InP PDF

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/357203310
Indium Phosphide and Black Phosphorus Employed Surface Plasmon Resonance

Sensor for Formalin Detection: Numerical Analysis
Article in Optical Engineering · January 2022

DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.61.1.017101
CITATIONS READS
9 128
5 authors, including:
Bhishma Karki Arun Uniyal

Department of Physics, Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathma… DIT University
51 PUBLICATIONS 91 CITATIONS 19 PUBLICATIONS 36 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE
Amrindra Pal Vivek Srivastava

DIT University Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology
81 PUBLICATIONS 338 CITATIONS 14 PUBLICATIONS 81 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
Electro-optical effect based integrated device View project
Sensor View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Bhishma Karki on 09 January 2022.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Indium phosphide and black phosphorus employed
surface plasmon resonance sensor for formalin
detection: numerical analysis
Bhishma Karki ,a,* Arun Uniyal ,b Tarun Sharma,c Amrindra Pal ,b and
Vivek Srivastavad
a
Tribhuvan University, Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Department of Physics, Kathmandu,
Nepal
b
DIT University, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
c
Himachal Pradesh University, University Institute of Technology, Department of Electronics
and Communication Engineering, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
d
ABES Engineering College, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ghaziabad,
Uttar Pradesh, India
Abstract. A hybrid Kretschmann configuration-based surface plasmon resonance biosensor is

investigated to detect formalin in water was proposed. The modification is done in the conven-
tional sensor by adding the indium phosphide (InP) and black phosphorus (BP) material layer.
The silver (Ag) metal thickness is 45 nm, the optimized thickness of the metal for the proposed
design. The thickness of the InP and BP materials 2 and 0.34 nm are considered. For three InP
layers and one BP layer, the maximum sensitivity of 250.2 deg ∕RIU is achieved. The BP layer
is used to improve the biorecognition ability of the sensor. The performance of the sensor is
analyzed using the angular interrogation method. The proposed sensor is investigated for the
aqueous sensing medium. The InP is an air-stable semiconductor material and has applications
in chemical, medical, and biological fields. © 2022 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation
Engineers (SPIE) [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.61.1.017101]
Keywords: indium phosphide; surface plasmon resonance; sensitivity; black phosphorus (BP);
formalin detection; chemical sensor.
Paper 20211186G received Oct. 16, 2021; accepted for publication Dec. 20, 2021; published
online Jan. 8, 2022.
1 Introduction
The field of optical biosensors has shown rapid growth in research from the last decade.
A particular class of optical sensors, named surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor, has
wide application in bio-sensing, biochemical investigations, environmental monitoring factors
such as temperature and pressure sensing, and food safety.1–7 The principle of operation of the
SPR-based biosensors is attenuated total reflection (ATR)8 upon applying an input laser beam
to the metal-dielectric interface. As a result, the energy levels of free electrons promoted from
the ground state to a higher one, giving birth to surface plasmons (SPs) having oscillations at
resonance conditions. Kretschmann and Raether9 and Otto10 configuration are two prism cou-
pling configurations employed to design SPR biosensors. But Kretschmann’s configuration is
popularly used in SPR sensors because it can be easily implemented.11,12,13 The opto-electronic
properties of two-dimensional materials (2D) such as graphene, black phosphorus (BP) to use
in the SPR-based bio-sensing design due to the sensitivity enhanced a significant factor.
Researchers follow the oxidation-reduction approach as it strongly affects the sensor’s per-
formance. Instead of single layer-based designs, multiple-layer designs are proposed using
different metal-dielectric layers giving rise to sensitivity.14–19 Different sensor designs made
*Address all correspondence to Bhishma Karki, magnum.photon@gmail.com
0091-3286/2022/$28.00 © 2022 SPIE
Optical Engineering 017101-1 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)
Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

