Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement

Abstract In this paper, a self-referencing evanescent field sensor based on surface plasmon resonances is designed and fabricated. The sensor is based on sub-wavelength two-dimensional gold gratings and is optimized to detect changes in the surrounding refractive index for a water-like material. The...

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Main Authors: Reza Kohandani, Simarjeet Saini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93102-5
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author Reza Kohandani
Simarjeet Saini
author_facet Reza Kohandani
Simarjeet Saini
author_sort Reza Kohandani
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In this paper, a self-referencing evanescent field sensor based on surface plasmon resonances is designed and fabricated. The sensor is based on sub-wavelength two-dimensional gold gratings and is optimized to detect changes in the surrounding refractive index for a water-like material. The sensor has a dedicated mode for self-referencing, which is isolated from the surrounding environment and can be used to correct errors due to temperature variations. To understand the important design parameters and optimize the sensor for best performance, many variations were fabricated and measured experimentally. Using a localized surface plasmon resonance dominant mode, a high sensitivity of 435 nm/RIU was achieved experimentally, while the self-referencing mode was successfully isolated from the surrounding environment within a refractive index range of 1.34 to 1.39. Further, we show that by incorporating the self-referencing mode into the sensitivity measurements, the resolution of the sensor can be improved by a factor of 3.6. This approach can be employed effectively for resolution enhancement of the plasmonic sensors in the presence of environmental variations.
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spelling doaj-art-62d4c63f091444e19df44b03f8f40b062025-08-20T03:06:01ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-93102-5Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancementReza Kohandani0Simarjeet Saini1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of WaterlooDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of WaterlooAbstract In this paper, a self-referencing evanescent field sensor based on surface plasmon resonances is designed and fabricated. The sensor is based on sub-wavelength two-dimensional gold gratings and is optimized to detect changes in the surrounding refractive index for a water-like material. The sensor has a dedicated mode for self-referencing, which is isolated from the surrounding environment and can be used to correct errors due to temperature variations. To understand the important design parameters and optimize the sensor for best performance, many variations were fabricated and measured experimentally. Using a localized surface plasmon resonance dominant mode, a high sensitivity of 435 nm/RIU was achieved experimentally, while the self-referencing mode was successfully isolated from the surrounding environment within a refractive index range of 1.34 to 1.39. Further, we show that by incorporating the self-referencing mode into the sensitivity measurements, the resolution of the sensor can be improved by a factor of 3.6. This approach can be employed effectively for resolution enhancement of the plasmonic sensors in the presence of environmental variations.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93102-5
spellingShingle Reza Kohandani
Simarjeet Saini
Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement
Scientific Reports
title Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement
title_full Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement
title_fullStr Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement
title_full_unstemmed Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement
title_short Self-referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement
title_sort self referencing surface plasmon sensor for resolution enhancement
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93102-5
work_keys_str_mv AT rezakohandani selfreferencingsurfaceplasmonsensorforresolutionenhancement
AT simarjeetsaini selfreferencingsurfaceplasmonsensorforresolutionenhancement