Jinpeng Nong

Graphene-Based Long-Period Fiber Grating Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor for High-Sensitivity Gas Sensing

A graphene-based long-period fiber grating (LPFG) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is proposed. A monolayer of graphene is coated onto the Ag film surface of the LPFG SPR sensor, which increases the intensity of the evanescent field on the surface of the fiber and thereby enhances the interaction between the SPR wave and molecules. Such features significantly improve the sensitivity of the sensor. The experimental results demonstrate that the sensitivity of the graphene-based LPFG SPR sensor can reach 0.344 nm%−1 for methane, which is improved 2.96 and 1.31 times with respect to the traditional LPFG sensor and Ag-coated LPFG SPR sensor, respectively. Meanwhile, the graphene-based LPFG SPR sensor exhibits excellent response characteristics and repeatability. Such a SPR sensing scheme offers a promising platform to achieve high sensitivity for gas-sensing applications.

Conformal Graphene-Decorated Nanofluidic Sensors Based on Surface Plasmons at Infrared Frequencies

An all-in-one prism-free infrared sensor based on graphene surface plasmons is proposed for nanofluidic analysis. A conformal graphene-decorated nanofluidic sensor is employed to mimic the functions of a prism, sensing plate, and fluidic channel in the tradition setup. Simulation results show that the redshift of the resonant wavelength results in the improvement of sensitivity up to 4525 nm/RIU. To reshape the broadened spectral lines induced by the redshift of the resonant wavelength to be narrower and deeper, a reflection-type configuration is further introduced. By tuning the distance between the graphene and reflective layers, the figure of merit (FOM) of the device can be significantly improved and reaches a maximum value of 37.69 RIU−1, which is 2.6 times that of the former transmission-type configuration. Furthermore, the optimized sensor exhibits superior angle-insensitive property. Such a conformal graphene-decorated nanofluidic sensor offers a novel approach for graphene-based on-chip fluidic biosensing.

Coupling of Graphene Plasmonics Modes Induced by Near-Field Perturbation at Terahertz Frequencies

The coupling between graphene surface plasmonic (GSP) modes and evanescent wave modes induced by near-field perturbation is investigated systematically in the grating-spacer-graphene hybrid system. Simulation results show that the near-field perturbation due to a small change of the geometrical structure disturbs the coupling characteristics, leading to the evolution of the absorption spectra and the spatial energy redistribution of GSP modes. By exploring the physical mechanism, the shift of the resonant absorption frequency can be quantified through the variation of the effective permittivity around graphene, while the first order evanescent wave in the grating plays a fundamental role in determining the absorbance in the coupling process. Further discussion indicates that the different penetration abilities of GSP wave into dielectric and metal grating contribute to the discrepancy of the energy distribution of GSP modes. Our study provides new physical insight and promotes a further step for the design of plasmonics devices at terahertz frequencies.

An infrared biosensor based on graphene plasmonic for integrated nanofluidic analysis

We propose an infrared biosensor for nanofluidic analysis based on graphene plasmonics, which consists of a nanochannel etching on a silicon substrate and a graphene sheet covered on the top of the channel. The change of refractive index due to the absorption of biomolecules in the nanochannel can be measured by detecting the wavelength shifts of resonant dips. To achieve the best optical performances of the biosensor, an optical model based on finite element method is built to optimize the structure parameters of the biosensor. Numerical simulation results show that a biosensor with a larger top width and a higher depth shows a better overall performance and a high sensitivity value of up to 1920nm/RIU can be achieved in an optimized structure. In addition, the biosensor can dynamically work at a wide range of infrared region by adjusting the Fermi level of graphene. Graphene is pre-coated with poly methyl methacrylate to overcome the effect that the portion of graphene over the nanochannel will be strained and the influence of the thickness of this coated layer on the performances of biosensor is very small. The designed graphene plasmonics devices will advance further applications of graphene in integrated nanofluidic analysis and infrared biosensors.

Strong coherent coupling between graphene surface plasmons and anisotropic black phosphorus localized surface plasmons

The anisotropic plasmons properties of black phosphorus allow for realizing direction-dependent plasmonics devices. Here, we theoretically investigated the hybridization between graphene surface plasmons (GSP) and anisotropic black phosphorus localized surface plasmons (BPLSP) in the strong coupling regime. By dynamically adjusting the Fermi level of graphene, we show that the strong coherent GSP-BPLSP coupling can be achieved in both armchair and zigzag directions, which is attributed to the anisotropic black phosphorus with different in-plane effective electron masses along the two crystal axes. The strong coupling is quantitatively described by calculating the dispersion of the hybrid modes using a coupled oscillator model. Mode splitting energy of 26.5 meV and 19 meV are determined for the GSP-BPLSP hybridization along armchair and zigzag direction, respectively. We also find that the coupling strength can be strongly affected by the distance between graphene sheet and black phosphorus nanoribbons. Our work may provide the building blocks to construct future highly compact anisotropic plasmonics devices based on two-dimensional materials at infrared and terahertz frequencies.

All-Semiconductor Plasmonic Resonator for Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy

Infrared absorption spectroscopy remains a challenge due to the weak light-matter interaction between micron-wavelengthed infrared light and nano-sized molecules. A highly doped semiconductor supports intrinsic plasmon modes at infrared frequencies, and is compatible with the current epitaxial growth processing, which makes it promising for various applications. Here, we propose an all-semiconductor plasmonic resonator to enhance the infrared absorption of the adsorbed molecules. An optical model is employed to investigate the effect of structural parameters on the spectral features of the resonator and the enhanced infrared absorption characteristics are further discussed. When a molecular layer is deposited upon the resonator, the weak molecular absorption signal can be significantly enhanced. A high enhancement factor of 470 can be achieved once the resonance wavelength of the resonator is overlapped with the desired vibrational mode of the molecules. Our study offers a promising approach to engineering semiconductor optics devices for mid-infrared sensing applications.

Cavity enhanced ultra-thin aluminum plasmonic resonator for surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy

Owing to the advantages of natural abundance, low cost, and amenability to manufacturing processes, aluminum has recently been recognized as a highly promising plasmonic material that attracts extensive research interest. Here, we propose a cavity-enhanced ultra-thin plasmonic resonator for surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy. The considered resonator consists of a patterned ultra-thin aluminum grating strips, a dielectric spacer layer and a reflective layer. In such structure, the resonance absorption is enhanced by the cavity formed between the patterned aluminum strips and the reflective layer. It is demonstrated that the spectral features of the resonator can be tuned by adjusting the structural parameters. Furthermore, in order to achieve a deep and broad spectral line shape, the spacer layer thickness should be properly designed to realize the simultaneous resonances for the electric and the magnetic excitations. The enhanced infrared absorption characteristics can be used for infrared sensing of the environment. When the resonator is covered with a molecular layer, the resonator can be used as a surface enhanced infrared absorption substrate to enhance the absorption signal of the molecules. A high enhanced factor of 1.15×105 can be achieved when the resonance wavelength of resonator is adjusted to match the desired vibrational mode of the molecules. Such a cavity-enhanced plasmonic resonator, which is easy for practical fabrication, is expected to have potential applications for infrared sensing with high-performance.