title: Sensitivity enhancement of guided-wave surface-plasmon resonance sensors.
abstract: It is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that, by using the guided-wave surface-plasmon sensor configuration with a top layer of dielectric thin film (10-15 nm) having a high value of the real part of the dielectric function, it is possible to improve the sensitivity of the sensor up to 1 order of magnitude. The stability is improved because the thin nanolayer acts as a protection layer for the metal. The enhancement is due to the increase in the interaction volume and the evanescent field enhancement near the top layer-analyte interface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electro-Optic Engineering, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lahav
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Auslender
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abdulhalim
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D055096:Optical Devices; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014159:Transducers