Magnetized SPR sensor for enhanced functionality

It is known that a magnetic field changes the RI and the SPR angle of specific analytes. We have applied an external magnetic field to a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor to exploit this phenomenon. A gold film is used for excitation of SPR in the sensor with a Kretschmann configuration. According to the concentration of 4-type analyte, we observed unique changes of the SPR angle due to the magnetic field, providing better classification of material type than a conventional SPR sensor.     

Investigation of dual-channel fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance sensing for biological applications

A dual-channel fiber-optic sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for self-referencing refractive-index measurements has been proposed. Most applications of fiber-optic SPR sensors are designed to measure the refractive index of a liquid or gas sample by measuring the signal from a single surface, the sensitivity and stability of which is easily affected by the fluctuation of external environmental conditions. We have designed a dual-channel fiber-optic surface sensor with two independent SPR signals from two areas of the same probe. A prototype sensor was fabricated and characterized. The preliminary experimental results demonstrate the characteristic responses of both SPR signals from two channels that independently correspond to the refractive index changes in the liquid samples with which they are in contact. The design could be extended to a multichannel sensor with further developments. The experimental results confirmed that one channel can be used as a reference sensor that could compensate for unexpected changes in bulk refraction or temperature and develop this sensor as a practicable high-sensitivity biosensing device.     

Gallium-nitride-based plasmonic multilayer operating at 1.55 μm

In this Letter, we have designed and fabricated a III-V semiconductor multilayer based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) operating at the telecom wavelength. Optimization of the optogeometrical parameters and the metal/semiconductor layers required for this novel structure was conducted accurately by theoretical tools using the Maxwell equations. Technological fabrication of the device and its experimental characterizations using an evanescent coupling configuration was performed: the results have confirmed the existence of SPR associated to a sharp width response. This study could be a first step in the design of new plasmonic-semiconductor-based optical devices such as modulators and switches.     

Design of Highly Sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors Using Planar Metallic Films Closely Coupled to Nanogratings

We investigate the sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance （SPR） sensors using planar metallic films closely coupled to nanogratings. The strong coupling between localized surface plasmon resonances （LSPRs） presenting in metallic nanostructures and surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） propagating at the metallic film surface leads to changes of resonance reflection properties, resulting in enhanced sensitivity of SPR sensors. The effects of thickness of the metallic films, grating period and metal materials on the refractive index sensitivity of the device are investigated. The refractive index sensitivity of nanograting-based SPR sensors is predicted to be about 543 nm/RIU （refractive index unit） using optimized structure parameters. Our study on SPR sensors using planar metallic films closely coupled to nanogratings demonstrates the potential for significant improvement in refractive index sensitivity.     

金膜与银膜光纤SPR传感器

不同的金属传感层对光纤SPR传感器的特性有着重要的影响.根据该传感器的理论公式,计算了金膜、银膜传感器的输出光谱,并与实验结果进行了比较.结果表明,银膜光纤SPR传感器的理论输出光谱和实验检测光谱吻合很好,而金膜吻合较差.分析了出现这种偏差的原因.     

Fiber optic sensor based on surface plasmon resonance with nanoparticle films

This paper reports on a novel design of a fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on nanoparticle metal film. The performance of the proposed sensor in terms of its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensitivity under different conditions related to the film with spherical gold nanoparticles embedded in a host material is theoretically analyzed. In particular, the effect of the parameters such as gold particle size, film thickness, and refractive index of host material is studied and the possible explanation, whenever required, is given. The numerical results presented in this paper leads to fulfill the requirement of significant optimization of the important design parameters to achieve a high SNR and sensitivity of a fiber optic SPR sensor with nanoparticle films.     

Optical properties and ultrafast electron dynamics in gold–silver alloy and core–shell nanoparticles

Silver and gold are the two most popular metals used for many nanoparticle applications, such as surface enhanced Raman scattering or surface enhanced fluorescence, in which the local field enhancement associated with the excitation of the localized surface-plasmon–polariton resonance (SPR) is exploited. Therefore, tunability of the SPR over a wide energy range is required. For this purpose we have investigated core–shell nanoparticles composed of gold and silver with different shell thicknesses as well as the impact of alloying on these nanoparticles due to a tempering process. The nanoparticles were prepared by subsequent deposition of Au and Ag atoms or vice versa on quartz substrates followed by diffusion and nucleation. Their linear extinction spectra were measured as a function of shell thickness and annealing temperature. It turned out that different gold shell thicknesses on silver cores allow a tuning of the SPR position from 2.79 to 2.05 eV, but interestingly without a significant change on the extinction amplitude. Heating of core–shell nanoparticles up to only 540 K leads to the formation of alloy nanoparticles, accompanied by a back shift of the SPR to 2.60 eV. Calculations performed in quasi-static approximation describe the experimental results quite well and prove the structural assignments of the samples. In additional experiments, we applied the well-established persistent spectral hole burning technique to the alloy nanoparticles in order to determine the ultrafast dephasing time T ₂. We obtained a dephasing time of T ₂=(8.1±1.6) fs, in good agreement with the dephasing time of T _2,∞=8.9 fs, which is already included in the dielectric function of the bulk.     

