MgF2 prism/rhodium/graphene: efficient refractive index sensing structure in optical domain

Akhilesh Kumar Mishra; Satyendra Kumar Mishra

doi:10.1088/1361-648X/aa5e40

MgF₂ prism/rhodium/graphene: efficient refractive index sensing structure in optical domain

J Phys Condens Matter. 2017 Apr 12;29(14):145001. doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/aa5e40. Epub 2017 Feb 27.

Authors

Akhilesh Kumar Mishra¹, Satyendra Kumar Mishra

Affiliation

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.

PMID: 28240219
DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/aa5e40

Abstract

A theoretical study of a noble surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based sensing probe has been carried out. The sensing probe consists of a magnesium fluoride (MgF₂) prism with its base coated with rarely used noble metal rhodium (Rh) and a bio-compatible layer of graphene. The refractive indices (RIs) of the sensing medium vary from 1.33 to 1.36 refractive index unit (RIU). The thickness of Rh and the number of graphene layers have been optimized for maximum sensitivity in a constraint set by the detection accuracy (DA). For the operating wavelength of 632 nm, the optimized sensing probe Rh (12 nm)/graphene (single layer) demonstrates sensitivity of ~259 degree/RIU with corresponding DA of ~0.32 degree^-1 while for 532 nm of excitation, the optimized sensing probe Rh (12 nm)/graphene (three layer) exhibits sensitivity of ~240 degree/RIU and DA of ~0.27 degree^-1.