Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer
In this paper, simple and highly sensitive plasmonic structures are analyzed theoretically and experimentally. A structure comprising a glass substrate with a gold layer, two adhesion layers of chromium, and a silicon dioxide overlayer is employed in liquid analyte sensing. The sensing properties of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/18/3090 |
| _version_ | 1797484231122747392 |
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| author | Jakub Chylek Petra Maniakova Petr Hlubina Jaroslav Sobota Dusan Pudis |
| author_facet | Jakub Chylek Petra Maniakova Petr Hlubina Jaroslav Sobota Dusan Pudis |
| author_sort | Jakub Chylek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, simple and highly sensitive plasmonic structures are analyzed theoretically and experimentally. A structure comprising a glass substrate with a gold layer, two adhesion layers of chromium, and a silicon dioxide overlayer is employed in liquid analyte sensing. The sensing properties of two structures with distinct protective layer thicknesses are derived based on a wavelength interrogation method. Spectral reflectance responses in the Kretschmann configuration with a coupling BK7 prism are presented, using the thicknesses of individual layers obtained by a method of spectral ellipsometry. In the measured spectral reflectance, a pronounced dip is resolved, which is strongly red-shifted as the refractive index (RI) of the analyte increases. Consequently, a sensitivity of 15,785 nm per RI unit (RIU) and a figure of merit (FOM) of 37.9 RIU<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> are reached for the silicon dioxide overlayer thickness of 147.5 nm. These results are in agreement with the theoretical ones, confirming that both the sensitivity and FOM can be enhanced using a thicker silicon dioxide overlayer. The designed structures prove to be advantageous as their durable design ensures the repeatability of measurement and extends their employment compared to regularly used structures for aqueous analyte sensing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:59:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ddb2c0d819104c8f8680b129ee9c50c4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:59:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-ddb2c0d819104c8f8680b129ee9c50c42023-11-23T18:05:17ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912022-09-011218309010.3390/nano12183090Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide OverlayerJakub Chylek0Petra Maniakova1Petr Hlubina2Jaroslav Sobota3Dusan Pudis4Department of Physics, Technical University Ostrava, 17. Listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Zilina, Univerzitna 1, 01026 Zilina, SlovakiaDepartment of Physics, Technical University Ostrava, 17. Listopadu 2172/15, 708 00 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech RepublicInstitute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 147, 612 64 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Zilina, Univerzitna 1, 01026 Zilina, SlovakiaIn this paper, simple and highly sensitive plasmonic structures are analyzed theoretically and experimentally. A structure comprising a glass substrate with a gold layer, two adhesion layers of chromium, and a silicon dioxide overlayer is employed in liquid analyte sensing. The sensing properties of two structures with distinct protective layer thicknesses are derived based on a wavelength interrogation method. Spectral reflectance responses in the Kretschmann configuration with a coupling BK7 prism are presented, using the thicknesses of individual layers obtained by a method of spectral ellipsometry. In the measured spectral reflectance, a pronounced dip is resolved, which is strongly red-shifted as the refractive index (RI) of the analyte increases. Consequently, a sensitivity of 15,785 nm per RI unit (RIU) and a figure of merit (FOM) of 37.9 RIU<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> are reached for the silicon dioxide overlayer thickness of 147.5 nm. These results are in agreement with the theoretical ones, confirming that both the sensitivity and FOM can be enhanced using a thicker silicon dioxide overlayer. The designed structures prove to be advantageous as their durable design ensures the repeatability of measurement and extends their employment compared to regularly used structures for aqueous analyte sensing.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/18/3090surface plasmon resonanceKretschmann configurationsilicon dioxide overlayerreflectanceaqueous analyte sensing |
| spellingShingle | Jakub Chylek Petra Maniakova Petr Hlubina Jaroslav Sobota Dusan Pudis Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer Nanomaterials surface plasmon resonance Kretschmann configuration silicon dioxide overlayer reflectance aqueous analyte sensing |
| title | Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer |
| title_full | Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer |
| title_fullStr | Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer |
| title_short | Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Structures Utilizing a Silicon Dioxide Overlayer |
| title_sort | highly sensitive plasmonic structures utilizing a silicon dioxide overlayer |
| topic | surface plasmon resonance Kretschmann configuration silicon dioxide overlayer reflectance aqueous analyte sensing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/18/3090 |
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