Enhancing the Angular Sensitivity of Plasmonic Sensors Using Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Kandammathe Valiyaveedu Sreekanth; Yunus Alapan; Mohamed ElKabbash; Amy M Wen; Efe Ilker; Michael Hinczewski; Umut A Gurkan; Nicole F Steinmetz; Giuseppe Strangi

doi:10.1002/adom.201600448

Enhancing the Angular Sensitivity of Plasmonic Sensors Using Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Adv Opt Mater. 2016 Nov;4(11):1767-1772. doi: 10.1002/adom.201600448. Epub 2016 Aug 2.

Authors

Kandammathe Valiyaveedu Sreekanth¹, Yunus Alapan², Mohamed ElKabbash¹, Amy M Wen³, Efe Ilker¹, Michael Hinczewski¹, Umut A Gurkan⁴, Nicole F Steinmetz⁵, Giuseppe Strangi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10600 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
² Case Biomanufacturing and Microfabrication Laboratory, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
³ Biomedical Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
⁴ Biomedical Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Case Biomanufacturing and Microfabrication Laboratory, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Orthopaedics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Advanced Platform Technology Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
⁵ Biomedical Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
⁶ Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10600 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Physics and CNR-NANOTEC UOS of Cosenza, Licryl Laboratory, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.

Abstract

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors operate mainly on prism and grating coupling techniques, with spectral and angular scans being the two major interrogation schemes. Among them, the angular scan technique has several advantages including higher measurement precision owing to its higher signal-to-noise ratio. The currently available SPR sensor arrangements provide a maximum angular sensitivity of 500°-600° per RIU. Here, we report the study of grating coupled-hyperbolic metamaterial (GC-HMM) sensors with high angular sensitivity. The experimental studies show extraordinary angular sensitivities from visible to near infrared (NIR) wavelengths by exciting bulk plasmon polaritons associated with hyperbolic metamaterials, with a maximum of 7000° per RIU. This angular-scan plasmonic biosensor has been used for the detection of low molecular weight biomolecules such as biotin (244 Da) and high molecular weight macromolecules such as Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV, 5.6 × 10⁶ Da) at ultralow concentrations. The miniaturized sensing device can be integrated with microfluidic systems for the development of next-generation biosensors for lab-on-a-chip and point-of-care applications.

Grants and funding

F31 HL129703/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States