Signal sensitivity and intensity enhancement for a polymer-based Fabry-Perot Interferometer with embedded nanostructures in its cavity

A white-light source operated polymer-based micromachined Fabry-Perot Interferometer (muFPI) with embedded nanostructures in its cavity is reported for the first time. The nanostructures inside the cavity are Au-coated nanopore-plasmonic substrate, forming an Au-nanopore-FPI. It offers at least three advantages over a traditional muFPI including the increased sensing surface area, the extended penetration depth of the excitation light and the tremendous amplification of the optical transducing signal due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (L-SPR) effect. Measurements have been carried out on the prototype devices. It shows tremendous enhancement of output signal intensity, sensitivity and contrast for the Au-nanopore-muFPI compared to traditional muFPI. Several chemicals have been evaluated using these devices.