Simulation and analysis of phase-sensitive surface plasmon resonance sensor based on enhanced optical transmission through arrays of nanoholes in silver films

A high spatial resolution, phase-sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance(SPR) sensor based on Extraordinary Optical Transmission(EOT) is proposed to monitor the binding of organic and biological molecules to the silver surface. The 2D nanohole-array configuration is well suited for dense integration in a sensor chip. The optical geometry is collinear, which simplifies the alignment with respect to the traditional Kretschmann arrangement for SPR sensing. Various design parameters of the device have been studied by simulation. The heterodyne technique is used to improve the sensitivity. The optimization results indicate that the sensor has the advantages of achieving high resolution and a wide dynamic range simultaneously.