Optics & Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939

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Optics and Laser Technology

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Review

Surface plasmon refractive index biosensors: A review of optical fiber,

multilayer 2D material and gratings, and MIM configurations
R. Al Mahmud a, 1, R.H. Sagor b, M.Z.M Khan c, d, *
a
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Gazipur 1704, Bangladesh
b
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Gazipur 1704, Bangladesh
c
Optoelectronics Research Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
d
Center for Communication Systems and Sensing, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

A B S T R A C T

Surface Plasmon (SP) based biosensors have attracted the scientific community owing to their wide range of applications and remarkable performance in the past few
years. Exploiting the principle of SP propagation at metal-dielectric and the subsequent surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has established these sensors as a promising
candidates in biosensing applications with sensitivities reaching as high as 67000 nm/refractive index unit (nm/RIU). In this work, we have extensively discussed and
summarized SP refractive index (RI) based biosensors from the literature and their performance since 2015. Moreover, we have categorized the biosensors into three
classes based on SP excitation and its deployment in sensing RI of biomaterials or analytes. Firstly, fiber based, which includes photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and other
optical fibers, where extensive work has been accomplished. Following are the multilayer structure based SP RI biosensors engaging either 2D materials or gratings
and have reported sensitivities of 243 deg/RIU and 2300 nm/RIU, respectively. Lastly, metal–insulator-metal (MIM) biosensors exhibit small footprint features and
the possibility of photonic integration, exhibiting sensitivity as high as 7564 nm/RIU. In general, the state-of-the-art topologies in these categories, employed
materials, design parameters, and their performances metrics in terms of sensitivity, the figure of merit (FOM), detection range (DR), detection limit (DL), etc., are
incorporated and may serve as an extensive assemblage of SP RI biosensors for scientific and industry committees.
Index Terms—Surface Plasmon, Refractive index sensors, Biosensors, Metal-insulator–metal, Photonic crystal fiber, Multicore fiber, 2D materials, Gratings.

