Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors use two types of surface plasmons: (i) propagating along a metal-dielectric interface and (ii) localized on metallic nano-objects. This article presents theoretical analysis of sensitivity of SPR sensors based on spectroscopy of localized surface plasmons on metallic nanoparticles. Analytical formulas inter-relating bulk and surface refractive index sensitivity with main design parameters are derived using the electrostatic approximation. The effect of particle diameter is accounted for by means of Mie theory. Figures of merit for SPR sensors using localized and propagating surface plasmons are calculated and compared. Although sensors based on spectroscopy of localized surface plasmons on gold spherical particles show promise for detection of processes occurring in the close proximity of the particle surface, their performance is still inferior to that of SPR sensors based on spectroscopy of propagating surface plasmons.

We report on an experimental characterization of the sensitivity of localized surface plasmons (LSP) to local changes in the refractive index at a nanometer scale. The method is based on forming a polymer mask covering different well defined areas of metallic nanoparticles and measuring the extinction peak shifts associated with the local refractive index changes. Arrays of nanoparticles (nanorod chains) are prepared using electron beam lithography and the dielectric mask is aligned with respect to the nanoparticle array in a second lithographic step. Extinction peak shifts corresponding to different positions of the mask are measured and values for the local refractive index sensitivity are deduced. A deconvolution procedure is established and used to map the local sensitivity across the surface of nanoparticle based on measured data. The experimental results are shown to correspond well with theoretical simulations obtained using the finite-difference time-domain method. The results indicate that the sensitivity is strongly correlated with the profile of the LSP electric field.

We report on a new biosensor with localized surface plasmons (LSP) based on an array of gold nanorods and the total internal reflection imaging in polarization contrast. The sensitivity of the new biosensor is characterized and a model detection of DNA hybridization is carried out. The results are compared with a reference experiment using a conventional high-resolution surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor. We show that the LSP-based biosensor delivers the same performance as the SPR system while involving significantly lower surface densities of interacting molecules. We demonstrate a limit of detection of 100 pM and a surface density resolution of only 35 fg×mm-2 that corresponds to less than one DNA molecule per nanoparticle on average.

The local electric field distribution and the effect of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) were investigated on the quasi-3D (Q3D) plasmonic nanostructures formed by gold nanohole and nanodisc array layers physically separated by a dielectric medium. The local electric fields at the top gold nanoholes and bottom gold nanodiscs as a function of the dielectric medium, substrate, and depth of Q3D plasmonic nanostructures upon the irradiation of a 785 nm laser were calculated using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) method. The intensity of the maximum local electric fields was shown to oscillate with the depth and the stronger local electric fields occurring at the top or bottom gold layer strongly depend on the dielectric medium, substrate, and depth of the nanostructure. This phenomenon was determined to be related to the Fabry-Pérot interference effect and the interaction of localized surface plasmons (LSPs). The enhancement factors (EFs) of SERS obtained from the 3D-FDTD simulations were compared to those calculated from the SERS experiments conducted on the Q3D plasmonic nanostructures fabricated on silicon and ITO coated glass substrates with different depths. The same trend was obtained from both methods. The capabilities of tuning not only the intensity but also the location of the maximum local electric fields by varying the depth, dielectric medium, and substrate make Q3D plasmonic nanostructures well suited for highly sensitive and reproducible SERS detection and analysis.

A novel multi-channel fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is reported. The sensing structure consists of a single-mode optical fiber, covered with a thin gold layer, which supports a surface plasmon (SP) and a Bragg grating. The Bragg grating induces coupling between the forward-propagating fundamental core mode and the back-propagating SP-cladding mode. As the SP-cladding modes are highly sensitive to changes in the refractive index of the surrounding medium, the changes can be accurately measured by spectroscopy of these hybrid modes. Multichannel capability is achieved by employing a sequence of Bragg gratings of different periods and their reading via the wavelength division multiplexing. Theoretical analysis and optimization based on the coupled-mode theory (CMT) is carried out and performance characteristics of the sensor are determined.