Sensors Based on Plasmonic-Photonic Coupling in Metallic Photonic Crystals

An optical sensor based on the coupling between the plasmonic and photonic resonance modes in metallic photonic crystals is investigated. Large-area metallic photonic crystals consisting of periodically arranged gold nanostructures with dimensions down to sub-100 nm are fabricated using solution-processible gold nanoparticles in combination with interference lithography or interference ablation, which introduces a variety of fabrication techniques for the construction of this kind of sensor device. Sensitivity of the plasmonic response of the gold nanostructures to the changes in the environmental refractive index is enhanced through the coupling between the narrow-band photonic resonance mode and the relatively broad-band plasmon resonance, which is recognized as a Fano-like effect and is utilized to explore sensors. Theoretical modeling shows the characterization and the optimization of the sensitivity of this kind of sensor device. Theoretical and experimental results are demonstrated for the approaches to improve the sensitivity of the sensor device.