1. Introduction
RESEARCHERS have been considering SP based photonic devices as a
potential alternative to the traditional ones owing to numerous advan­
tages, such as compactness, efficiency, fast, low-cost, and the possibility
of photonic integration, despite a few disadvantages, such as immobi­
lization effects, mass transport limitations, and the impact of a strong
electromagnetic field on the resonance. In particular, the miniaturiza­
tion of SP photonic devices that may overcome the diffraction limit of
light could enable subwavelength size designs. For instance, SP based
optical filters [1], demultiplexers [2], amplifiers, switches [3,4], sensors
[5,6], splitters, etc., are reported. In recent years, standing out from
these devices are the SP based sensors, which could detect minor
changes in sensing material’s refractive index (RI) in an environment,
and have been garnering strong attention in biosensing applications
since various biomaterials, liquid analytes, gases (i.e., different
cancerous cells, blood components) exhibits specific RI values. This
feature has been exploited to conveniently sense their RI change, thus
allowing easy detection with high sensitivity. For instance, detection of
different diseases [7], blood component detection [8–14], biological
molecule detection [15–17], DNA related detection [18–20], cancerous
cell detection [21–27], virus and bacterium detection [28–31], detec­
tion of protein and glucose concentration in human urine [6,32], protein
detection [32–35], etc., are reported in the literature with SP RI
biosensors.
Moreover, multiple approaches have been developed to design SP RI
biosensors with high-performance characteristics and convenient
fabrication. Biosensor parameters such as sensitivity, the FOM, DL,
operating RI and wavelength range, full width at half maximum
(FWHM), etc., are being measured or calculated to determine the sensor
quality. In this regard, researchers are striving to enhance these metrics
by offering various device designs while considering sensor simplicity
and ease of fabrication. For instance, selection of materials (novel ma­
terials like 2D materials, organic materials, etc.), geometries design
(optical fiber based, discrete multilayer based, compact metal–insulator-
metal or grating based), excitation of SP in terms of orientation and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: rabiul.eee@iut-dhaka.edu (R.A. Mahmud), sagor@iut-dhaka.edu (R.H. Sagor), zahedmk@kfupm.edu.sa (M.Z.M Khan).
1
Currently with Optoelectronics Research Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran
31261, Saudi Arabia.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2022.108939
Received 4 October 2022; Received in revised form 10 November 2022; Accepted 17 November 2022
0030-3992/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
R.A. Mahmud et al.
magnitude, placement of input and output ports, etc. are considered that
essentially dictates the SP RI biosensors effectiveness. Although a range
of performance metrics, as highlighted above, indicate the quality of the
SP RI biosensors; in this work, the single decisive indicator to apprehend
better designs when evaluating their different types, is chosen to be
sensitivity. This important parameter is utilized to compare a compre­
hensive range of RI biosensors, with the understanding that most sensors
in a specific category possess comparable sensitivity units.
In literature, considering fiber based SP RI biosensors, photonic
crystal fiber (PCF) designs have been shown to outperform the other
fiber based counterparts in terms of sensitivity, demonstrating a value of
as high as 67000 nm/RIU [36]. The most notable PCF configurations are
circular and D-shaped, including interior and exterior sensing mecha­
nisms dictated by the positioning of the analytes, and Gold/Silver is the
most common and crucial plasmonic material. In the other fiber based
designs, U-shaped, uncladded, and multicore fiber (MCF) based SP RI
biosensors are among the fabricated and practically tested devices in the
literature. On the other hand, sensors employing prism and multilayer
2D materials (Graphene, MoS2 WS2, etc.), including plasmonic and other
materials providing strength and stability, have very recently attracted
the scientific community to realize SP RI biosensors with superior per­
formance characteristics. However, most of these reported biosensors
are simulation based, exhibiting sensitivities of either ~ 53–243 deg/
RIU.
Alternatively, a multilayer grating based SP RI biosensor is being
revisited by researchers with a multilayer topology by sandwiching
various materials, such as Polystyrene, Cytop polymer, etc., along with
metallic layers, for the purpose of sensitivity enhancement. Besides,
reports under this class of SP RI biosensors have successfully fabricated
and experimentally demonstrated the performance with analytes.
Lastly, MIM based SP RI biosensors are another group of devices that
exhibit unique features such as the most compact size, comparable
performance with discrete sensors, and easily integrated on a photonic