Terms of Use: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/terms-of-use
Karki et al.: Indium phosphide and black phosphorus employed surface plasmon resonance sensor. . .
earlier use Au, Ag, etc., as major choice combinations of the metal layer. Ag material in our
proposed design makes it a perfect choice than other materials such as Au due to its extraor-
dinary properties such as high molecular rate of adsorption and accuracy. The resonance curve
is narrow using the Ag metal compared to the Au metal-based biosensor.20 The resonance curve
broadened, the full width half maximum (FWHM) parameter of the sensor increases, so the sen-
sor’s performance decreases. Although the oxidation problem exists while using Ag as a metal in
SPR sensor-based designs,21 the problem is compensated with 2D material (such as BP). The Ag
metal-based sensor shows better performance.22 The biosensors are a functional integrated device
consisting of a bio-receptor and a transducer generally known as the biorecognition element. The
interaction with the analyte is done with the help of a bio-receptor. Then the change in signal after
combination with the analyte can be easily measured with a transducer. Previously some research
work is based on heterogeneous designs also using biomolecular recognition elements, which
improves the sensitivity by reducing the difficulties in fabrication.23–25
Formalin is a formaldehyde solution (∼40%) in water, used as food preservatives and dis-
infectants claimed by some researchers. So the formalin detection is a concerning issue as it is a
biochemical mechanism. Some severe diseases, such as chronic cancer, are severe issues after
frequent intake26,27 of the formalin-based preservative.
BP as a 2D material semiconductor material,28 having honeycomb lattice structure gaining
popularity in SPR sensor designs with their promising optoelectronic properties unlike the prop-
erties of graphene, MoS2 such as more incredible molecular adsorption energy,29,30 the more
excellent surface-to-volume ratio,31 direct bandgap, greater mobility, low losses in virtue of low
extinction coefficient.32,33 BP oxidizes quickly in the water.34 But the sensitivity of the SPR
sensor can be extensively improved using other materials with BP.
In addition to this, a semiconductor material proposed here in our design is indium phosphide
(InP), composed of the material indium and phosphorus. Its crystal structure is called zinc
blende.35 It has many optical properties such as direct bandgap, as its dielectric constant’s real
part is high, giving help in incident radiation absorption in the metal surface. When coupled with
Ag, it reduces the oxidation problem of metal, giving high-performance parameters and high
sensitivity, making it a suitable choice for sensor designs.36
Earlier research has been reported worldwide using different material-dielectric multilayer
SPR sensor structures. Rouf and Haque proposed a multi-layer SPR sensor design using
the combination of Au, Ag, InP, Titanium, airgap, and they calculated the values for sensitivity
factor (SF) as 70.90 deg ∕RIU and combined sensitivity factor (CSF) as 372.8 RIU−1 .
Wu et al.37 designed an SPR sensor with few layers of BP and graphene/transition metal dichal-
cogenides, compared it with a conventional Ag layer-based SPR sensor, and calculated the
sensitivity as 279 deg ∕RIU, which is 2.4 times higher than conventional biosensor.
Maurya et al. crafted a multiple-layer biosensor design (with graphene and MoS2 ) and found
that the performance parameters such as detection accuracy (DA) and quality factor showed
improvement over the conventional structure.38 Pal et al.39 demonstrated an SPR sensor using
BP as the material with Au layer, and the value of sensitivity was found to be 180 deg ∕RIU
which was better than the conventional structure (126.6 deg ∕RIU) and using graphene
material (128 deg ∕RIU). Singh and Raghuvanshi40 drafted an SPR-based gas sensor multi-
layer design using Bi-metallic Au and Bi-BP layers and achieved the sensitivity parameter as
245.5 deg ∕RIU at 633 nm. Karki et al.21 theoretically demonstrated an SPR sensor using
franckeite and graphene and bimetallic layers of Ni and Ag and achieved a sensitivity of
352 deg ∕RIU. Nisha et al.41 designed a biosensor based on Au, MoS2 , nickel, graphene and
obtained 229 deg ∕RIU sensitivity. Kumar et al.42 proposed an angular interrogation-based
SPR sensor for DNA hybridization using multi-layers of copper, germanium with graphene
and achieved detection sensitivity 165.94% higher than the conventional sensor.
The proposed paper is divided into sections as Sec. 2 spreads light on theoretical analysis
and mathematical modeling of SPR sensor design. The model consists of the metal layer
(Ag), one binary semiconductor material (InP), and one 2D material (BP) with sensing
medium using Kretschmann’s configuration with BK7 prism as a coupling prism. The
parameters such as sensitivity (S), the figure of merit (FoM) or quality factor (Q), and
DA are calculated. Section 3 explains the results and discussions. At last, Sec. 4 concludes
the paper.

2 Theoretical Analysis and Mathematical Modeling of the Sensor

The proposed SPR multi-layer biosensor is being analyzed here, and mathematical modeling is
also carried out. The labeled figure of the proposed design is shown in Fig. 1. Table 1 below
indicates the different materials thickness values with their symbols used in our proposed design:
A transverse magnetic (TM) polarized input radiation (633 nm) generated from the He–Ne
laser source, after propagating through the BK7 prism, falls onto the metal film exciting its
ground state electrons, generating surface plasmon waves (SPW).
As a result, these SPs gave birth to an evanescent wave propagation with changing propa-
gation constant of optical radiation given by equation having the highest value at the metal and
dielectric interface. The relationship between the angle of SPR and the refractive index (RI) of
the sensing layer is given in Eq. (1). The frequency called surface resonance frequency (SRF)
occurs at resonance point in which evanescent wave propagates and the incident (SPR) angle
given as

μc μs
θSPR ¼ sin−1 : (1)
μp ðμc þ μs Þ
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e001;116;573
Here, μp and μs are RI of BK7 prism and sensing medium (aqueous solution), respectively.
The μc denotes the equivalent RI of Ag/InP/BP combined. The RI of a composite layer may be
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
defined by μc ¼ 3 ðμ1 μ2 μ3 Þ. For generating the SPR mechanism, matching between SPW vector
and evanescent wave vector is necessary.43
Fig. 1 Proposed SPR-based biosensor.
Table 1 Materials and their width used in the proposed study.
Metal/dielectric layer Width/thickness (nm)
Ag 45 (t 1 )
InP P 2 (t 2 )
Black phosphorus B 0.34 (t 3 )

The refractive index of the BK7 prism is computed using the formula:8
1.03961212λ2 0.231792344λ2 1.01046945λ2

μ2p ðλÞ ¼ þ þ þ 1: (2)
λ2 − 0.00600069867 λ2 − 0.0200179144 λ2 − 103.560653
The value of the RI of the prism is 1.5151 at λ ¼ 633 nm. The metal film’s RI is being
calculated by Drude’s method; its mathematical expression is44
λ2 λc
μ21 ¼ 1 − ; (3)
λ2p ðλc þ iλÞ
where, λc ðcollision wavelengthÞ ¼ 17.614 μm and λp ðplasma wavelengthÞ ¼ 0.14541 μm.