Collective surface plasmon resonance coupling in silver nanoshell arrays

Collective surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excitations in an ordered array of silver nanoshells have been theoretically studied using generalized Mie theory. Near- and far-field radiative coupling between the nanoshells in the array result in a non-monotonic shift of the collective SPR band. When the distance between the shells in the array approaches that of the collective SPR wavelength, we observe narrowing of the collective SPR band due to constructive interference between the scattered electric field from the particles in the array. Further increase of the distance between the nanoshells in the array leads to destructive interference and broadening of the collective SPR band.     

基于全相位滤波技术的光纤表面等离子体共振传感解调算法

基于生物样品检测对折射率传感的迫切需求,构建一种全光纤表面等离子体共振(surface plasmon resonance,SPR)系统,并针对其设计了基于全相位滤波技术的SPR特征波长传感解调算法.基于系统仿真,理论计算了光纤SPR传感器的折射率传感灵敏度.采用全相位滤波技术提取光纤SPR传感器透射光谱的特征波长,理论推导了全相位滤波器的解析表达式.实验结果表明,使用本算法的光纤SPR传感器折射率传感灵敏度为1640.4 nm/RIU,折射率检测的分辨率是7.36×10~(-4)RIU,与传统方法相比,有效提高了系统的检测精度和抗光源扰动性能,降低了实验成本.     

Improvement of plasmonic field-matter interaction by subwavelength dielectric gratings

We experimentally and theoretically investigate that detection sensitivity in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors can be significantly enhanced by employing subwavelength dielectric gratings deposited on a gold film. The enhancement originates from an improvement of field-matter interaction: enhanced evanescent field intensity at the binding region and increased surface reaction area. Using a large-area SiO₂ grating array fabricated by nanoimprint lithography, experimental sensor performance measured by parylene film coating shows that the SPR substrates combined with a dielectric grating provide a notable sensitivity improvement compared to a conventional bare gold film. We also demonstrate that plasmon field can be more confined and enhanced at the dielectric gratings with a larger width. The proposed SPR structure could potentially be useful in a variety of plasmonic applications including high-sensitivity biosensors.     

Adjustable surface plasmon resonance with Au,Ag, and Ag@Au core-shell nanoparticles

We report an experimental study on the synthesis of metal nanoparticles （NPs） with adjustable optical density based on surface plasmon resonance （SPR）. Metal NPs prepared by laser ablation in liquid method and the effect of laser parameters on the size, distribution, wavelength of SPR of Ag, Au, and mixture of Ag-Au, and Ag core/Au shell NPs are investigated. Our results show that the adjustable SPR band can be achieved in each class of NPs which is suitable for adjustable optical window applications.     

表面等离子共振谱半波全宽的算法探讨

根据金属薄膜复介电常量的性质和衬底对表面等离子波波矢的微扰,对在波长调制下的表面等离子共振传感器输出光谱的半波全宽计算方法进行了探讨。建立了输出光谱的半波全宽与传感器各参量之间关系的数学表达式。将理论研究与实验结果进行对比后发现,两者吻合较好。文中的研究结果可为优化传感器的特性提供理论依据。     

New approach to spectroscopy of surface plasmons

We report a novel approach to spectroscopy of surface plasmons based on the simultaneous excitation of surface plasmons by a polychromatic light and the dispersion of light on a diffraction grating coupler of a special design. This approach shows promise for the development of new, miniaturized, spectroscopic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. Potential of this approach for SPR sensing is demonstrated in a model refractometric experiment.     

Spectral modulation of ultra-broadband femtosecond laser pulses based on surface plasmon resonance

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for spectral modulation of the femtosecond laser pulses with 110 nm ultra-broad bandwidth is demonstrated on the basis of the development of ultrashort pulse laser sources which supports good spatial resolution and high peak intensity. Employing the femtosecond surface plasmon polariton pulses launched by a Kretschmann configuration, whose reflectivity curve has the characteristic of the ultra-broad bandwidth, we observe a frequency-dependent loss with greater attenuation at the peak of the spectrum profile than in the wings, which is very useful for adequate spectral modulation. The SPR for the spectral modulation is investigated in theoretical and experimental aspects. The arbitrary spectral modulation of the femtosecond laser pulses can be fulfilled by controlling and optimizing the SPR of the gold film. The experimental result agrees well with the calculation.     