integrated chip. Device configuration exploiting SP in a waveguide
configuration with a ring resonator and relying on the interference
principle is the basis of MIM based biosensors, unlike the other sensors
that are based on SP resonance conditions. This category’s sensitivities
are numerically reported in the ~ 1100–7500 nm/RIU range. Different
categories of SP RI biosensors considered in the review: optical fiber,
multilayer 2D material and gratings, and MIM configurations, are pre­
sented in Fig. 1.
Some of the recent reviews discussed surface plasmon resonance
(SPR) based biosensing for COVID-19 diagnosis [37], SPR based sensors
for biomolecules and gas detection with carbon nanomaterials [38],
optical fiber biosensors with novel nanomaterials [39], optical fiber
sensors for environmental health monitoring with nanocomposite Thin-
film [40], sensing and supercontinuum generation applications with
PCF [41], detection of physical, chemical, and biological parameters
with fiber Bragg grating [42], ultrasonic wave application with phase
shifted fiber Bragg grating [43]. In-depth discussions of the sensing
method and application are included in these reviews, most focusing on
a specific optical sensing technique and application. On the other hand,
Fig. 1. Different categories of surface plasmon based refractive
index biosensors.
2
Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939
our study focuses primarily on biosensing applications that exclusively
employ sensors exploiting SP based sensing techniques. It provides re­
searchers with greater exposure to the most current developments in this
area of SP RI biosensors.
This review work is organized as follows: Section II provides the
background about SP, its types, and resonance conditions. Subsequently,
the categorization of various SP RI biosensors reported in the literature
is discussed. Section III provides a comprehensive review of fiber based
biosensors, while Sections IV and V discuss the multiplayer based and
MIM based biosensors. The study is concluded with the conclusion and a
few possible future directions.
2. Background
SP RI biosensors presented in this review work involve surface
plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the form of surface plasmon waves (SPW)
or localized surface plasmon (LSP). In comparison, their corresponding
resonance conditions are referred to as SPR and localized surface plas­
mon resonance (LSPR). More details about these SPs are discussed in
subsequent sections. SPPs are generally created when electromagnetic
(EM) fields interact with electron oscillations as they pass across the
interface between a conductor and a dielectric. The strength of this EM
wave will be maximum at the interface and decrease with the materials’
depth. The portion of penetration of the EM wave is much higher in the
dielectric material than in the metal, which implies that the wave
propagates along the interface while a major part is in the dielectric
region. LSP terminology is considered when the interface is in the form
of metallic nanostructures and dielectrics. The free cloud of electrons on
the metallic nanostructures oscillates collectively due to external exci­
tation of the EM field in the form of light. The resonance condition for
SPP and LSP is the SPR and LSPR, respectively. Fig. 2 depicts the SPPs at
the dielectric-metal interface and LSPR with metal nanoparticles. In the
subsequent sections, each class of SP RI biosensor begins with a basic
description of the underlying working principle, followed by a
comprehensive discussion on reported works from literature while
incorporating various assessing parameters, viz. design considerations,
geometries, simulation, experimental methodologies, and performance
metrics that determine the quality of the biosensor.
3. Fiber-based biosensors
Most of the commonly deployed optical fibers in sensing are made of
Fig. 2. Generation of (a) SPP at the metal and dielectric interface and (b) LSPR
at the metal nanostructure and dielectric interface. From Guo et al. [44].
R.A. Mahmud et al. Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939

Silica and consist of a core and a cladding. The RI of the cylindrical core,
which is surrounded by the cladding, exhibits a higher value to ascertain
the total internal reflection (TIR). In other words, the angle of incidence
of the light at the core-cladding interface must be higher than the critical
angle θc = sin− 1 (n2 /n1 ), as dictated by Snell’s law, where n1 and n2 are
the refractive indices of the core and the cladding, respectively. When
the light transverse mode propagates along the fiber length, most of the
EM wave exists in the core, while a minor part, known as the evanescent
wave, exists in the cladding region. This field exhibits an exponential
decay while penetrating the cladding region compared to its value at the

Table 1
Recent advancements in the design and performance of PCF based SP RI biosensors.
Ref. Year PCF Materials Sensing Biomaterials Sensitivity DL (RIU) DR (RI) λR (µm) S/ DwA?
Configuration (nm/RIU) FOM E (Y/N)
(/RIU)

