Plasmonic Sensor Array

The goal of this program is to develop devices that can detect small electric fields over large frequency ranges while being compact and power efficient. We propose an electro-optic resonant plasmon that enhances the electro-optic phase shift in a small volume (<80nm) as a near-field probe from few Hz and up to gigahertz microscopy. Frequency response of the plasmon resonant probe sensor is evaluated for different resonator designs. Why Plasmonic? Enables sub-diffraction-limit dimension allows for high operation speed, low power consumption and on-chip integration capability. Why resonance-based Plasmon? Resonance-based metallic Plasmon can be more efficient and require a short interaction channel in order to accumulate enough signal sensitivity.The proposed research effort will investigate a novel approach that enables revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Existing electrical field detectors are very limited in their sensitivity, and only work at DC or low frequency. The use of a novel resonant plasmonic metallic nano-structure with efficient and fast electro-optical material will enable high resolution imaging of electric field in away that have never been done before. The electrostatic field plasmonic sensor array (EFPSA) resolution and scalability will be comparable to CMOS and CCD cameras.