The RI. of the InP layer (μ2 ) is 3.4719 þ i 0.23111, and for the BP layer ðμ3 Þ is
3.531 − i 0.04087. Also, the RI for sensing media (μs ) is taken as 1.33 þ δn, here δn is the
change in RI. that occurs following biochemical reactions. As we already stated, the adverse
effects of frequent intake of formalin on the human body are like chronic cancer. So as a concern,
its detection is necessary. Formalin is easily soluble in water. The biochemical reactions between
formaldehyde and water change the solution’s RI to the concentration of formaldehyde to be
added. This change in RI mathematically be expressed as45
δn
Δμs ¼ μ2s − μ1s ¼ C ; (4)
δc
where μ2s ¼ μ1s þ C δn

δc , here C denotes the concentration of formaldehyde adsorbed.
The aforementioned mathematical expression denoted by Eq. (4) gives variation in RI after
hybridization with or without formaldehyde molecule. Other notations μ2s and μ1s RI of sensing
media after formaldehyde molecule adsorption and RI information of aqueous solution before
formaldehyde inside sensing layer. Assuming formaldehyde molecular concentration as 100 nM
has been added inside the sensing layer consisting of water, i.e., C ¼ 100 nM. The fraction δn
δc
indicates the change in the sensing medium’s RI as the formaldehyde concentration. This change
in RI is due to formaldehyde molecules in the aqueous solution consisting of a sensing layer.
This increment parameter value of RI is δnδc ¼ 0.182 cm ∕g for phosphate-buffered saline sol-
3
ution. The propagation constant of SPW alters with alteration in SPR angle given by46
2Π
kS ¼ μ sin θSPR : (5)
λ p
With the tunable angle of incidence of optical radiation, the resonance condition for SP (SPs)
will be achieved minimum for reflectance. The parameters such as reflectance using a popular
transfer matrix method (TMM) have been computed because, in this method, the approximation
is not used. Its accuracy mainly focuses on the construction of SPR sensors indicating their
dimensional parameters. Some performance parameters such as S, FoM, and DA are calculated
for the proposed sensor.
2.1 Transfer Matrix Method

Using the TMM,47 we can calculate the reflectance of the multilayer structure (four layers in our
proposed design). The matrix form of tangential field components of first and last boundaries is

R1 Rn−1
¼M : (6)
S1 Sn−1
Here, R1 , S1 denotes tangential components of electric and magnetic field vectors corresponding
to the first boundary. Similarly, Rn−1 , Sn−1 symbolizes electric and magnetic field vectors at the
last boundary. The characteristics matrix for multi-layer model given as

Y
n−1
M11 M12
M¼ Mk ¼ : (7)
M21 M22
k¼2
Here

Cos ϒk −i sin ϒk ∕qk
Mk ¼ : (8)
−iqk sin ϒk cos ϒk
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi
μk
Here, qk ¼ cos θk and ϒk ¼ nk 2πλ cos θk dk
Єk
The value of reflectance comes out to be, Rp ¼ jr2123 j using the above method, here rp , reflec-
tion coefficient expressed as46
ϵ 1 k2 − ϵ 2 k1
r12 ¼ ; (9)
ϵ 2 k1 þ ϵ 1 k 2
ϵ 3 k2 − ϵ 2 k3
r23 ¼ ; (10)
ϵ 3 k2 þ ϵ 2 k 3
Symbols 1, 2, and 3 are prism, metal, and dielectric, respectively.
2.2 Defining Performance Parameters of SPR Based Biosensor

Various performance parameters which analyze the SPR sensor performance are tabulated in
Table 2 below. Sensitivity expresses change in the resonance angle to the change in the sens-
ing layer’s RI. FWHM gives information about half of the reflectivity for the angular width
of SPR curves. Detection accuracy evaluates the sensor’s accuracy. The quality factor gives
information about sensitivity and FWHM. These parameters notations, formulas with meas-
uring units are being summarized in Table 2. FWHM is the angular width of the SPR curve at
50% reflectance. The small value of the FWHM is desirable because it ensures the accuracy
of the sensor.
We examine the electric field distribution of TM polarized light at a distance z within each
layer in this work to determine how the recommended structures of the evanescent field in the
augmentation part change with the varied conditions. The (H and E) field distribution within the
first layer equated by the total characteristic’s matrix obtained using input TM polarized light’s
reflectance and transmittance given as

H y1 ðzÞ 1 þ rp
¼ P1 ðzÞ: H inc ; z1 ≤ z ≤ z2 ;
−Ex1 ðzÞ q1 ð1 − rp Þ y
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;sec2.2;116;300
y is incident magnetic field amplitude and rp is the reflection coefficient. P1 ðzÞ is the
Here H inc
filed at the first layer, and given as
Table 2 Different parameters calculated for the proposed sensor design.
Parameters Formulas Symbol meanings
Sensitivity (S) deg/RIU S ¼ δθr es ∕δns δθr es change in resonance angle.