[36] 2022 D‑shaped Gold coated Stages of RBCs of Malaria 67,000 1.5 × 10− 6 1.30–1.40 1.2–3.2 S Y
disease FOM: 279.16
[30] 2022 D‑shaped MXene between Protein, viruses, cancer, 13,000 1.075 × 10− 6 1.33–1.39 – S Y
Silica and Gold and blood cells FOM: 130
[49] 2021 D‑shaped Silver coated Biochemical analytes, food 3735 2.105 × 10− 5 1.37–1.41 1.4–2.2 S –
with Graphene quality, and medical 4485.7 0.667 × 10− 5 1.36–1.41
and ZnO diagnosis
[50] 2021 D‑shaped Graphene coating Low‑index liquid analyte 2320 FOM: 127 1.27–1.37 1.07–1.4 S N
of silver nanofilm
[51] 2020 D-shaped Titanium nitride – − 16275 – 1.44–1.48 – S N
− 7571 1.485–1.52
[55] 2019 D-shaped Gold nanofilm High-index analyte 9300 – 1.45–1.6 – S N
[56] 2019 Side-polished D- Gold thin film Bovine serum albumin 6328 FOM: 46.1 1.333–1.404 – E Y
Shaped
[61] 2018 D-shaped Gold gratings – 3340 5.98 × 10-6 1.36–1.38 – S N
[45] 2017 D-shaped Gold and TiO2 – 46,000 – 1.34–1.35 0.5–1.7 S N
coated on fiber
[62] 2017 Side-polished D- Silver coated Bio-chemical 21,700 – 1.33–1.34 0.5–0.9 E Y
shaped
[63] 2017 Side-polished D- Gold coated on – 7381 – 1.40–1.42 0.5–1.2 S, N
shaped fiber E
[64] 2017 D-shaped ITO coated on – 6000 – 1.30–1.31 1.0–1.1 S N
fiber
5
[122] 2022 Circular-shaped Gold coated with Biochemical sensing, 10,000 2 × 10− 1.35–1.40 0.5–1.35 S N
TiO2 medical testing
− 6
[46] 2022 Circular-shaped TiO2 between Liquid analytes 20,000 5 × 10 1.34–1.38 0.9–1.65 S Y
metal and FOM: 93.45
analyte
6
[8] 2022 Circular-shaped Gold and Blood composition 12,400 8.06 × 10− 1.33–1.40 0.6–1.1 S Y
Titanium Dioxide
[21] 2022 Circular-shaped Silica and Indium Plasma cells in human 6701.03 0.0097 1.3246–1.3634 1.4–2.2 S Y
Tin Oxide blood
− 5
[47] 2021 Circular-shaped Gold and MgF2 – 27,959 3.70 × 10 1.32–1.38 1.7–3.7 S N
coated
− 6
[26] 2021 Circular-shaped Au coated with Cancer cells 12857.14 7.77 × 10 1.360–1.401 0.6–1.6 S Y
TiO2 (TM) FOM 17.39
14285.71 7.00 × 10− 6
(TE) FOM 21.61
[28] 2021 Circular-shaped Gold coated Pseudomonas bacteria 20,000 5.26 × 10− 6 1.33–1.42 0.5–1.5 S Y
[48] 2021 Circular-shaped Gold coated Organic chemicals, 14,500 6.9 × 10− 6 1.35–1.41 0.55–0.8 S N
biochemical analyte FOM: 387
[7] 2021 Circular-shaped Gold coated Malaria in human body 8206.9 0.007 – 0.7–1.0 S Y
10,000 0.019
14285.71 0.029
[52] 2020 Circularly Slotted Gold coated – 6666 6.25 × 10− 6 1.4–1.46 0.5–1.1 S N
[53] 2019 Circular-shaped Alcohols 40,000 8 × 10-3 1.33–1.53 1.5–3.0 S Y
[54] 2019 Circular-shaped Gold coated – 12,000 8.33 × 10-6 1.33–1.40 0.55–0.95 S N
[15] 2018 Circular-shaped Gold coated Biochemical and 9000 1.11 × 10-5 1.34–1.37 0.5–1.1 S N
biological analyte
[59] 2018 Circular-shaped Gold coated – 6000 1.66 × 10-5 1.36–1.39 0.7–0.9 S N
[16] 2016 Circular-shaped Copper and Biomolecules, organic 2000 5 × 10-5 1.33–1.37 0.53–0.75 S N
Graphene chemicals
3
[25] 2019 Bowl-shaped Titanium coated Various cancer cells 10,000 9.33 × 10− 1.36–1.401 0.5–2.0 S Y
[57] 2019 Trapezoidal Gold layer – 4400 – 1.44–1.57, 1.41–1.51, – S Y
analyte channel 6100 1.40–1.49, 1.40–1.44.
8000
17,000
[58] 2018 Birefringent Gold coated Biochemical and 15,180 5.6818 × 1.40–1.43 0.8–1.55 S N
biological analyte 10− 6
5
[60] 2018 Spiral-shaped Gold coated Biological analyte 4600 2.17 × 10− 1.33–1.38 0.55–0.8 S N
[65] 2017 Coating outside Gold coated Biological analyte 2200 – 1.33–1.36 0.5–0.74 S N
detection
[66] 2016 Coating outside Gold coated Biological and 1000 1 × 10-4 1.33–1.36 0.6–0.75 S N
biochemical analyte

*DL: Detection Limit; DR: Detection Range; λR: Operating wavelength range; S/E: Simulation/Experiment; DwA: Demonstration with analyte? Y/S: Yes/No.

