Development of a prototype gas sensor using surface plasmon resonance on gratings

✍ Scribed by M.J. Jory; P.S. Vukusic; J.R. Sambles

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 547 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0925-4005
• DOI: 10.1016/0925-4005(93)00871-u

✦ Synopsis

A good basis has been established for the development of a prototype gas sensor using the phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance. By exciting a surface plasmon on a metallic diffraction grating that is twisted azimuthally so its grooves are not perpendicular to the plane of incidence, and with suitable choice of input and output polarization, a resonance maximum is detected (as opposed to the usual resonance minimum). The operation of the sensor is based on the measurement of this resonance maximum on a background of weak signal and incorporates a sensing head made remote from both the source and detector by means of fibre optics. Its use is demonstrated by sensing remotely the condensation of -0.9 nm of isopropyl alcohol onto a silver-coated grating surface.