Approaches for deep-ultraviolet surface plasmon resonance sensors

Aluminum (Al) is a preferred metal for designing deep-ultraviolet (DUV) surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based sensors. The native oxide layer (alumina), which grows when the Al film is exposed to air, adds an extra layer to the multilayer stack and consequently affects the DUV-SPR sensing performance. To mitigate the performance loss in DUV-SPR-based sensing, new, to the best of our knowledge, approaches are considered here. We first consider chromium, indium (In), nickel, and platinum as alternative plasmonic materials to Al. In-film-based DUV-SPR sensors exhibit the best performance parameters compared to these alternative materials. We next consider the approach of replacing the native oxide layer by an ultrathin gold (Au) layer on top of bare Al or In. With an optimal Au thickness, higher sensitivity as compared to oxidized metals is observed. The next approach adds one or more graphene layers on top of the bare metal film. In this case, the performance depends on the number of graphene layers, but improvement in sensor characteristics in the DUV is also obtained. The use of Au or graphene overlayers increases the refractive index sensing dynamic range, which can be significant for In with these overlayers under certain operating conditions.