3
R.A. Mahmud et al. Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939

interface. In other words, the EM wave experiences exponential decay

where B1 ≈ 5.446μm− 1 , and λ is the operating wavelength. On the other
along the transverse direction. The penetration depth is defined as the
hand, the dielectric constant of ZnO is modeled as:
distance the evanescent field travels beyond the core and into the
cladding. If the amplitude of the transverse mode electric field at the B1 λ2
εZnO = εr + iεi = 2.81418 − ( ) (4)
core-cladding interface is E0 at x = 0, then the electric field in the λ2 − B22 − B23
cladding region, at a distance x from the interface, is given by:
( ) Here, B1 = 0.87968, B2 = 0.3042, and B3 = 0.00711. The maximum
E(x) = E0 exp
− x
(1) sensitivity reported for this sensor with Silver-ZnO and Silver-Graphene
dp coatings were 4485.7 nm/RIU and 3735 nm/RIU, respectively, with a
corresponding sensing resolution of 1.667 × 10− 5 RIU and 2.105 × 10− 5
where dp is the penetration depth, given by: RIU. Moreover, a similar D-shaped PCF biosensor was also reported in
λ [50]; however, in this case, Graphene coated Silver nanofilm was uti­
dp = √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅. (2) lized, demonstrating 2320 nm/RIU sensitivity, and for low-index liquid
2π nco sin2 θ − n2cl
2
analyte sensing applications.
In 2020, Esfahani [51] proposed an SPR based RI sensor with D-
Here, λ is the wavelength of the light carrier, or in other words, the
shaped PCF coated with Titanium Nitride (TiN) as an alternative plas­
operating wavelength, θ is the angle of incidence on the core-cladding
monic material instead of the conventional Gold and Silver metallic
interface, nco and ncl are respectively the refractive indices of the core
layers. This stems from the fact that TiN exhibits outstanding melting
and the cladding. Hence, Eqns. (1) and (2) can infer that besidesλ, the
point, chemical stability, conductivity, and CMOS compatibility. The
inherent fiber parameters (i.e., nco and ncl ) affects dp , which are exploited
sensor structure is illustrated in Fig. 3(a), which shows the analyte
in literature for SP RI sensing applications. The following provides a
placed in the fiber’s central core surrounded by air holes in the back­
comprehensive discussion on the state-of-art SP RI biosensors under PCF
ground Silica for SP resonant conditions. The sensor exhibited a nu­
and other fiber based classifications.
merical maximum spectral sensitivity of − 16275 nm/RIU, amplitude
A. PCF-based Biosensors.
sensitivity of 206.25 RIU− 1, and a maximum FOM of 147.9 /RIU, able to
Plasmonic fiber optic sensor operates on the phase-matching condi­
detect in the RI range of 1.44–1.52. The authors demonstrated that the
tion of SPP mode coupled with guided propagation mode, which can be
performance with TiN was comparable to the Gold based PCF sensors
referred to as SPR condition. This situation occurs when the wave vector
and applicable in chemical and biological field sensing applications.
of the optical propagating wave in the fiber matches the propagation
In 2022, Shakya et al. proposed a circular-shaped PCF biosensor
constant of SPP, which is very sensitive to the change in the RI of ma­
based on SPR to detect liquid analytes [46]. In this case, TiO2 was added
terials. Moreover, the photon excitation at the metal-dielectric interface
to establish a strong binding between the metal and the analyte layer, a
produces SPPs. During the resonance condition, SPW at the metal gets
similar strategy employed in reference [30]. Fig. 3(b) shows the pro­
most of the energy from the photons of the optical wave at a particular
posed design of the biosensor, which includes the placement of the air
wavelength, exhibiting a maximum loss in the optical wave while
holes and analytes. Although the work was simulation based, the au­
propagating. Moreover, when the material properties are altered, such
thors have discussed a possible experimental setup with developed ex­
as RI, the resonance wavelength changes, thus aiding sensing possible.
pressions for estimating transmittance and absorbance. The biosensor
The ratio of RI change and the change in resonance wavelength is
was shown to detect in the RI range of 1.34–1.38 with wavelength
defined as sensitivity. PCF based biosensors exploit this principle of
sensitivity of 20000 nm/RIU and 18000 nm/RIU for x– and
detecting RI for different biocells and materials. In recent years, several
y–polarization mode, respectively, and corresponding amplitude sensi­
PCF based SP RI biosensors have been reported with high performance
tivity of 2158 RIU− 1 and 3167 RIU− 1, besides incorporating liquid
in literature and are presented in Table. 1
analytes. Similar circular-shaped PCF based SP biosensors were also
[7,8,38–47,15,48–57,16,58,21,25,26,28,30,36], with some of their
reported in the same year, as summarized in Table. 1, employing Gold
brief discussion below.
and Titanium dioxide [8] and Indium tin oxide [21] circular layers to
In 2022, Srivastava et al. demonstrated a biosensor with a maximum
sensitivity of 67000 nm/RIU among the reported SP RI sensors with the
D-shaped PCF configuration with Gold coating [36]. The proposed
sensor exhibited DL and FOM of 1.5 × 10− 6 RIU and 279.16 RIU− 1,
respectively. In the same year, Kumar et al. proposed a D-shaped PCF
biosensor that can detect proteins, viruses, cancer cells, and other blood
cells in the RI range of 1.33 to 1.39 [30]. To generate a chemically strong
connection between the metal and the Silica layer, a new strategy of
adding 2D-material MXene (Ti3C2Tx) between the Silica and the Gold
layer has been proposed. This design used an external sensing technique,
with two different sizes of air holes placed under the Au and MXene
layer. A substantial increase in wavelength sensitivity was shown by
simulation, reaching 7000 nm/RIU and 13000 nm/RIU by increasing the
2D-material layer thickness from 14 nm and 27 nm, respectively, which
has shown to be 3.5 to 6.5 times greater than the sensitivity achieved
without the MXene layer. Furthermore, the sensor demonstrated a 305
RIU− 1 amplitude sensitivity, suggesting a promising candidate for
practical deployment.
In 2021, Liang et al. [49] reported a D-shaped PCF SP RI biosensor
coated with Graphene or Zinc Oxide (ZnO) metallic layers. This layer
was then placed on the plasmonic metallic Silver layer to block the
oxidization process. In the simulation, the RI of Graphene was taken to
be: Fig. 3. Topology of the recently proposed D-shaped (a) and circular ((b)-(d))
PCF SP biosensors by (a) Esfahani [51], (b) Shakya et al. [46], (c) Ahmed et al.
nGrap = 3 + iB1 λ/3 (3)
[47], and (d) Jahan et al. [28].

