Surface Plasmon Resonance Investigation of Silver and Gold Films Coated with Thin Indium Tin Oxide Layers: Influence on Stability and Sensitivity

Sabine Szunerits (1, 2, 3) , Xavier Castel , Rabah Boukherroub (1, 2)

1 IRI - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire [Villeneuve d'Ascq]
2 IEMN - Institut d’Électronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie - UMR 8520
3 LEPMI - Laboratoire d'Electrochimie et de Physico-chimie des Matériaux et des Interfaces

The paper reports on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) studies of silver (Ag) and gold (Au) interfaces coated with thin indium tin oxide (ITO) layers. The ITO thin films were deposited using radio frequency sputtering at ambient temperature, resulting in the formation of chemically and optically stable Ag/ITO and Au/ITO interfaces. The advantage of Ag/ITO multilayers over Au and Au/ITO interfaces for SPR refractive index sensing is discussed in terms of sensitivity. Furthermore, the Ag/ITO interface offers the possibility for SPR studies in the presence of absorbing dielectrics, such as polypyrrole thin films.

Domaines: Matériaux

Sabine Szunerits, Xavier Castel, Rabah Boukherroub. Surface Plasmon Resonance Investigation of Silver and Gold Films Coated with Thin Indium Tin Oxide Layers: Influence on Stability and Sensitivity. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2008, 112 (40), pp. 15813-15817. ⟨10.1021/jp8049137⟩. ⟨hal-00386272⟩