δn s change in RI. of sensing medium.
FWHM deg θ2 − θ1 θ2 and θ1 are resonance angle

at half reflectivity.
Detection accuracy (DA) deg−1 1∕θ2 − θ1 θ2 and θ1 resonance angle

at half reflectivity.
Quality factor (Q) RIU−1 S DA ¼ S ðFWHMÞ−1


cosðβkðat zÞ Þ i∕q1 sinðβkðat z Þ
P1 ðzÞ ¼ : (11)
iqj sinðβkðat z Þ cosðβkðat z Þ
Similarly, the electric and magnetic distribution in the layer j ≥ 2 with the help of the fol-
lowing expressions:
Y1
H yj ðzÞ 1 þ rp
¼ Pj ðzÞ Pi ðz ¼ zi þ di Þ H inc ; zj ≤ z ≤ zjþ1 ; (12)
−Exj ðzÞ q1 ð1 − rp Þ y
i¼j−1
where Pj ðzÞ calculated as

cosðβkðat z¼z−zi Þ Þ i∕qi sinðβkðat z¼z−zi Þ
Pj ðzÞ ¼ : (13)
iqj sinðβkðat z¼z−zi Þ cosðβkðat z¼z−zi Þ
Consistent with Fig. 1 in the manuscript, the substrate and ambient will represent the analyte
and prism, respectively, when the basic structure shown in Fig. 2 is used to create an SPR sensor.
It clearly shows how the incident, reflected, and transmitted waves are affected while passing
through the structure.
3 Results and Discussions

A low refractive index prism is commonly used in biosensing applications to achieve higher
sensitivities.48 Using BK7 coupling prism material, the Biosensor structure fulfills this
criterion.45 Lower RI.-based prisms give sharp resonance curves and higher values of various
parameters such as FWHM, Sensitivity, angular shift, and SPR angle compared with higher ones.
The amount of photon energy adsorption using the metallic layer cannot generate a high level of
SPs at the interface. So, the introduction film of 2D material such as BP increases the sensitivity
to a greater extent, resulting from charge transfer to metal interface from BP/InP layers giving
rise to field extension at the interface.5 Figure 3 gives a pictorial explanation of incidence angle
(in degrees) at X axis against the reflectance (in a.u.) at Y axis for different sensing layer RI
varying as 1.33 and 1.34.
Case 1: For P ¼ 0, B ¼ 0
Figure 3(a) gives a view of the case of a conventional sensor having no layers of InP (P ¼ 0)
and BP (B ¼ 0). The reflectance curve is shown here, indicating a sharp dip in resonance in
the vicinity of certain angles of incidence, showing adsorption efficiency of the SPR sensor for
incident radiation, which produces SPs. The change in SPR resonance angle, δθ ¼ 1.165 deg
for two resonance curves at RI. 1.33 and 1.34, is observed. The sensitivity calculated for this
sensor is 116.5 deg ∕RIU.
Case 2: For P ¼ 0, B ¼ 1
Further modifications in conventional structure by adding a single BP layer and no InP layer
(P ¼ 0 and B ¼ 1) with all parameters are the same as case 1 shown in Fig. 3(b). The increase in
Fig. 2 Plane-wave interaction with a multilayer system made up of three homogeneous and iso-
tropic media with four interfaces separated by two semi-infinite homogeneous, isotropic, and
dielectric media.

Fig. 3 Graph between reflectance and incidence angle at RI = 1.33 and 1.34 (a) For P ¼ B ¼ 0;
(b) For P ¼ 0, B ¼ 1; (c) For P ¼ 1, B ¼ 0; and (d) For P ¼ B ¼ 1.
values of resonance offset shift, δθ ¼ 1.187 deg, and sensitivity as 118.7 deg ∕RIU is observed
compared with traditional case (P ¼ 0, B ¼ 0). This advancement in the values of resonance
curve offset dip and sensitivity confirms that the use of BP material in the structure is appropriate
due to its properties such as direct bandgap with greater mobility, making it suitable for design-
ing multilayer SPR biosensors.
Case 3: For P ¼ 1, B ¼ 0
In this scenario, a single layer of InP is introduced with no layer of BP, i.e., P ¼ 1 and B ¼ 0;
it further increases both resonances offset dip and sensitivity, giving values 1.311 deg and
131.1 deg ∕RIU, respectively [shown in Fig. 3(c)]. This advancement in both parameters’ values
compared to previous cases is due to the properties of InP, such as the absorption rate of incident
light in the metal layer is high due to its high real part dielectric constant. Due to this, more shift
in the resonance angle is obtained in the resonance angle. A large excursion is obtained in the
resonance curve, the sensitivity of the sensor goes high.
Case 4: For P ¼ 1, B ¼ 1
This case evaluates the proposed sensor’s performance using both materials (InP and BP)
single layer (P ¼ B ¼ 1). The amount of shift and resonance curve dip is noted here signifi-
cantly, and the improvement in the drift in resonance angle δθ ¼ 1.337 and sensitivity S ¼ 133.7
is computed as shown in Fig. 3(d). Finally, after studying all four cases, it is concluded that the
sensor’s performance is maximum in this case; the monolayer of InP and a monolayer of BP
are used.