4
R.A. Mahmud et al.
detect blood composition and plasma cells in human blood.
In 2021, Ahmed et al. [47] proposed a circular-shaped PCF biosensor
based on metal films coated with Gold and MgF2 and air holes placed
inside. On the other hand, the holes outside the metallic ring encompass
the analyte, as depicted in Fig. 3(c). The authors have optimized the size
of inner air holes and the analyte holes for optimum sensor performance
and demonstrated a sensitivity of 27958.49 nm/RIU with a sensing
resolution of 3.70094 × 10-5 RIU and RI range of 1.32–1.38. Moreover,
two resonance peaks operating at two different wavelength ranges have
been reported while highlighting possible fabrication techniques.
In the same year, Ramola et al. [26], on the other hand, presented
another approach to circular shaped PCF by including both air holes and
holes to hold the analyte inside the circular Gold and TiO2 layers. The
authors have investigated this biosensor as a potential cancer cell de­
tector. They have numerically illustrated that different cancer cells viz.
skin, cervical, blood, adrenal gland, and breast cancer, could be detec­
ted. The sensor was analyzed under transverse magnetic (TM) and
transverse electric (TE) mode operation and reported a sensitivity of
12857.14 nm/RIU and 14285.71 nm/RIU, respectively, and corre­
sponding sensing resolution of 7.77 × 10− 6 RIU and 7.00 × 10− 6 RIU.
The device could efficiently sense cancerous cells in the human body in
the RI range of 1.360–1.401 with a FOM of 17.39 and 21.61 for the TM
and TE modes, respectively.
Next, a simulation based circular PCF, shown in Fig. 3(d), was pro­
posed to detect Pseudomonas bacteria by Jahan et al. [28]. The design
depicts the arrangement of the air holes inside the circular Gold layer
coated with the analyte layer. The sensitivity was investigated in terms
of wavelength shift and amplitude variation, which reached 20000 nm/
RIU and 1380 RIU− 1, respectively. The sensor could detect RI change in
the range of 1.33–1.42 having a spectral resolution of 5.26 × 10− 6 RIU.
Besides investigating the tolerance of different biosensor design pa­
rameters, the authors reported a regression equation, shown below,
representing the resonant wavelength λres in terms of the RI of the an­
alyte na , given by:
λres = 92424n2a − 247488na + 166214. (5)
In the same year, Chaudhary et al. [7] proposed an SPR based
biosensor with circular PCF to detect malaria in the human body. The
reported sensor can detect different phases of the disease by sensing the
RI shift of the infected red blood cells (RBCs) in the blood. The sensor
includes an analyte (RBCs) coating layer over the circular Gold layer and
air holes arranged hexagonally with two different diameter sizes. The air
holes were designed in the background material Silica, which is common
in PCF based sensors. Authors have incorporated the dispersion of Silica
with Sellmeier’s equation, given by:
B1 B2 B3
n2Silica (λ) = 1 + ( )+ ( )+ ( ) (6)
C1 C2 C3
1− λ2
1− λ2
1− λ2
where nSilica is the RI of Silica, λ is the operating wavelength, and B1, B2,
B3, C1, C2, and C3 represent Eqn. (6) coefficients, given by 0.6961663,
0.4079426, 0.8974794, 0.00467914826 μm2 , 0.0135120631 μm2 , and
97.9340025 μm2 , respectively. Later, through simulations, sensitivities
for the three phases were determined to be 14285.71 nm/RIU (Ring
phase), 10000 nm/RIU (Trophozoite phase), and 8206.9 nm/RIU
(Schizont phase).
In 2019, Ahmed et al. [53] reported an SPR based biosensor that
could detect different alcohols. The alcohols presented as analytes were
Methanol, Ethanol, Propanol, Butanol, Pentanol, and Phenol, with
refractive indices of 1.33, 1.36, 1.39, 1.40, 1.41, and 1.53, respectively.
A circular PCF was proposed with a Gold-coated circular layer over the
Silica. The analytes were placed in the outer ring of the Gold layer, and
the air holes were on the Silica. In the simulations, Eqn. (6) was utilized
to incorporate the Silica dispersion relation and commonly employed
the Drude-Lorentz model for Gold characteristics (discussed in Section.
5
Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939
IV). The authors reported wavelength sensitivity of 40000 nm/RIU,
resolution of 8 × 10-3 RIU, able to detect RI in the 1.33–1.53 range.
In general, PCF based SP RI sensors are attracting researchers as a
viable configuration for biosensing applications, and a summary of these
sensors since 2015 is comprehensively summarized in Table 1. For
instance, along with the sensitivity, FOM and DL were reported as per­
formance parameters, with the maximum FOM of 387 for circular sha­
ped PCF and most of the DL in the 10-5 range. In addition, conventional
[54], bowel-shaped [25], D-shaped [55,56] were reported in the year
2019, demonstrating sensitivities in the range of 440 – 12000 nm/RIU.
On the other hand, in the years 2018 [15,58–61], 2017 [45,62–65], and
2016 [16,66], PCF based SP RI sensors with a sensitivity range of ~
3340–15180 nm/RIU, ~2220–67000 nm/RIU and ~ 1000–2000 nm/
RIU, respectively, were, thus indicating a progressive improvement in
the sensors’ performance. However, most of these reports are simulation
based except references [56,62], and [63], which reported a side-
polished D-shaped PCF biosensor exhibiting sensitives of 6328, 21700,
and 7381 nm/RIU, respectively, and able to detect corresponding RI
range of 1.333–1.404, 1.33–1.34 and 1.40–1.42. In fact, reference [56]
demonstrated a sensitivity of 1.17 nm/(mg/mL) for sensing Bovine serum
albumin protein.
B. Other Fiber-based Biosensor.
This section discusses optical fibers, other than PCF, deployed as SP
RI sensors. In these optical fibers, optical wave traverse in the core along
with the evanescent wave in the cladding, which decays along its depth,
as represented by Eqns. (1) and (2). To sense the biological specimen,
evanescent waves of the optical fiber are exploited and exposed to the
metal-dielectric interface to excite SPP. This is accomplished by
removing a portion of the cladding material, as shown in Fig. 4, and
replacing it with a metallic layer or metallic nanostructure.
The dielectric layer after the metal layer is usually the sensing ma­
terial layer. The resonance condition will occur when the optical wave
vector of the evanescent wave, generated by the light coupled into the
fiber, matches the SPP at the metal-dielectric layer. For the same light
source and incident angle, resonance condition and transmittance can be
altered by changing the material characteristics, which is essentially the
analyte that needs to be detected and sensed. Developments of these
types of optical fiber based sensors are summarized in Table. 2
[18,19,23,24,29,31–35,68–78].
For instance, very recently, Wang et al. (2022) proposed a multi­
mode–photosensitive–multimode optical fiber LSPR biosensor designed
to detect Cardiac Troponin I protein [35]. In this case, Gold nanoparticles
(NPs) along with Graphene oxide (GO) and MoS2 NPs were used to
enhance the sensor’s performance (sensitivity and stability), with metal
nanoparticles being the key to achieving LSPR. The experimentally
measured sensitivity of 3.4 pm/(ng/mL), DL of 96.2638 ng/mL, and a
correlation coefficient of 0.928 has been reported. Furthermore, the
sensor depicted a linear DR of 0–1000 (ng/mL). In another experimental
work in the same year [69], hollow core fiber was employed in tandem
Fig. 4. Sensing principle of other optical fiber based SP RI biosensors. Adapted
from Ritzefeld et al. [79].
R.A. Mahmud et al. Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939

