scholarly journals Metal-insulator-metal nanoresonators – strongly confined modes for high surface sensitivity

Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1547-1552
Author(s):  
George Duffett ◽  
Ralph Wirth ◽  
Mathieu Rayer ◽  
Emiliano R. Martins ◽  
Thomas F. Krauss

AbstractPhotonic and plasmonic refractive index sensors are able to detect increasingly smaller refractive index changes and concentrations of clinically relevant substances. They typically exploit optical resonances and aim to maximise the field overlap with the analyte in order to achieve high sensitivity. Correspondingly, they operate on the basis of maximizing the bulk sensitivity, which favours spatially extended modes. We note that this strategy, counter-intuitively, is not necessarily suitable for detecting biomolecules and one should focus on the surface sensitivity instead. Here, we show that by confining light tightly in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) nanoresonators, the surface sensitivity is significantly increased despite a clear decrease in bulk sensitivity. In particular, we experimentally show the operation of third order MIM resonators which support both extended surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes and localized MIM modes. We are able to demonstrate that the MIM mode has a sensitivity of 55 nm/RIU to a 10 nm layer, which is approximately twice as high as that of the SPP mode. Overall, our work emphasizes the importance of the surface sensitivity over the more commonly used bulk sensitivity and it shows a novel approach for improving it. These insights are highly relevant for the design of next generation optical biosensors.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haowen Chen ◽  
Yunping Qi ◽  
Jinghui Ding ◽  
Yujiao Yuan ◽  
Zhenting Tian ◽  
...  

Abstract A plasmonic resonator system consisting of a metal-insulator-metal waveguide and a Q-shaped resonant cavity is proposed in this paper. The transmission properties of surface plasmon polaritons in this structure are investigated using the finite difference in time domain (FDTD) method, and the simulation results contain two resonant dips. And the physical mechanism is studied by the multimode interference coupled mode theory (MICMT), the theoretical results are in highly consistent with the simulation results. Furthermore, the parameters of the Q-shaped cavity can be controlled to adjust two dips respectively. The refractive index sensor with a sensitivity of 1578nm/RIU and figure of merit (FOM) of 175, performs better than most of the similar structures. Therefore, the results of the study are instructive for the design and application of high sensitivity nanoscale refractive index sensors.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2097
Author(s):  
Yuan-Fong Chou Chau ◽  
Chung-Ting Chou Chao ◽  
Siti Zubaidah Binti Haji Jumat ◽  
Muhammad Raziq Rahimi Kooh ◽  
Roshan Thotagamuge ◽  
...  

This work proposed a multiple mode Fano resonance-based refractive index sensor with high sensitivity that is a rarely investigated structure. The designed device consists of a metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide with two rectangular stubs side-coupled with an elliptical resonator embedded with an air path in the resonator and several metal defects set in the bus waveguide. We systematically studied three types of sensor structures employing the finite element method. Results show that the surface plasmon mode’s splitting is affected by the geometry of the sensor. We found that the transmittance dips and peaks can dramatically change by adding the dual air stubs, and the light–matter interaction can effectively enhance by embedding an air path in the resonator and the metal defects in the bus waveguide. The double air stubs and an air path contribute to the cavity plasmon resonance, and the metal defects facilitate the gap plasmon resonance in the proposed plasmonic sensor, resulting in remarkable characteristics compared with those of plasmonic sensors. The high sensitivity of 2600 nm/RIU and 1200 nm/RIU can simultaneously achieve in mode 1 and mode 2 of the proposed type 3 structure, which considerably raises the sensitivity by 216.67% for mode 1 and 133.33% for mode 2 compared to its regular counterpart, i.e., type 2 structure. The designed sensing structure can detect the material’s refractive index in a wide range of gas, liquids, and biomaterials (e.g., hemoglobin concentration).


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.L. Kazanskiy ◽  
M.A. Butt ◽  
S.A. Degtyarev ◽  
S.N. Khonina

Optical sensors are widely used in the biomedical, chemical and food industries. They provide high sensitivity to changes in the refractive index of the environment due to a specific distribution of resonances across the field. The sensitivity of the sensor is highly dependent on its material and structure. In this review, we focused on the analysis of silicon waveguides as a promising component for optical sensor miniaturization, and plasmon refractive index sensors without fluorescent labeling. We presented the latest developments of special types of plasmon structures, such as metal-insulator-metal waveguides, and their application in refractive index sensors. We analyzed numerous types of plasmon waveguides, their geometry, materials and manufacturing processes, as well as possible energy losses. A discussion of the spectral characteristics of recently proposed refractive index sensors, with an emphasis on their sensitivity and quality indicators, is an important part of the review.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 2029-2037
Author(s):  
Bahram Dehghan

This paper proposes the elliptical-shaped based on two-dimensional Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) plasmonic waveguide configuration with the sensor characteristics simulated by Finite-Element-Method (FEM). Temperature, refractive index, and pressure are evaluated in the structure by considering the transmission spectrum. As the temperature and refractive index increase, the corresponding curves shift to the right wavelengths. Simulation results show that resonant wavelength of nanocavity shifts to lower wavelength with increasing the pressure. It can be seen that the resonance curves between 1300nm to 1400nm are sharper than the other wavelengths in this structure. The sensitivity and the Figure of Merit (FOM) can be evaluated by considering the mentioned equations. The proposed structure could be applied to develop resonator applications with high sensitivity and tunable response.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1248-1255
Author(s):  
Cailing Fu ◽  
Yi-Qing Ni ◽  
Tong Sun ◽  
Yiping Wang ◽  
Siqi Ding ◽  
...  

