Integrated plasmonic refractometric sensor using Fano resonance

Abstract

We propose a plasmonic refractometric sensor that is based on Fano resonances excited in a resonant rectangular cavity coupled to a metal-insulator-metal bus waveguide. The properties of the resonances are controlled by varying the dimensions of the rectangular resonator and the observed Fano profile stems from the multimode interference of resonant cavity modes. We theoretically investigate the device's performance as a highly sensitive refractometric plasmonic sensor which operates on gases, water and organic solvent solutions with tens of femtoliters of analyte. The sensor is studied in a wide operational range (0.7-2.7 m) covering the entire near infrared spectral range, and is characterized by large sensitivity, which reaches 1550 nm RIU-1, and sensitivity per unit volume higher than 107 nm (RIU nl)-1 at the resonant wavelength of 1.55 m. The proposed plasmonic structure is very promising for integrated sensing applications owing to its small footprint and surprisingly simple layout.