Table 2
Recent advancements in the design and performance of other optical fiber based SP RI biosensors.
Ref Year Fiber Materials Sensing Biomaterials Sensitivity DL (RIU) DR (RI) λR (µm) S/ Fab? DwA
Configuration FOM E (Y/N)
(RIU− 1)

[35] 2022 Multimode GO/Gold NP/ Cardiac Troponin I 3.4 pm/ 96.26 0–1000 ng/mL 0.4–0.9 E – Y
MoS2NP protein (ng/mL) ng/mL
[123] 2022 Convex fiber- Gold NPs/Nb2CTx Creatinine detection 3.1 pm/µM – 0–2000 µM 0.4–1 E – Y
tapered MXene in aquaculture
[69] 2022 Hollow core Gold NPs DNA hybridization 4.04 nm/ 1 pM 1 pM-10 nM 0.5–0.8 E – Y
log(μM)
[68] 2022 Optical Fiber Gold film coating Biomaterials 10570 nm/ FOM: 1.3–1.41 0.5–1.3 S – N
RIU 97.88
[23] 2021 Optical Fiber 2D materials Cancer 232.33 deg/ FOM: – – S – Y
RIU 6654.5
[71] 2018 Optical Fiber Gold film coating Glucose and 22779 nm/ FOM: 1.3–1.335 0.9–1.5 E Y Y
biosensing RIU 61.2
[19] 2017 Optical Fiber MoS2/Graphene/ DNA hybridization 105.71 deg/ FOM: – – S – Y
Silver RIU 23.23
[78] 2015 Optical Fiber Gold/Graphene – – – 1.33–0.37 0.3–0.9 – – –
[18] 2021 Tilted Bragg Gold coating Monitoring of DNA 1000 nm/ – ~1.34 1.53–1.6 S – Y
grating MCF immobilization RIU
[29] 2021 MCF Gold NPs/MoS2 Shigella Bacteria – 1.56 1–109 CFU/mL 0.43–0.52 E Y Y
CFU/mL
[24] 2020 MCF Gold NPs/GO/CuO Cancer cells – 10 Cells/ 102-106 cells/mL 0.43–0.5 E Y Y
nanoflowers mL
[70] 2019 U-shaped side Gold coating – 43 dB/RIU – 1.33–1.4 0.4–0.8 E – Y
polished 1233 nm/
RIU
[33] 2020 U-shaped MoS2 nanosheet/ Human IgG protein 6184.4 nm/ – 1.3314–1.3614, 0.6–1.0 E Y Y
Gold film RIU 19.7 ng/mL
[31] 2018 U-shaped plastic Gold coating E. coli bacteria 800 nm/ 106 CFU/ 1.33–1.39 – E Y Y
RIU mL
[73] 2017 U-shaped Silver NPs coating Biotechnology and 1198 nm/ – 1.3657–1.3557 0.3–0.8 E Y Y
food safety RIU
[74] 2017 U-shaped Silver film coating – 700.3 nm/ – 1.330–1.3657 0.3–0.8 E Y Y
RIU
[76] 2016 U-shaped Silver – 1771 nm/ 0.0037 1.3388–1.3639 0.45–0.7 E – Y
RIU ng/mL
2 8
[72] 2018 Ω‑Shaped – Salmonella – 128 5 × 10 -1 × 10 – E – Y
Typhimurium CFU/mL CFU/mL
[34] 2017 Uncladded Gold C-reactive protein 2659.64 – 1.3345–1.3592, – E Y Y
nm/RIU 0.01–20 µg/mL
[75] 2017 Uncladded Silver NPs Triacylglycerides 28.5 nm/ 0.016 nM – – E – Y
mM
[32] 2016 Tilted FBG Silver coating Urinary proteins 8000 dB/ – 1.3400–1.3408 1.44–1.54 E Y Y
RIU
[77] 2016 Side-polished Silver/Silicon/ Uric acid 10.50 nm/ – 0–0.9 mM 0.4–1.1 E Y Y
plastic Polyacrylamide gel mM

*DL: Detection Limit; DR: Detection Range; λR: Operating wavelength range; S/E: Simulation/Experiment; Fab: Fabricated or Fabrication discussed? DwA: Demon­
stration with analyte? Y/S: Yes/No.

with Gold NPs for DNA hybridization, reporting a sensitivity of 4.04 nm/
log(µM) with a DL of 1 pM. Besides, simulation work on optical fiber
[68] with Gold film coating has also been investigated for potential
biomaterials detection, exhibiting a sensitivity of 10570 nm/RIU.
In 2021, SP RI biosensors based on tilted Bragg grating MCF [18] and
MCF with MoS2 and Gold NPs were reported and summarized in Table. 2
for the detection of biomaterials. For instance, Kumar et al. [29] pro­
posed a biosensor that can detect Shigella bacteria with MCF based on
LSPR. The design consists of a single mode fiber (SMF) spliced with
seven cores MCF arranged hexagonally, as illustrated in Fig. 5(a). Gold
and MoS2 NPs were employed in the design for LSPR excitation and to
enhance the sensor’s performance. The sensor was fabricated and
experimentally investigated to detect the bacteria in a liquid. The results
show that the sensor successfully detected Shigella bacteria linearly from
1 to 109 Colony-Forming Units/mL (CFU/mL) within 5 min, exhibiting a
DL of 1.56 CFU/mL. In the same year, MCF with embedded Gold NPs
with Graphene dioxide and CuO nanoflowers was proposed and inves­
tigated to detect cancer cells [24] and reported a DL of 10 cells/mL and a
range of 102–106 cells/mL.
In 2020, Song et al. [33] reported a U-shaped modified optical fiber
biosensor covered with MoS2 and Gold film, as shown in Fig. 5(b), to
detect human IgG protein. The sensor was prepared by removing the
coatings from the fiber to reach the core and then bending it to provide a
U-shape. Authors have fabricated two variations, viz. fiber-MoS2-Gold
film and fiber-Gold film-MoS2, and investigated their performance. The
former sensor configuration demonstrated a 25 % enhanced sensitivity
of 6184.4 nm/RIU compared to the latter when detecting human IgG,
exhibiting a DL of 19.7 ng/mL. Initially, alcohol solutions with different
refractive indices of 1.3314, 1.3423, 1.3537, 1.3593, and 1.3623 were
prepared and detected with the experimental setup. Later, human IgG
solution was prepared and tested, leading to the successful detection of
low concentration analyte.
In 2018, Arcas et al. [31] proposed a U-shaped optical fiber sensor
based on SPR and bending loss to detect Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.
To detect this bacterium, an E. coli antibody was used for immuno­
capture. The immunocapture technique that attaches only the target
analyte to the surface of the sensor has been illustrated in Fig. 5(c) for
sensing the bacteria. The authors have fabricated the U-shaped plastic
optical fiber with a 10 µm cladding thickness and an 8 mm U-curve
diameter. The effect of Gold film thickness was also evaluated with a
sensor without any Gold coating showing a similar performance to that
of a sensor coated with 18 mm of Gold film. However, designs with thick

