September 1, 2012 / Vol. 37, No.

17 / OPTICS LETTERS 3681

High surface plasmon resonance sensitivity

enabled by optical disks
Xuan Dou, Blayne M. Phillips, Pei-Yu Chung, and Peng Jiang*
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
*Corresponding author: pjiang@che.ufl.edu
Received June 12, 2012; revised July 25, 2012; accepted July 27, 2012;
posted July 30, 2012 (Doc. ID 170465); published August 29, 2012
We report a systematic, experimental, and theoretical investigation on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing
using optical disks with different track pitches, including Blu-ray disk (BD), digital versatile disk (DVD), and com-
pact disk (CD). Optical reflection measurements indicate that CD and DVD exhibit much higher SPR sensitivity than
BD. Both experiments and finite-difference time-domain simulations reveal that the SPR sensitivity is significantly
affected by the diffraction order of the SPR peaks and higher diffraction order results in lower sensitivity. Numerical
simulations also show that very high sensitivity (1600 nm per refractive index unit) is achievable by CDs. 2012
Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: 240.6680, 250.5403.

Surface plasmon resonance is highly promising for and CDs (Memorex CD-R, 700 MB). The soft protective
label-free and real-time biosensing as it shortens sample layer of the BD-R was peeled off along a shallow cut at
preparation time, eliminates interference of conjugating the disk edge made by a razor blade. The recording dye
labels, and enables direct analyte detection without a layer and the reflective alloy layer of the BD-R were
sandwich format [14]. In traditional Kretschmann con- then removed by dissolving in 1.0 M hydrochloric acid
figuration, an optical prism is used to compensate the dif- aqueous solution, followed by sputtering deposition of
ference in the momentum of incident light and surface 2 nm chromium and 80 nm gold. The protective polycar-
plasmon (SP) of a flat metal sensing film [2]. Although bonate cover pieces and the photosensitive dyes of
very high sensitivity in the range of 3100 to 8000 nm DVD-R and CD-R were removed by following the estab-
per refractive index unit (nm RIU) can be achieved by lished procedures [13,16], and the exposed aluminum
this method [5], the bulky experimental setup impedes reflective layers were used directly in SPR sensing.
the miniaturization, multiplexing, and integration of Figures 1(a) and 1(b) show typical scanning electron
SPR sensors [3]. Fortunately, a large variety of SP-active microscope (SEM) images of a movie BD and a CD-R,
periodic nanostructures and metal nanoparticles which respectively. The packing density of the data tracks
enable simple optical setup (e.g., normal-incidence mea- of the BD is apparently much higher than that of the
surements) have been created [3,68]. However, the poor CD-R. Although no data pits like those in Fig. 1(a)
sensing reproducibility caused by the stochastic aggrega- were present on the blank disks used in this study,
tion of plasmonic nanoparticles and the high fabrication
cost in making large-area periodic nanostructures ham-
per the development of reliable and inexpensive SPR
sensors. In addition, the SPR sensitivity of plasmonic
nanoparticles and periodic nanostructures is usually
much lower than that of the metal sensing films used
in the Kretschmann setup, typically between 200 and
400 nm RIU [3,9,10].
Optical disks including CDs and DVDs with periodic
spiral data tracks, which can be scalably produced by
a simple injection molding process, have been exploited
as an inexpensive and reproducible alternative to plas-
monic nanoparticles and periodic nanostructures for
biosensing [1115]. We have recently demonstrated that
strong SPR effect created by DVDs enables sensitive SPR
and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing
[16], as well as hyperthermal sterilization of bacteria [17].
Herein we compare the SPR properties of commercial
BDs and CDs with DVDs as reported in our previous
work to investigate the effect of the track pitch of optical
disks on their SPR performance. In addition, the effect of
the diffraction order on the SPR sensitivity is investigated
by both experiments and theoretical simulations.
The optical disks used in the current study include
single-sided, single-layered, recordable BDs (Verbatim Fig. 1. Top-view SEM images of (a) BD movie disk and
BD-R, LTH type, 25 GB), DVDs (Ativa DVD-R, 4.7 GB), (b) CD-R.
0146-9592/12/173681-03$15.00/0 2012 Optical Society of America
3682 OPTICS LETTERS / Vol. 37, No. 17 / September 1, 2012

