Cavity-enhanced surface-plasmon resonance sensing: modeling and performance

We investigate the performance of a surface-plasmon-resonance refractive-index (RI) sensor based on an optical resonator. The resonator transforms RI changes of liquid samples, interacting with the surface plasmon excited by near-infrared light, into a variation of the intra-cavity optical loss. Cavity ring-down measurements are provided as a proof of concept of RI sensing on calibrated mixtures. A characterization of the overall sensor response and noise features as well as a discussion on possible improvements is carried out. A reproducibility analysis shows that a resolution of 10(-7)-10(-8) RIU is within reach over observation times of 1-30 s. The ultimate resolution is set only by intrinsic noise features of the cavity-based method, pointing to a potential limit below 10(-10) RIU/root Hz.