In this paper, we derive the analytical expression for the sensitivity of grating-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors working in wavelength interrogation. The theoretical analysis shows that the sensitivity increases with increasing wavelength and is saturated beyond a certain wavelength for Au and Ag gratings, while it is almost constant for Al gratings in the wavelength range of 500 to 1000 nm. More importantly, the grating period (P) and the diffraction order (m) dominate the value of sensitivity. Higher sensitivity is possible for SPR sensors with a larger grating period and lower diffraction order. At long wavelengths, a simple expression of P/|m| can be used to estimate the sensor sensitivity. Moreover, we perform experimental measurements of the sensitivity of an SPR sensor based on an Al grating to confirm the theoretical calculations.

Here, we introduce an extremely simple and low cost method to fabricate metal gratings by peeling off the metal layer from a DVD-R disc.

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Electromagnetically induced transparency has the unique ability to optically control transparency windows with low light in atomic systems. However, its practical applications in quantum physics and information science are limited due to rigid experimental requirements. Here we demonstrate a new mechanism of optically induced transparency in a micro-cavity by introducing a four-wave mixing gain to nonlinearly couple two separated resonances of the micro-cavity in an ambient environment. A signature Fano-like resonance was observed owing to the nonlinear interference of the two coupled resonances. Moreover, we show that the unidirectional gain of the four-wave mixing can lead to the remarkable effect of non-reciprocal transmission at the transparency windows. Optically induced transparency may offer a unique platform for a compact, integrated solution to all-optical and quantum information.