Application of Tamm Plasmon Polaritons and Cavity Modes for Biosensing in the Combined Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Quartz Crystal Microbalance Method

Abstract

Low-cost 1D plasmonic photonic structures supporting Tamm plasmon polaritons and cavity modes were employed for optical signal enhancement, modifying the commercially available quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) sensor chip in a combinatorial spectroscopic ellipsometry and quartz microbalance method. The Tamm plasmon optical state and cavity mode (CM) for the modified mQCM-D sample obtained sensitivity of ellipsometric parameters to RIU of ΨTPP = 126.78 RIU−1 and ΔTPP = 325 RIU−1, and ΨCM = 264 RIU−1 and ΔCM = 645 RIU‑1, respectively. This study shows that Tamm plasmon and cavity modes exhibit about 23 and 49 times better performance of ellipsometric parameters, respectively, for refractive index sensing than standard spectroscopic ellipsometry on a QCM-D sensor chip. It should be noted that for the optical biosensing signal readout, the sensitivity of Tamm plasmon polaritons and cavity modes are comparable with and higher than the standard QCM-D sensor chip. The different origin of Tamm plasmon polaritons (TPP) and cavity mode (CM) provides further advances and can determine whether the surface (TPP) or bulk process (CM) is dominating. The dispersion relation feature of TPP, namely the direct excitation without an additional coupler, allows the possibility to enhance the optical signal on the sensing surface. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study and application of the TPP and CM in the combinatorial SE-QCM-D method for the enhanced readout of ellipsometric parameters.

Tamm plasmon polariton in planar structures: A brief overview and applications

“…Here, the spacer layer acts as a modulator for tuning hybrid resonances in the coupled system. The coupled hybrid modes provide a feasible platform for many integrated photonic applications like biosensors, emitters, filters, absorbers, and photodetectors [80][81][82]. The coupled TPP-cavity modes can be tuned very easily by varying the geometrical parameters and polarisation of the light [54].…”

Study of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Wild-Type and the Variants of Concern Real-Time Interactions with Monoclonal Antibodies and Convalescent Human Serum

“…Highly sensitive, non-contact, label-free methods capable of monitoring immune complex formation on the surface in real time are in high demand for extensive examination of antigen and antibody interactions. Recently, surface-sensitive methods such as spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) based on electromagnetic waves and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) based on acoustic waves attracted attention to studies of the formation of immune complexes in real time [ 2 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. QCM was successfully applied for the label-free detection of antibodies against the phospholipase A2 receptor, and for the characterization of monoclonal antibodies against the hepatitis B virus [ 17 , 18 ].…”

High Spectral Sensitivity of Strongly Coupled Hybrid Tamm-Plasmonic Resonances for Biosensing Application

“…Another plasmonic excitation generated in a 1D photonic crystal structure with a thin metal layer on top is the Tamm plasmons polariton (TPP), which were applied for narrow band tunable filters [ 11 ] and biosensors [ 12 , 13 ]. The Tamm plasmon polaritons are non-propagating optical states that exist at the metal and photonic crystal boundary.…”