Each metal presents different characteristics when used in a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiment. These include the shape of the SPR figure, the wavelength of better operation, the tendency to oxidize, the sensitivity to environmental changes, the range of refractive indices detectable and the capability of binding to specific targets or analytes. When choosing the metal for our SPR experiment all of these characteristics have to be taken into account. We investigate the behavior of metals, which are less or have never been used in this kind of application, comparing their characteristics to gold. We deeply investigate both theoretically and experimentally the behavior of palladium. This metal leads to an inverted curve with a maximum of reflected intensity instead of a minimum. In fact, in this case we speak of Inverted Surface Plasmon Resonance (ISPR). Aluminum and copper have also been considered because of their potentiality in specific applications.

Date Published: 10 September 2014
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9163, Plasmonics: Metallic Nanostructures and Their Optical Properties XII, 91632Y (10 September 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2061814

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9163:
Plasmonics: Metallic Nanostructures and Their Optical Properties XII
Allan D. Boardman, Editor(s)