Tuning the Fano resonances in a single defect nanocavity coupled with a plasmonic waveguide for sensing applications.

A novel surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) refractive index sensor based on a single defect nanocavity coupled with a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide is proposed and numerically simulated by using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method with perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition. It is found that the defect structure can realize two Fano resonances and these two Fano resonances originate from two different mechanisms. The results demonstrate the liner correlation between the resonance wavelengths of the device and the refractive index of the material under sensing. Through the optimization of structural parameters, we achieve a theoretical value of the refractive index sensitivity as high as 1800.4 nmRIU. It could be utilized to develop ultra-compact nanodevice for high-resolution biological sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]