3.1 Formalin Recognition

In this work, detecting formalin in the sensing media containing aqueous solution is the key
objective. The absorption of formaldehyde with the aqueous solution is quite efficient.
Table 3 indicates detection attributes after the inclusion of formalin. The sensing layer’s variation
in concentration due to formaldehyde’s inclusion, the sensing layer RI varies following the
Eq. (4). Earlier the Eqs. (1) and (5) indicates the change in SPR angle with change in μs and
finally changing the value of kS .
The aforementioned Fig. 4 gives a plot for reflectance and incidence angle. Initially, for 0nM
concentration without formalin and after that for different concentrations (25, 50, 100, and 200)
due to chemical bonding reaction of the probe with sensing target, the different SPR curves were
obtained. It is to be noted that the shift in SPR angle is also observed by increasing the formalin
concentration. This confirms a linear functionality between formalin concentration and change in
SPR angle. The number of variations in the parameters (Rmin and θSPR ) after the inclusion of
formalin is given in Table 3. The data provided herein in Table 3 is being calculated using Fig. 4.
Figure 5, indicating their values with a combination of InP and BP layers with varying RI. of
sensing layer from 1.33 up to 1.38. The variation in sensitivity is observed by changing RI. by
0.01 value from 1.33 to 1.38. For P ¼ B ¼ 0, the sensitivity (116.5 to 150.6 deg ∕RIU)
was observed. The sensitivity in the range of 118.7 to 154 deg ∕RIU is calculated for
P ¼ 0 and B ¼ 1 as compared with P ¼ 1 and B ¼ 0 it was 131 to 184.5 deg ∕RIU. At last,
for P ¼ B ¼ 1 (single layer of both materials), the sensitivity was 133.7 to 194.5 deg ∕RIU. The
addition of the InP layer and BP layer combined achieves higher sensitivity compared with the
conventional one. The graphical analysis depicts that using InP and BP sheets in designing SPR
sensors increases sensitivity.
Further, the layers of InP and BP have been increased (for P or B ≥ 2) the value of reflectance
increases, as shown in Fig. 6. When the number of layers increases, the sensor’s reflectance goes
up after 0.5, and the SPR curve also becomes flat. So further measurement of resonance angle in
the dip has not been measured accurately, decreasing the sensitivity. This discussion tells that RI.
and sensitivity are directly related to each other. Figures 6(a) and 6(b) show the impact of change
Table 3 R min , θSPR , and ΔθSPR for different concentrations of formalin.
Formalin concentration (nM) R min (a.u.) θSPR (deg) ΔθSPR (deg)
Immobilizer probe (0 nM) 0.06033 77.635
Detectionable target (25 nM) 0.07087 78.591 0.95
Fig. 4 Various detectable targets (reflectance and incidence angle plot).

Fig. 5 Plot giving the relation between Sensitivity and RI of sensing layer.
Fig. 6 Impact of Incidence angle on reflectance (a) taking single layer of InP and varying BP layers
from 1 to 16 and (b) varying InP layers (1 to 4) and a single layer of BP.
in sensor sensitivity with multi sheets of BP and InP, respectively. Figure 6(a) shows an increase
in reflectance with variation in the angle of incidence, taking constant RI. as 1.33. The sharp dip
in reflectance shifts to a greater angle of incidence, making the SPR curve change its shape from
narrow to broad with the increasing number of BP layers (1 to 16) with a gap of 4 with each layer.
In continuation to this, Fig. 6(b) shows the effect on sensitivity by varying the InP layers with no
change in layers of BP. As in the earlier case, dip in reflectance shifts to a greater angle of
incidence with making SPR curve overall with respect to increase in the number of InP layers
(1 to 4).
For higher B and P ≥ 2, performance analysis is somehow complex due to the transfer of
resonance curves for different RI. values of sensing medium overlapping.
The thickness of the Ag metal has been optimized. The study considers the metal layer (Ag)
thickness variation from 30 to 50 nm, and the minimum reflectance observed is 0.00589 with
50 nm thickness of silver layer as shown in Fig. 7. The corresponding values of Rmin for the silver
layer thicknesses of 30, 35, and 40 nm are 0.56517, 0.4022, and 0.023022, respectively. As we
increase the thickness of the silver layer, further dip resonance curves are also noted. The opti-
mized thickness of 45 nm of the Ag metal has been taken.
The parameters such as the thickness of a silver layer, the refractive index of the sensing
medium, and the number of BP layers may affect the performance of the SPR sensor. The sen-
sitivity and minimum reflectance values should be high and low for higher sensor performance,
respectively. In Fig. 8, the number of BP layers varies from 0 to 9, and its impact on reflectance is
observed for the optimized thickness of silver taken as 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 nm. The lowest
value at which reflectance occurs is called the angle of resonance. The InP layer thickness is

Fig. 7 Incidence angle versus reflectance curve for silver layer thickness (Ag = 30 to 50 nm).
Fig. 8 Reflectance alterations with BP layers for various silver layer thicknesses.
fixed at 2 nm. At the metal-dielectric interface, SPs get excited, and finally, as a result, a drop in
the reflectance curves is observed, giving drops in reflectance angle. The reflectance continu-
ously increases for the Ag layer (40, 45, and 50 nm). For Ag (30 nm), the reflectance contin-
uously decreasing and at last Ag (35 nm), the reflectance first decreases then increases after eight
layers of BP.
Figure 9(a) shows electric field distributions regarding average distance from interfaces (Ag-
InP-Sensing medium layers). For this modified conventional design plot, no BP layer is present.
The electric field distribution increases exponentially between Ag-InP and InP-sensing media
interfaces and decreases exponentially after InP-sensing media’s final interface. Figure 9(b)
Fig. 9 Electric field distribution w.r.t. distance from prism for (a) Ag-InP-SM nanosheets and
(b) Ag-InP-BP-SM nanosheets.

