/RIU, a significant improvement over the conventional sensor's 42.2 degree/RIU.

Conclusions:

• The developed double-layered plasmonic device effectively enhances plasmonic sensor sensitivity.
• The polystyrene nanosphere-based transferring technique is a viable method for fabricating advanced plasmonic structures.
• This work presents a promising approach for developing next-generation high-sensitivity plasmonic sensing systems.