Plasmonics for ultrasensitive biomolecular nanospectroscopy

Plasmonics, by localizing light to the sub-wavelength volumes and dramatically enhancing local fields, is enabling myriad of exciting possibilities in bio-detection field [1]. In this talk, first I will demonstrate an ultra-sensitive surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy enabling direct detection of molecular specific signatures of proteins from monolayer thick films. Our method exploits engineering of diffractive couplings among plasmonic nano-antenna arrays. I will then present a low-cost fabrication method for high-throughput fabrication of these engineered antenna arrays. Finally, I will show an integrated nanoplasmonic-nanofluidic sensor platform leading to targeted analyte delivery and dramatically improved sensor response time.