our extensive experiments showed that very similar SPR
sensitivities were obtained on both movie and recordable
optical disks with the same track pitch.
The normal-incidence specular optical reflection mea-
surements and refractive index (RI) sensing were per-
formed according to our previous work [16]. Figure 2(a)
shows the optical reflection spectra obtained from the
BD-R immersed in water (RI
1.333) and glycerol aqu-
eous solutions with different refractive indices. The red-
shift of the SPR peaks around 425 nm with increasing
refractive index of the dielectric media is clearly evident
in the expanded reflection spectra in Fig. 2(b). The SPR
sensitivity of the BD-R was calculated to be 366 nm RIU
using the linear relationship of the SPR wavelength ver-
sus solution refractive index as shown in Fig. 2(c). Al-
most identical sensitivity was obtained for BD-R disks
coated with different gold (60120 nm) and chromium
(25 nm) thicknesses. The RI sensing using the CD-R
in air (RI
1.0), water, and glycerol solutions is shown
in Fig. 2(d). A large red-shift (250 nm) of the SPR peaks
was observed when air was replaced by water. The ex-
panded spectra in Fig. 2(e) show a larger peak shift with
increasing dielectric RIs than that of the BD-R. The sen-
sitivity of the CD-R was calculated to be 752 nm RIU
[Fig. 2(f)], which is close to 858 nm RIU obtained for
DVD-R in our early work [16]. Further experiments
showed that similar SPR properties were obtained on
the same optical disk coated with same-thickness gold
and aluminum layers.
(a)
Reflectivity (arb. units)
The above optical reflection measurements show
that CD-R and DVD-R exhibit much higher (more than
doubled) SPR sensitivity than BD-R. To gain better un-
derstanding of the SP properties of optical disks with
different track pitches, finite-difference time-domain
(FDTD) simulations were conducted using the Lumeri-
cal FDTD Solutions Maxwell solver to complement the
optical characterization. The standard structural para-
meters of typical BDs, DVDs, and CDs, including corre-
sponding track pitch of 320, 740, and 1600 nm, track
width of 80, 500, 1100 nm, track sidewall tilting angle
of 80, and groove depth of 100 nm were used in the nu-
merical simulations. Periodic boundary conditions were
used in both x- and y-axis to represent the periodic struc-
ture of the spiral grooves. The perfect matched layers
(PML) approach was used at the top and bottom for
providing absorption boundary conditions [18].
Figure 3(a) shows the simulated normal-incidence re-
flection spectra of a BD-R coated with a 80 nm gold layer
immersed in dielectric media with different refractive
indices. Two apparent SPR peaks, one located around
425 nm and the other around 275 nm, are corresponding
to the 0th and the 1st diffraction orders. The positions
of the 0th-order SPR peaks matches reasonably well
with the experimental results [Fig. 2(b)]. However, as
our spectrometer can only scan wavelengths from 350
to 1100 nm, the predicted 1st-order peaks are not shown
in the experimental spectra. It is also apparent from
Fig. 3(a) that the 0th-order diffraction exhibits a larger
wavelength shift than that of the 1st-order diffraction
for the same RI change, indicating a higher SPR sensitiv-
(d) ity for the lower diffraction order. This is confirmed by
the calculated sensitivity of 304 and 142 nm RIU for the

Reflectivity (arb. units)

RI = 1.333 RI = 1.000
RI = 1.349 RI = 1.333
RI = 1.365 RI = 1.349
RI = 1.380 RI = 1.365
RI = 1.380
0th- and the 1st-diffraction order, respectively [Fig. 3(b)].
The same effect was observed in the simulated reflec-
tion spectra for a CD-R with a 100 nm aluminum layer

350 400 450 500 550 600 600 700 800 900 1000 1100
(a)
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)

(b) (e)
Reflectivity (arb. units)

RI = 1.333
3
Reflectivity (arb. units)

Reflectivity (arb. units)

RI = 1.333
RI = 1.349 RI = 1.349
9
RI = 1.365 RI = 1.365
5
RI = 1.380 RI = 1.380
0

RI = 1.33
R
R = 1.36
RI
R = 1.39
RI
R = 1.42
RI
R = 1.45
RI

375 400 425 450 475 960 980 1000 1020 1040 1060
300 400 500 600
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
(c) 450 (f) (b) 500
th
1040 0 order
Wavelength (nm)

Wavelength (nm)

st
1 order
440 450
Wavelength (nm)

1020
430
400

420 1000

250
1.32 1.34 1.36 1.38 1.32 1.34 1.36 1.38
Refractive Index Refractive Index
200
Fig. 2. (Color online) (a), (d) Normal incidence optical reflec- 1.32 1.38 1.44
Refractive Index
tion spectra obtained from a BD-R and a CD-R, respectively, in
dielectric media with different refractive indices. (b), (e) Ex- Fig. 3. (Color online) (a) FDTD-simulated reflection spectra
panded reflection spectra in (a) and (d), respectively. (c), from a BD-R disk in dielectric media with different RIs.
(f) Dependence of SPR peak position versus solution refrac- (b) Dependence of simulated SPR peak position versus solution
tive index for the above BD-R and CD-R, respectively. refractive index for 0th- and 1st-order peaks.
 September 1, 2012 / Vol. 37, No. 17 / OPTICS LETTERS 3683

(a) by using the Bloch wave surface plasmon polariton

condition for one-dimensional periodic structure [2]:

Reflectivity (arb. units)