This study is intended to develop long period fibre grating sensors for potential applications in environmental and durability monitoring of coastal structures. High-quality helical long period fibre gratings (HLPFGs) are inscribed in different types of small-core single mode fibre (SMF) by use of hydrogen-oxygen flame heating technique. A detailed investigation of the effect of core diameter on their transmission spectrum and optimum length of the HLPFG has been pursued. A longer length is required to achieve the same coupling attenuation in a smaller-core SMF than that of a larger-core fibre. The strain, torsion and refractive index (RI) properties of the HLPFG is investigated experimentally to develop a high-sensitivity sensor. The experimental results show that the strain sensitivity could be enhanced by means of employing a larger-core diameter SMF. Moreover, the HLFPGs are also sensitive to the torsion and external RI. Hence, such HLFPGs have great potential for sensing applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali ALI Butt ◽  
Nikolay Kazanskiy

We studied the metal-insulator-metal square ring resonator design incorporated with nano-dots that serve to squeeze the surface plasmon wave in the cavity of the ring. The E-field enhances at the boundaries of the nano-dots providing a strong interaction of light with the surrounding medium. As a result, the sensitivity of the resonator is highly enhanced compared to the standard ring resonator design. The best sensitivity of 907 nm/RIU is obtained by placing seven nano-dots of radius 4 nm in all four sides of the ring with a period (ᴧ)= 3r. The proposed design will find applications in biomedical science as highly refractive index sensors. Full Text: PDF References:Z. Han, S. I. Bozhevolnyi. "Radiation guiding with surface plasmon polaritons", Rep. Prog. Phys. 76, 016402 (2013). [CrossRef]N.L. Kazanskiy, S.N. Khonina, M.A. Butt. "Plasmonic sensors based on Metal-insulator-metal waveguides for refractive index sensing applications: A brief review", Physica E 117, 113798 (2020). [CrossRef]D.K. Gramotnev, S.I. Bozhevolnyi. "Plasmonics beyond the diffraction limit", Nat. Photonics 4, 83 (2010). [CrossRef]A.N.Taheri, H. Kaatuzian. "Design and simulation of a nanoscale electro-plasmonic 1 × 2 switch based on asymmetric metal–insulator–metal stub filters", Applied Optics 53, 28 (2014). [CrossRef]P. Neutens, L. Lagae, G. Borghs, P. V. Dorpe. "Plasmon filters and resonators in metal-insulator-metal waveguides", Optics Express 20, 4 (2012). [CrossRef]M.A. Butt, S.N. Khonina, N. L. Kazanskiy. "Metal-insulator-metal nano square ring resonator for gas sensing applications", Waves in Random and complex media [CrossRef]M.A.Butt, S.N.Khonina, N.L.Kazanskiy. "Hybrid plasmonic waveguide-assisted Metal–Insulator–Metal ring resonator for refractive index sensing", Journal of Modern Optics 65, 1135 (2018). [CrossRef]M.A.Butt, S.N. Khonina, N.L. Kazanskiy, "Highly sensitive refractive index sensor based on hybrid plasmonic waveguide microring resonator", Waves in Random and complex media [CrossRef]Y. Fang, M. Sun. "Nanoplasmonic waveguides: towards applications in integrated nanophotonic circuits", Light:Science & Applications 4, e294 (2015). [CrossRef]H. Lu, G.X. Wang, X.M. Liu. "Manipulation of light in MIM plasmonic waveguide systems", Chin Sci Bull [CrossRef]J.N. Anker et al. "Biosensing with plasmonic nanosensors", Nature Materials 7, 442 (2008). [CrossRef]M.A.Butt, S.N. Khonina, N.L. Kazanskiy. Journal of Modern Optics 66, 1038 (2019).[CrossRef]Z.-D. Zhang, H.-Y. Wang, Z.-Y. Zhang. "Fano Resonance in a Gear-Shaped Nanocavity of the Metal–Insulator–Metal Waveguide", Plasmonics 8,797 (2013) [CrossRef]Y. Yu, J. Si, Y. Ning, M. Sun, X. Deng. Opt. Lett. 42, 187 (2017) [CrossRef]B.H.Zhang, L-L. Wang, H-J. Li et al. "Two kinds of double Fano resonances induced by an asymmetric MIM waveguide structure", J. Opt. 18,065001 (2016) [CrossRef]X. Zhao, Z. Zhang, S. Yan. "Tunable Fano Resonance in Asymmetric MIM Waveguide Structure", Sensors 17, 1494 (2017) [CrossRef]J. Zhou et al. "Transmission and refractive index sensing based on Fano resonance in MIM waveguide-coupled trapezoid cavity", AIP Advances 7, 015020 (2017) [CrossRef]V. Perumal, U. Hashim. "Advances in biosensors: Principle, architecture and applications", J. Appl. Biomed. 12, 1 (2014)[CrossRef]H.Gai, J. Wang , Q. Tian, "Modified Debye model parameters of metals applicable for broadband calculations", Appl. Opt. 46 (12), 2229 (2007) [CrossRef]


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