Patent ID: 8094314
Filing Date: 2012-01-10
Classification: B82Y,G01N

Abstract:
1. An optical sensing device, comprising: a nanohole array comprising a substrate and a metal layer formed on the substrate to include an array of holes arranged in a periodic two-dimensional pattern and to be in contact with a sample under measurement, each hole having a dimension less than one wavelength of probe light to which the nanohole array is responsive to produce surface plasmons at an interface of the metal layer and the sample under a surface plasmon resonance condition; an input optical module to direct a collimated input optical probe beam at the wavelength of the probe light to the nanohole array, the input optical module comprising an optical polarization control unit operable to control an input optical polarization of the collimated input optical probe beam incident to the nanohole array; and an output optical module to receive an optical output produced by the surface plasmons at the interface between the metal layer and the sample, the output optical module comprising an output optical polarizer to select light in the optical output at a selected output polarization for optical detection, wherein the input optical module further comprises an actuator to control an incident angle of the collimated input optical probe beam to achieve the surface plasmon resonance condition.