Resonance-based integrated plasmonic nanosensor for lab-on-chip applications

An integrated plasmonic resonator was proposed and analyzed. The detection performance of our device has been numerically verified by finite-difference time-domain simulations. The spectral sensitivity obtained was found to be 700 nm/RIU, where RIU is the refractive index unit. Our proposed sensor was found to have a detection limit in the order of 10−6 RIU. The plasmonic sensor could be fabricated using focus ion beam milling. Our design leads to an ultra-compact sensor suitable for on-chip sensing applications associated with a high sensitivity. For biosensing, the proposed sensor could have the ability for a specific capture of biomolecules at the sensor surface that enables for quantification of the biomolecules.