Analysis of surface plasmon resonance sensor coupled to periodic array of gold nanoparticles

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of a surface plasmon resonance sensor coupled to a periodic array of spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNps). The sensor is in the Kretschmann configuration and composed by five layers: prism, thin gold film, dielectric insulator, array of AuNps and air. The AuNps layer is modeled with an effective permittivity by the Maxwell-Garnett mixing formula, and the wave propagation is analyzed using a generalized reflection coefficient. The results are presented in terms of reflectivity and modal field distributions for different thickness of the layers and geometry of the AuNps array.