On the application of gold based SPR sensors for the detection of hazardous gases

A gas sensor system based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect in a 44 nm Au layer was studied. The usability of this sensor system was investigated for several analyte gases and gas mixtures which are interesting due to their flammability, toxicity or greenhouse effect. The SPR effect of gold was measured in nitrogen and compared with the gaseous alkane series which caused a shift of the position of the SPR effect. For in situ measurements, the phase shift Δ at the SPR angle (Ψ minimum) in the analyte gas mixtures was measured for investigated gases in comparison with nitrogen. With this method, detection limits of different gases could be determined, which lie in a range interesting for safety engineering. Furthermore the aging effect of the gold layers which leads to loss in sensitivity of the sensor was investigated.