Ag-Ni bimetallic film on CaF2 prism for high sensitive surface plasmon resonance sensor

Abstract

—We present a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) structure based on the Kretschmann configuration incorporating bimetallic layers of noble (Ag) and magnetic materials (Ni) over a CaF2 prism. Extensive numerical analysis based on transfer matrix theory has been performed to characterize sensor response considering sensitivity, full width at half maxima, and minimum reflection. Notably, the proposed structure, after suitably optimizing the thickness of bimetallic layer provides consistent enhancement of sensitivity over other competitive SPR structures. Hence, we believe that the proposed SPR sensor could find a new platform for medical diagnosis, chemical examination, and biological detection.