A periodically coupled plasmon nanostructure for refractive index sensing.

ABSTRACT

We present unique characteristics of subwavelength surface plasmon polaritons in a periodically coupled nanowell structure. The nanowell structure offers high quality internal surface plasmon resonance for sensing applications. Calculated FWHM of the transmission peak is 6 nm and the optical transmission is close to 100% at the resonant wavelength of 815.8 nm. The highly concentrated polaritons in the nanowell are sensitive to surface changes providing a sensitivity of 4800% RIU(-1) for optical sensing applications.