Spectral interferometry-based surface plasmon resonance sensor

A two-step spectral interferometric technique is used to measure a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phase difference from the spectral interferograms recorded in the Kretschmann configuration. The technique employs a polarimetry setup with a white-light source and birefringent crystal and allows one to obtain a channeled spectrum. Two such spectra, one including reflection of p- and s-polarized waves from the SPR structure for air when the SPR phenomenon does not occur in the source spectral range, and the other one for an analyte when the SPR phenomenon occurs, are used to retrieve the wavelength-dependent SPR phase difference. The new method is applied for aqueous solutions of ethanol with different parameters, the concentration of ethanol in water in a range from 0 to 60 weight percent and the refractive index in a range from 1.333 to 1.362. The sensing scheme uses a wavelength interrogation method and the position of a sharp maximum in the spectral derivative of the SPR phase change is measured as a function of the analyte parameter in a range from 644 to 690 nm. In the same setup, the spectral dependence of the ratio between the reflectances of both polarization states is measured as a function of the analyte parameter. It is revealed that the detection accuracy of the interferometric measurements is more than three times higher than that of the polarimetric measurements.