Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is widely applied for bio/ chemical sensing. The main problem for all sensors is accuracy and sensitivity enhancement. For SPR sensors the accuracy depends on the characteristics of the plasmon resonance. In this work, we study SPR excitation assisted by liquid crystal layer. We consider Kretshmann configuration where a liquid crystal is sandwiched between a prism and glass plate, while the gold layer is evaporated over the glass plate. We show that the Bragg reflection of cholesteric liquid crystals modifies the plasmon resonance in a way increasing the accuracy of its location. Also, features of plasmon resonance excitation are studied for chiral liquid crystals.

Date Published: 8 January 2015
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9447, 18th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications, 94470C (8 January 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2178455

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9447:
18th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications
Tanja Dreischuh; Sanka Gateva; Alexandros Serafetinides, Editor(s)