Table 4 Comparative study with earlier works.
SPR sensor designs S(deg/RIU) DAðdegÞ−1 FoM or Q(1/RIU) Ref.
Air+Titanium+Ag+Au+InP 70.90 — 372.8 29
Ag+Graphene+MoS2+TiO2+SiO2 98 0.88 88.88 45
ZnO+Ag+PtSe2+Graphene 155.3 0.62973 21 49
Au+BP+Binding layer 180 0.29 — 37
Au+MoS2+Au+Graphene 182 — — 50
Au+TMDC+Au+Mxene 198 — — 51
Au+BP+Au+Graphene 218 — 26.13 46
Au+MoS2+Ni+Graphene 229 — — 39
Proposed work (Ag+InP+BP) 250.2 0.134 33.52 —
gives the electric field plot for the proposed SPR sensor design. At the metal-dielectric interface,
a high magnitude evanescent field wave is generated because of SPs excitations, exponentially
decaying at an average distance from the interface of metal-dielectric.1
Table 4 shows the comparative analysis of the earlier reported work. The proposed sensor is
ultra-sensitive for the RI change.
4 Conclusion
A hybrid SPR biosensor based on the InP with 2D BP is proposed for formalin detection in
water. The design incorporates optimized Ag, InP, and BP layers with 45, 2, and 0.34 nm, respec-
tively. The thickness of the InP and BP layers impacts the biosensor’s sensitivity. The biosensor
had a maximum sensitivity of 250.2 deg ∕RIU when three layers of InP and one BP layer were
considered. It is worth noting that the proposed systems have a sensitivity that is 2.15 times
higher than traditional Ag-based sensors. The BP and InP have exclusive optoelectronic proper-
ties such as high surface-to-volume ratio, direct bandgap, and higher molecular adsorption, mak-
ing them suitable for formalin detection applications.
References
1. Y. Singh, M. K. Paswan, and S. K. Raghuwanshi, “Sensitivity enhancement of SPR sensor
with the black phosphorus and graphene with bi-layer of gold for chemical sensing,”
Plasmonics 16, 1781–1790 (2021).
2. L. Han et al., “Improved particle swarm optimization algorithm for high performance SPR
sensor design,” Appl. Opt. 60(6), 1753–1760 (2021).
3. J. Liao, L. Han, and C. Xu, “Comparison of the sensitivity by SPR in a metal-ITO-BlueP/
TMDC structure,” Appl. Opt. 60(17), 5161–5168 (2021).
4. F. S. Ligler et al., “Array biosensor for detection of toxins,” Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 377,
469–477 (2003).
5. Y. Choi et al., “Biosensors and bioelectronics development of SPR biosensor for the detec-
tion of human hepatitis B virus using plasma-treated parylene-N film,” Biosens. Bioelectron.
56(15), 286–294 (2014).
6. F. Mustafa and S. Andreescu, “Chemical and biological sensors for food-quality monitoring
and smart packaging,” Foods 7(10), 168 (2018).
7. F. Usman, J. O. Dennis, and F. Meriaudeau, “Development of a surface plasmon resonance
acetone sensor for noninvasive screening and monitoring of diabetes,” IOP Conf. Ser.:
Mater. Sci. Eng. 383(1), 012024 (2018).

8. M. M. Rahman et al., “Sensitivity enhancement of SPR biosensors employing heterostruc-

ture of PtSe2 and 2D materials,” Opt. Mater. (Amst). 107, 110123 (2020).
9. E. Kretschmann and H. Raether, “Radiative decay of non radiative surface plasmons excited
by light,” Zeitschr. Naturforsch. - Sect. A J. Phys. Sci. 23(12), 2135–2136 (1968).
10. A. Otto, “Excitation of nonradiative surface plasma waves in silver by the method of frus-
trated total reflection,” Zeitschrift für Phys. 216(4), 398–410 (1968).
11. Q. Wang, E. Hu, and W. Wei, “Cu/ITO coated uncladded fiber-optic biosensor based on
surface plasmon resonance,” IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 31(14), 1159–1162 (2019).
12. B. Meshginqalam and J. Barvestani, “Performance enhancement of SPR biosensor based on
phosphorene and transition metal dichalcogenides for sensing DNA hybridization,” IEEE
Sens. J. 18(18), 7537–7543 (2018).
13. B. Karki et al., “Sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance sensor using 2D
material barium titanate and black phosphorus over the bimetallic layer of Au, Ag, and
Cu,” Opt. Commun. 508, 127616 (2022).
14. Y. Xiang et al., “Highly sensitive terahertz gas sensor based on surface plasmon resonance
with graphene,” IEEE Photonics J. 10(1), 1–7 (2018).
15. Y. Jia et al., “Sensitivity enhancement of a surface plasmon resonance sensor with platinum
diselenide,” Sensors 20(1), 131 (2020).
16. A. Vahedi and M. Kouhi, “Liquid crystal-based surface plasmon biosensorresonance,”
Plasmonics 15, 61–71 (2020).
17. G. Alaguvibisha et al., “Sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance sensor using
hybrid configuration of 2D materials over bimetallic layer of Cu-Ni,” Opt. Commun. 463,
125337 (2020).
18. M. Saifur Rahman et al., “Numerical analysis of graphene coated surface plasmon resonance
biosensors for biomedical applications,” Optik (Stuttg). 156, 384–390 (2018).
19. S. Shukla et al., “Sensitivity enhancement of a surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic
sensor utilizing platinum layer,” Optik (Stuttg). 126(23), 4636–4639 (2015).
20. A. Srivastava and Y. K. Prajapati, “Performance analysis of silicon and blue phosphorene/
MoS 2 hetero-structure based SPR sensor,” Photonic Sens. 9(3), 284–292 (2019).
21. B. Karki et al., “Sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance sensors with 2D
franckeite nanosheets,” Plasmonics (2021).
22. S. Pal et al., “Sensitive detection using heterostructure of black phosphorus, transition metal
di-chalcogenides and MXene in SPR sensor,” Appl. Phys. A Mater. Sci. Process. 126(10),
1–10 (2020).
23. L. Xia, S. Yin, and H. Gao, “Sensitivity enhancement for surface plasmon resonance
imaging biosensor by utilizing gold – silver bimetallic film configuration,” Plasmonics
6, 245–250 (2011).
24. W. Luo et al., “Simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature for prism-
based surface plasmon resonance sensors,” Opt. Express 27(2), 576–589 (2019).
25. S. Pourjamal et al., “Hybrid Ni∕SiO2 ∕Au dimer arrays for high-resolution refractive index
sensing,” Nanophotonics 7(5), 905–912 (2018).
26. S. Chen and C. Lin, “Sensitivity comparison of graphene based surface plasmon resonance
biosensor with Au, Ag and Cu in the visible region,” Mater. Res. Express 6(5), 1108–1116
(2019).
27. M. B. Hossain et al., “Design and analysis of graphene–MoS2 hybrid layer based SPR bio-
sensor with TiO2 − SiO2 nano film for formalin detection: numerical approach,” Opt.
Quantum Electron. 51(6), 1–13 (2019).
28. H. O. H. Churchill and P. Jarillo-Herrero, “Two-dimensional crystals: phosphorus joins the
family,” Nat. Publ. Gr. 9, 330–331 (2014).
29. S. Cho et al., “Superior chemical sensing performance of black phosphorus: comparison
with MoS2 and graphene,” Adv. Mater. 28(32), 7020–7028 (2016).
30. A. K. Sharma, “Blue phosphorene/MoS2 heterostructure based SPR sensor with enhanced
sensitivity,” IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 30, 595–598 (2018).
31. S. J. Ray, “First-principles study of MoS2, phosphorene and graphene based single electron
transistor for gas sensing applications,” Sens. Actuators B. Chem. 222, 492–498 (2016).

