Plasmonic Nano-Antennas for Refractive index (RI) Sensing

Good sensors require the ability to detect small changes in the properties of the surrounding environment. We use refractive index (RI) detection technique based on an array of nanometer scale slot-antennas milled in a thin gold layer using a single lithographic step. The high sensitivity and resolution obtained for the slot antenna arrays indicate to the attractiveness of plasmonic devices for bio-medical sensing and points out the countless possibilities for further innovation. Future research in this direction involves adapting the slot array structure to different spectral domains and incorporating it into devices which are suitable for medical diagnostics or lab on chip frameworks.

An example of such an approach, which is currently being pursued, is slot antennas placed on the facet of an optical fiber. Such a system does not require free-space optical components and optical alignment, and could be operated as a black box by medical technicians without optical background. The scheme is simple to use and exhibits high sensitivity, rendering it ideal for applications such as precise point of care medical measurements of protein concentration or water contamination.

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