Improved gas sensing performances in SPR sensors by transducers activation

In this paper, among all transduction methodologies reported in the field of solid state chemical sensors, the attention has been focused onto the optical sensing characterization by using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique and its evolution towards active plasmonics. Activation of the transducer by application of an oscillating magnetic field in a transversal configuration is demonstrated to improve the gas sensing performance of classical SPR sensors. To this purpose a new transducer, composed of metallic and magnetic materials and a proper sensing layer have been chosen. TiO2 sensing layers have been prepared by two different experimental routes and their optical and morphological features investigated and correlated with their sensing performances. A comparison between classical SPR technique and a new sensing probe based onto magneto-plasmonic effect in resonance condition has been reported. Improved gas sensing performance in terms of sensitivity has been demonstrated in the presence of different alcohol vapours concentration mixed in dry air. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.