High-Sensitivity Sensor Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhanced Lateral Optical Beam Displacements

We present a new optical sensor based on surface plasmon resonance （SPIt） enhanced lateral optical beam displacements. Compared with the traditional SPIt methods, the new method provides higher sensitivity to the sensor system. Theoretical simulations show that the refractive index （RI） detection sensitivity of the SPR sensor based on the displacement measurement has a strong dependence on the thickness of the metal film. When the optimal thickness of the metal film is selected, the RI resolutlon of the SPIt sensor is predicted to be 2.2 × 10^-7 refractive index units （RIU）. Furthermore, it is found that the incidence angle can be used as a parameter to adjust the operating range of the sensor to different refractive index ranges.     

Surface Plasmon Resonance and Field Enhancement of Au/Ag Alloyed Hollow Nanoshells

We investigate the nanostructure, surface plasmon resonance （SPR） absorption and nonlinear enhancement of Au/Ag alloyed hollow nanoshells prepared by the replacement reaction of Ag nanoparticles in a HAuCI4 aqueous solution. As the volume of HAuCl4 increases from OmL to 0.S mL, the SPR band of the Au/Ag alloyed nanoshells is tuned from 430nm to 780nm, and the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility is enhanced nearly by an order of magnitude, which indicates a large enhancement of local field in the Au/Ag alloyed hollow nanoshells with hole defects.     

Tapered fiber optic surface plasmon resonance sensor for analyses of vapor and liquid phases

We report a new approach to analyze both vapor and liquid phases by utilizing a tapered fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) probe. This technique employs a fiber optic SPR probe with a modified geometry to tune the SPR coupling wavelength-angle pair. The observed composite spectrum included two distinct SPR dips associated with surface plasmons excited in the gas and liquid active regions. This sensor is able to detect refractive index changes in both vapor and liquid phases individually by simultaneous monitoring SPR coupling wavelengths from the two sensing surfaces.     

An experimental correlation study between field–target overlap and sensitivity of surface plasmon resonance biosensors based on sandwiched immunoassays

In this report, we have studied the effectiveness of field–target overlap to evaluate detection sensitivity of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors. The investigation used theoretical analysis based on the transfer matrix method, which was experimentally confirmed by thin film-based detection in sandwich and reverse sandwich immunoglobulin G (IgG) assays. Both theoretical and experimental results show that strong correlation exists between the overlap and the sensitivity with the coefficient of correlation higher than 95% in all the cases that we have considered. We have also confirmed the correlation in diffraction grating-based SPR measurement of IgG/anti-IgG interactions. The correlation elucidates the mechanism behind the far-field detection sensitivity of SPR biosensors and can lead to the enhancement of SPR biosensing with molecular scale sensitivity.     

表面等离子共振现象的新应用——微弱磁场的测量

提出了一种新的表面等离子体共振传感器, 它包含三层结构: 棱镜、金属薄膜及二能级介质. 通过理论分析发现, 与通常表面等离子体共振系统不同, 这一物理系统中同时存在两种共振效应 (表面等离子体共振和能级间量子跃迁的共振效应), 它们共同作用的结果导致一系列新的物理现象, 其中一个令人感兴趣的现象是入射光的反射率对外场导致的微小能级移动十分敏感 (这一现象是通常的表面等离子体共振系统所不具有的). 由于能级移动依赖于外场, 所以最终入射光的反射率对外场具有灵敏的响应. 本文以外磁场导致能级移动的情况进行了理论计算, 结果表明, 这种表面等离子体共振系统的入射光的反射率对外加磁场极其敏感. 这一特性可以用来测量物质表面附近的微弱磁场, 有可能发展成为一种新型检测技术.     

Sensitivity enhancement based on application of multi-pass interferometry in phase-sensitive surface plasmon resonance biosensor

A novel design of multi-pass surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor with differential phase interrogation based on multi-pass interferometry is presented. This new configuration provides an intrinsic phase amplification effect of over twofold by placing the SPR sensor head in a signal arm of the interferometer so that the interrogating optical beam will traverse the sensor surface infinite number of times. Experimental interferometers based on the Michelson and Fabry–Perot configurations have been employed to experimentally verify this amplification effect when they were compared with Mach–Zehnder configuration, results obtained from salt–water mixtures, antibody–antigen, and protein–DNA binding reaction confirmed the expected phase measurement enhancement, thus leading to the possibility of direct detection of small sized bio-molecules using SPR.