P m n2 1 2
SPR
(1)
RI = 1.000
RI = 1.333 i m  n2
RI = 1.349
RI = 1.365
RI = 1.380
where i is the diffraction order, P is the track pitch of the
500 1000 1500 2000 2500
grating, m is the dielectric constant of the metal, and n
Wavelength (nm)
(b) is the environmental refractive index. The SPR sensitiv-
1600 ity, SPR n, is therefore proportional to the track
SPR Sensitivity (nm/RIU)

1400 pitch, while inversely proportional to the diffraction

1200
order, agreeing with our results.
In summary, we have shown that the SPR sensitivity of
1000
optical disks is greatly affected by the diffraction order
800 and the track pitch of the gratings. High SPR sensitivity
600 that surpasses most of the nanoparticle-based and nano-
0 1 2
fabricated SPR substrates have been demonstrated by
Diffraction Order using inexpensive optical disks. A very high sensitivity
Fig. 4. (Color online) (a) FDTD-simulated reflection spectra of 1600 nm RIU, which nearly doubles the SPR sensi-
from a CD-R in dielectric media with different RIs. (b) Calcu- tivity of DVDs [16], is predicted for CDs.
lated SPR sensitivity versus diffraction order for the CD-R.
This work was supported by the National Science
Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. CBET-0744879 and
1800
CMMI-1000686.
References
SPR Sensitivity (nm/RIU)

1500

1200 1. H. Wang, D. W. Brandl, P. Nordlander, and N. J. Halas, Acc.

Chem. Res. 40, 53 (2007).
2. J. Homola, Chem. Rev. 108, 462 (2008).
900

600 3. M. E. Stewart, C. R. Anderton, L. B. Thompson, J. Maria, S. K.

300
Gray, J. A. Rogers, and R. G. Nuzzo, Chem. Rev. 108, 494
(2008).
0
400 800 1200 1600
4. P. Kvasnicka, K. Chadt, M. Vala, M. Bockova, and J. Homola,
Track Pitch (nm) Opt. Lett. 37, 163 (2012).
5. L. S. Jung, C. T. Campbell, T. M. Chinowsky, M. N. Mar, and
Fig. 5. Dependence of simulated SPR sensitivity versus track
S. S. Yee, Langmuir 14, 5636 (1998).
pitch of gratings.
6. P. Nagpal, N. C. Lindquist, S. H. Oh, and D. J. Norris,
Science 325, 594 (2009).
7. S. K. Kim, C. J. Heo, J. Y. Choi, S. Y. Lee, S. G. Jang, J. W. Shim,
exposed to various dielectric media [Fig. 4(a)]. The 0th-, T. S. Seo, and S. M. Yang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 233701 (2011).
1st-, and 2nd-order diffraction peaks are shown in the cal- 8. D. M. Kuncicky, B. G. Prevo, and O. D. Velev, J. Mater.
culated spectra. The positions of the predicted 1st- and Chem. 16, 1207 (2006).
2nd-order peaks agree with the experimental results 9. C. L. Haynes and R. P. Van Duyne, J. Phys. Chem. B 105,
5599 (2001).
[Fig. 2(d)]. The calculated SPR sensitivities for different 10. A. G. Brolo, R. Gordon, B. Leathem, and K. L. Kavanagh,
diffraction orders are shown in Fig. 4(b). It is evident that Langmuir 20, 4813 (2004).
a higher diffraction order leads to a smaller sensitivity 11. T. Arai, S. C. B. Gopinath, H. Mizuno, P. K. R. Kumar, C.
and a very high sensitivity of 1610 nm RIU is predicted Rockstuhl, K. Awazu, and J. Tominaga, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.
for the 0th-order diffraction. In addition, the experimen- 46, 4003 (2007).
tal SPR sensitivity for the 1st-order diffraction 12. S. C. B. Gopinath, K. Awazu, J. Tominaga, and P. K. R.
[752 nm RIU, see Fig. 2(f)] matches well with the theo- Kumar, ACS Nano 2, 1885 (2008).
retical prediction (788 nm RIU). The dependence of the 13. B. K. Singh and A. C. Hillier, Anal. Chem. 78, 2009 (2006).
SPR sensitivity on the track pitch was also investigated 14. M. M. Varma, H. D. Inerowicz, F. E. Regnier, and D. D.
by FDTD simulations. Figure 5 shows the calculated 0th- Nolte, Biosens. Bioelectron. 19, 1371 (2004).
15. B. K. Singh and A. C. Hillier, Anal. Chem. 80, 3803 (2008).
order SPR sensitivities versus different track pitches
16. X. Dou, P. Y. Chung, P. Jiang, and J. L. Dai, Appl. Phys. Lett.
from 320 to 1600 nm. It is apparent that a higher sensi- 100, 041116 (2012).
tivity can be achieved by using gratings with a wider 17. X. Dou, P. Y. Chung, P. Jiang, and J. L. Dai, Appl. Phys. Lett.
track pitch. 100, 063702 (2012).
The effects of the diffraction order and the track pitch 18. J. Jin, The Finite Element Method in Electromagnetics,
of optical disks on the SPR sensitivity can be understood 2nd ed. (Wiley, 2002).