Theoretical and experimental study of the surface plasmon resonance effect on a recordable compact disk

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect on noble-metal surfaces has been explored by several investigators for the development of chemical and biological sensors as well as for the design of optical devices for other applications. The effect can be observed by use of prism couplers, diffraction gratings, and specially configured optical fibers. In an attempt to seek a new configuration that minimizes costs of fabricating media that support SPR in conjunction with designing a new format suitable for large-scale chemical and biological sensing, I have investigated the feasibility of using a commercially available, gold-type, recordable compact disk for observation of the SPR phenomenon. Experimental and theoretical results of this investigation are reported. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.