Highly-Sensitive Refractive Index Sensing by Near-infrared Metatronic Nanocircuits

Area of Science:

• Nanophotonics and Plasmonics
• Optical Sensing Technologies
• Materials Science

Background:

• Metatronic nanocircuits offer unique optical properties for sensing applications.
• Transparent conducting oxides are suitable materials for fabricating nanostructures.
• Tunable optical responses are crucial for enhancing sensor performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a highly sensitive refractive index sensor using metatronic nanocircuits.
• To investigate the tunable response of nanocircuits by surface functionalization.
• To achieve a high figure of merit for near-infrared spectral range sensing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nanorods using nanopatterning of transparent conducting oxides.
• Deposition of Amine (NH2) groups via plasma polymerization for tunable response.
• Characterization of sensor performance by measuring resonance wavelength shifts with varying Amine thickness.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a polarization-dependent metatronic nanocircuit sensor.
• Achieved tunable optical response by controlling Amine dielectric constant and thickness.
• Obtained excellent agreement between simulated and experimental results.
• Reported a high sensitivity of 1587 nm/RIU.

Conclusions:

• Metatronic nanocircuits provide a promising platform for highly sensitive refractive index sensing.
• Plasma polymerization of Amine groups offers an effective method for tuning sensor response.
• The developed nanosensor exhibits excellent performance for near-infrared applications.