Optimization of Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles on Porous Anodic Aluminum Oxide Substrates for Refractometric Sensing

A new composite metal-insulator-metal (MIM) system consisting of exceptionally dense non-close-packed (NCP) arrays of gold or silver nanoparticles, porous anodic aluminum oxide (PAAO), and bulk aluminum substrate interacts strongly with visible light and may become a very useful component for optical applications. The proposed MIM structure can be synthesized using accessible lithography-free chemical and physical processes (anodization and capillary force assisted colloidal particle deposition) that are suitable for the low-cost production of specialized devices. Here, we present a systematic study to determine the essential MIM structure parameters (nanoparticle size and PAAO layer thickness) for localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) refractometric sensing. A performance comparison was done by recording the spectra of scattered light upon angled illumination in media with different refractive indices. A clear advantage for maximizing the signal to background ratio was observed in the case of 60 and 80 nm Au nanoparticles with a PAAO thickness in a narrow range between 300 and 375 nm. Sensitivity exceeding a 200 nm peak wavelength shift per refractive index unit was found for 60 nm Au nanoparticles on approximately 500-nm-thick PAAO. The experimental observations were supported by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations.