Large-period plasmonic grating with sinusoidal profile for monitoring water quality with high sensitivity

Subwavelength-thick modulation of surface profile of a dielectric layer combined with a nanometer-thick metallic coating on it can be used for highly sensitive refractive index sensing using the concept of surface plasmon resonance. The performance efficiency of a 1D sinusoidal plasmonic grating of higher periodicity made of polymethylmethacrylate with gold coating on it is evaluated for monitoring water quality. The sinusoidal structure is fabricated by the cost-effective soft imprint lithography technique using a commercially available compact disk as master. Even though the master has a step profile, the solution-based technique aids in achieving the sinusoidal profile. The higher periodicity aids in attaining a higher sensitivity of 1533 nm/RIU at normal incidence and also provides a broad wavelength detection regime that can be controlled by the incidence angle. As the sinusoidal grating supports only the fundamental mode of the surface plasmon, it allows for more precise detection of any analyte. The optimized parameters for the structure are obtained through finite element method calculation.