Performance analysis of semiconductor based surface plasmon resonance structures

In the present work, we have explored the field of surface plasmon resonance by analyzing the evanescent field enhancement, shift of resonance position and phase-jump using high index semiconductor prism material for three different nano-plasmonic structures namely, germanium-metal-analyte (GMA), germanium-silicon-metal-analyte (GSMA), germanium-metal-silicon-analyte (GMSA) in both visible and infrared wavelength region employing angular and wavelength interrogation modes. Differential phase and differential reflectance with change of refractive index of the sensing medium have also been discussed. Enhanced sensitivity and adequate dynamic range are other inevitable advantages offered by such configurations. Performance of these structures has been analyzed in terms of figure of merit and detection accuracy. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.