32. L. Li et al., “Black phosphorus field-effect transistors,” Nat. Nanotechnol. 9(5), 372–377
(2014).
33. C. Avenue, “Strain-induced gap modification in black phosphorus,” Phys. Rev. Lett.
112(17), 176801 (2014).
34. J. B. Smith et al., “Defining the role of humidity in the ambient degradation of few-layer
black phosphorus,” 2D Mater. 4(1), 015025 (2016).
35. N. Bouarissa, “Phonons and related crystal properties in indium phosphide under pressure,”
Phys. B Phys. Condens. Matter 406(13), 2583–2587 (2011).
36. H. K. Rouf and T. Haque, “Performance enhancement of Ag-Au bimetallic surface plasmon
resonance biosensor using InP,” Prog. Electromagn. Res. M 76, 31–42 (2018).
37. L. Wu et al., “Sensitivity enhancement by using few-layer black phosphorus-graphene/
TMDCs heterostructure in surface plasmon resonance biochemical sensor,” Sens.
Actuators, B Chem. 249, 542–548 (2017).
38. J. B. Maurya et al., “Performance of graphene–MoS2 based surface plasmon resonance sen-
sor using Silicon layer,” Opt. Quantum Electron. 47, 3599–3611 (2015).
39. S. Pal et al., “Influence of black phosphorous on performance of surface plasmon resonance
biosensor,” Opt. Quantum Electron. 49(12), 1–13 (2017).
40. Y. Singh and S. K. Raghuwanshi, “Electromagnetic wave sensors sensitivity enhancement
of the surface plasmon resonance gas sensor with black phosphorus,” IEEE Sens. Lett. 3(12),
1–4 (2019).
41. A. Nisha et al., “Sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance sensor with
2D material covered noble and magnetic material (Ni),” Opt. Quantum Electron. 51, 19
(2019).
42. Y. Kumar et al., “Design, optimization and critical analysis of graphene based surface
plasmon resonance sensor for DNA hybridization,” Opt. Quantum Electron. 51, 343
(2019).
43. A. Pal and A. Jha, “A theoretical analysis on sensitivity improvement of an SPR refractive
index sensor with graphene and barium titanate nanosheets,” Optik (Stuttgart) 231, 166378
(2021).
44. A. Verma, A. Prakash, and R. Tripathi, “Performance analysis of graphene based surface
plasmon resonance biosensors for detection of pseudomonas-like bacteria,” Opt. Quantum
Electron. 47(5), 1197–1205 (2015).
45. M. Moznuzzaman et al., “Modeling of highly improved SPR sensor for formalin detection,”
Results Phys. 16, 102874 (2020).
46. S. Ngamchana and W. Surareungchai, “Sub-millimolar determination of formalin by pulsed
amperometric detection,” Anal. Chim. Acta 510(2), 195–201 (2004).
47. T. Zhan et al., “Transfer matrix method for optics in graphene layers,” J. Phys. Condens.
Matter 25(21) (2013).
48. K. Brahmachari and M. Ray, “Effect of prism material on design of surface plasmon res-
onance sensor by admittance loci method,” Front. Optoelectron. 6(2), 185–193 (2013).
49. M. Moznuzzaman, M. R. Islam, and I. Khan, “Effect of layer thickness variation on sensi-
tivity: an SPR based sensor for formalin detection,” Sens. Bio-Sens. Res. 32(April), 100419
(2021).
50. Z. Lin et al., “Tuning and sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance biosensor
with graphene covered Au-MoS2 -Au films,” IEEE Photonics J. 8(6), 4803308 (2016).
51. Y. Xu et al., “High sensitivity surface plasmon resonance sensor based on two-dimensional
MXene and transition metal dichalcogenide: a theoretical study,” Nanomaterials 9(2), 1–11
(2019).
Bhishma Karki is a lecturer of physics at the Tri-Chandra Multiple College, Tribhuvan

