Sensitivity Enhancement of Surface Plasmon Resonance-based Biosensor using Aluminium-Cobalt-Tungsten Disulfide-Graphene Heterostructure

Abstract

An attempt has been made to enhance the sensitivity of a high-sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor with an aluminium-cobalt bimetallic layer covered by a tungsten disulfide-graphene heterostructure. A thin layer of cobalt coated on an aluminium layer contributed substantially to increase the sensor performance. The use of Al and Co metals instead of noble metals like Ag and Au reduced the cost of the sensor. Further, tungsten disulfide (WS2) layers were employed to improve sensitivity and protect the bimetal Al-Co from becoming oxidized, whereas graphene served as the biomolecule trapping medium. The number of WS2 and graphene layers have optimized for better sensitivity. The proposed biosensor Al-Co-WS2-graphene structure displayed an excellent sensitivity of 300°/RIU, convenient for sensing biomolecules.