What is a Surface Plasmon-Polariton?

A Surface Plasmon-Polariton is very specific type of electromagnetic wave that exists at a unique interface between a metal and a dielectric. The electromagnetic wave is excited by the energy and momentum provided by photons.

How do we detect the Surface Plasmon-Polariton?

A flow cell is used to create the boundry between the dielectrci and metal. The flow cell is composed of a prism, a gold slide, dielectric material, and a Polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) cube. A laser from a helium-neon source is guided into the boundry. The angle of reflection off of a prism and the power of the laser is then recorded by a sensor. A computer program then corrects the data and graphs the data. From the graph, the location of the surface plasmon polariton can be seen.

Motivation

The current Surface Plasmon Sensor has the ability to measure a secondary effect of a Surface Plasmon Polariton. Having the ability to directly observe the metal-dieletric is a characteristic that the system would benefit from. This ability to observe the boundary is the driving force for our project. Problem Definition and Detailed Design are located in Progress

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