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Free-standing plasmonic nanoarrays for leaky optical waveguiding and sensing
Optics Express
|October 12, 2022
Summary
Flat optics nanogratings on free-standing membranes enable sensitive biosensing by combining waveguided modes and Rayleigh anomalies. This tunable platform demonstrates potential for nanofluidic refractive index sensing.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Nanotechnology
- Biosensing Technologies
Background:
- Flat optics offer miniaturized optical components.
- Nanogratings on membranes can support optical modes.
- Plasmonic nanostructures enable light-matter interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer and characterize flat optics nanogratings for biosensing.
- To demonstrate tunable optical modes for enhanced sensitivity.
- To develop a nanofluidic refractive index sensor.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of lithographic nanogratings on silicon nitride (Si3N4) membranes.
- Excitation and characterization of waveguided modes and lattice resonances.
- Numerical simulations to validate optical mode tuning.
- Development of a sub-picoliter nanofluidic sensor.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated sharp waveguided modes and lattice resonances.
- Achieved broadband tuning of optical modes in the Visible and Near-Infrared spectrum.
- Observed strong near-field amplification extending from the grating.
- Successfully implemented a proof-of-concept nanofluidic refractive index sensor.
Conclusions:
- Free-standing nanogratings offer a versatile platform for tunable biosensing.
- The developed flat optics nanoarrays show strong potential in optofluidics and nanofluidic sensing.
- This technology enables sensitive detection at the sub-picoliter scale.
