Plasmonic sensor for rapid detection of water adulteration in honey and quantitative measurement of lactose concentration in solution

Abstract

In this article, a novel surface plasmon polariton-based plasmonic refractive index sensor is proposed and numerically investigated. It consists of a structure of an octagonal cavity resonator inside a square disk along with silver nanodots and two slits which are coupled to a straight metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide arrangement. The finite element method (FEM) has been employed to perform a numerical analysis of the proposed structure in the near-IR (Infrared) and mid-IR spectrum. The sensor detects changes in refractive index in terms of changes in resonant wavelength which can be measured using an optical spectrum analyzer. The recorded maximum sensitivity is 2527.6 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) with a sensing resolution of 3.956×10−7 RIU. The proposed sensor has been further numerically analyzed, and its ability to measure the quality of honey samples and detect lactose concentration in a solution has been verified.

Keywords

• Refractive index sensor
• Surface plasmon polariton
• Sensitivity
• Sensing resolution
• Figure of merit