University, Ghanta Ghar, Kathmandu, Nepal. His current research includes manufacturing, nano-
scale magnetism, superconductivity, proton conductors, electron transport in bacterial nano-
wires, instrumentations, biosensors, thin film deposition, and their application. He has a
master’s degree in material science from University of Pune and his PhD in material science
from Tribhuvan University. In 2013, he joined the NRCN staff. He worked as a senior researcher
from 2013 to 2015 and was promoted to academic director in 2016. Since 2017, he has been

serving in the National Research Council as an executive chairman. He has published more than
31 research papers in theoretical physics, catalysis, optics, plasmonics, nanotechnology, and
materials chemistry.
Arun Uniyal is a research scholar at DIT University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. His current
research interest includes SPR biosensors, photonics, etc. He received his BTech degree in elec-
tronics engineering from Kurukshetra university in 2008, and MTech degree in wireless mobile
communication from Uttarakhand technical university in 2012. He has over eight years of teach-
ing experience in the electronics and communication engineering department and has published
five research papers in the wireless communication engineering field.
Tarun Sharma received a master’s degree in communication systems from Guru Nanak Dev
University in 2009 and his PhD degree in the hybrid plasmonic waveguide from Thapar
University in 2016. He was a postdoctoral fellow with the School of Electrical Engineering,
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea. He was also a postdoctoral
fellow with the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
He is currently working as an assistant professor Electronics and Communication Engineering.
University Institute of Technology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India. His current
research interests include nanophotonics integrated circuits, hybrid plasmonic waveguides, and
silicon photonics.
Amrindra Pal has completed his BTech in ECE from Uttar Pradesh Technical University,
Lucknow in 2008, ME degree in Electronics Instrumentation and Control from Thapar
University, Patiala in the year 2013, and PhD in the field of design and modelling of opto-
electronics devices from DIT University, Dehradun in the year 2018. He is working as an
assistant professor in the School of Engineering and Technology in the EECE Department,
DIT University, Dehradun, India. He has published 50 papers in international journals and
international conferences. His research interest includes integrated optics, plasmonics, opto-elec-
tronics devices, electro-optics, optical biosensor, and RF and microwave.
Vivek Srivastava is presently working as a professor in the Mechanical Department, ABES

Engineering College. He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the Motilal
Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, India. His research interest includes rapid
prototyping, multidimensional printing, surface coating, and composites. He is a regular
reviewer of many reputed journals and published more than 35 papers in refereed journals and
conference proceedings.

Terms of Use:View
https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/terms-of-use
publication stats

InP PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

InP PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

Indium Phosphide and Black Phosphorus Employed Surface Plasmon Resonance

Article in Optical Engineering · January 2022

Bhishma Karki Arun Uniyal

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Amrindra Pal Vivek Srivastava

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Electro-optical effect based integrated device View project

Sensor View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Abstract. A hybrid Kretschmann configuration-based surface plasmon resonance biosensor is

*Address all correspondence to Bhishma Karki, magnum.photon@gmail.com

0091-3286/2022/$28.00 © 2022 SPIE

Optical Engineering 017101-1 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

Optical Engineering 017101-2 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

2 Theoretical Analysis and Mathematical Modeling of the Sensor

Fig. 1 Proposed SPR-based biosensor.

Table 1 Materials and their width used in the proposed study.

Metal/dielectric layer Width/thickness (nm)

Black phosphorus B 0.34 (t 3 )

Optical Engineering 017101-3 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

1.03961212λ2 0.231792344λ2 1.01046945λ2

where, λc ðcollision wavelengthÞ ¼ 17.614 μm and λp ðplasma wavelengthÞ ¼ 0.14541 μm.

where μ2s ¼ μ1s þ C δn

2.1 Transfer Matrix Method

Optical Engineering 017101-4 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

Symbols 1, 2, and 3 are prism, metal, and dielectric, respectively.

2.2 Defining Performance Parameters of SPR Based Biosensor

Table 2 Different parameters calculated for the proposed sensor design.

Parameters Formulas Symbol meanings

Sensitivity (S) deg/RIU S ¼ δθr es ∕δns δθr es change in resonance angle.

FWHM deg θ2 − θ1 θ2 and θ1 are resonance angle

Detection accuracy (DA) deg−1 1∕θ2 − θ1 θ2 and θ1 resonance angle

Quality factor (Q) RIU−1 S DA ¼ S ðFWHMÞ−1

Optical Engineering 017101-5 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

where Pj ðzÞ calculated as

3 Results and Discussions

Optical Engineering 017101-6 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

Optical Engineering 017101-7 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

3.1 Formalin Recognition

Table 3 R min , θSPR , and ΔθSPR for different concentrations of formalin.

Formalin concentration (nM) R min (a.u.) θSPR (deg) ΔθSPR (deg)

Immobilizer probe (0 nM) 0.06033 77.635

Detectionable target (25 nM) 0.07087 78.591 0.95

Detectionable target (50 nM) 0.08566 79.608 1.017

Detectionable target (100 nM) 0.1395 81.787 2.179

Detectionable target (200 nM) 0.34885 84.695 2.908

Fig. 4 Various detectable targets (reflectance and incidence angle plot).

Optical Engineering 017101-8 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

Optical Engineering 017101-9 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

Optical Engineering 017101-10 January 2022 • Vol. 61(1)

Downloaded From: https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering on 08 Jan 2022

Table 4 Comparative study with earlier works.

SPR sensor designs S(deg/RIU) DAðdegÞ−1 FoM or Q(1/RIU) Ref.