6
R.A. Mahmud et al.
Fig. 5. (a) Experimental setup for detection of Shigella bacteria using a sensor
proposed by Kumar et al. [29], (b) Diagram of biosensor structure for IgG
protein detection by Song et al. [33], and (c) Working principle of the U-shaped
Gold-coated biosensor proposed by Arcas et al. [31].
70 nm and 100 nm Gold coated displayed a DL of 1.5 × 103 CFU/mL due
to the predominance of the SPR effect. The sensor could detect as low as
106 CFU/mL of E. coli and hence could be potentially applicable to
analyze the quality of food and drinkable water as well as sensing other
bacteria by replacing the antibody.
On the other hand, in the same year, Xu et al. proposed a Ω-shaped
fiber optic biosensor to detect the real-time presence of Salmonella
Typhimurium [72]. The authors experimentally calculated the sensor’s
performance with a DL of 128 CFU/mL. Bending the fiber assisted in
7
Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939
greater interaction of the evanescent field of optical fiber with the an­
alyte compared to the straight fiber counterpart. Furthermore, as sum­
marized in Table. 2, several reports have appeared in other years
(2015–2017), employing different configurations of optical fibers to
detect urinary proteins, uric acid, DNA hybridization, etc. The most
recent technological breakthrough in SP RI biosensor deployability is
the fabrication and practical demonstration that this category of optical
fiber based biosensor has displayed.
4. Multilayer-based biosensors
SPP can propagate along the waveguide if excited by the optical light
wave with sufficient energy and requires the wave vector of these two
waves to be equal. In this case, the propagation constant of the SPP or
SPW is given by:
[ ]
ω εm εd
kspp = (7)
c εm + εd
where ω is the operating angular frequency, c is the speed of light, and
relative permittivities of the metal and the dielectric are εm and εd ,
respectively. In general, the dielectric constants of metals are commonly
included by the Drude-Lorentz model, which involves the contribution
from the effects of both the free and bound electrons. The complex
dielectric function, in this case, can be expressed as:
Ω2p ∑
k
fm ω2p
εm = 1 − + ( ) . (8)
ω(ω − iΓ0 ) m=1 ω2m − ω2 + iωΓm
Here, the plasma frequency is ωp , the number of oscillations m = 1 to
k with resonance frequency ωm , dominant frequency fm , and damping
frequency Γm (hence, 1/Γm is the lifetime). The plasma frequency of the
free-electron model with damping constant Γ0 and oscillator strength f0
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
is represented by Ωp = f0 ωp . Moreover, the propagation constant of
optical light wave in a dielectric medium can be written as:
ω √̅̅̅̅̅
kd = εd (9)
c
The excitation of SPW at the metal-dielectric interface will initiate
when kd ⩾kSPP , which is not the usual case as εd > 0, and εm < 0. Hence,
the resonance condition is usually achieved at a particular operating
frequency or wavelength. In literature, the incident of light to excite
SPW has been acquired by several configurations, such as prism-
coupling, grating structure, and waveguide coupling, with multiple
layers where one layer is the analyte to be sensed. Hence, in the sub­
sequent sub-sections, research on sensors employing prism and grating
based multilayer configurations has been comprehensively discussed for
the last few years.
A. 2D Material-based Biosensors.
Prism is the main component in this configuration that utilizes the
optically denser medium property to enhance the wave vector of the
incident optical light wave for SP excitation and propagation at the
metal-dielectric interface. The interaction between the light EM wave
and the SPW is evident as these waves traverse along the interface and
show exponentially decaying properties in the dielectric region [81].
Two prism based configurations have been identified from the literature.
First is the Otto arrangement, as depicted in Fig. 6(a), which includes a
dielectric medium between the prism and the metal layer, which usually
will be the analyte to be sensed. When the light EM wave (p–polarized
light) falls on the prism-dielectric interface, it is reflected completely.
However, the generated evanescent wave at the prism-dielectric inter­
face triggers the excitation of SPP at the metal-dielectric interface. The
issue of sandwiching the dielectric analyte between the prism and the
metal layer is resolved by the second approach, known as the Kretsch­
mann configuration. In this case, the prism is placed directly on the
metal layer, followed by the dielectric analyte layer, as shown in Fig. 6
(b). The light EM wave is now incident on the prism-metal interface, and
R.A. Mahmud et al. Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939

Fig. 6. Basic prism based SP RI biosensor configurations. (a) Otto and (b)
Kretschmann arrangements. Adapted from Treebupachatsakul et al. [80].
the generated evanescent wave will be able to penetrate through the thin
metal film and excite SPW at the metal-dielectric interface (i.e., at the
other end of the metal). The propagation constant of the evanescent
wave at the interface of the prism and other (metal or dielectric) layers is
modified compared to Eqn. (9), and expressed as:
ω √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
kd = εpm sinθ
c
where εpm is the dielectric constant of the prism (usually glass) and θ is
the angle of incidence of the light on the prism-metal interface pene­
trating through the prism. Hence, excitation of the propagating SP can
be achieved by choosing an appropriate θ that satisfies the resonance
condition kd ⩾kSPP .
In recent years, prism based SP RI biosensor has been revisited and is
gaining popularity owing to the possibility of realizing multilayer
configuration while incorporating the new wave of 2D material layers to
enhance the sensor performance and stability. Table 3
[5,17,20,22,82–98] summarizes the recent developments of 2D material
based biosensors incorporating prism; however, most of them are found
to be simulation based. A few of the reports from Table 3 are summa­
rized in the following.
In 2022, Sathya et al. reported a bi-metallic SPR based biosensor with
multilayer 2D materials which can detect medical, chemical, and bio­
logical analytes [5]. In this case, ε-SnSe (Tin selenide) was sandwiched
between two Gold layers, followed by Graphene and the sensing me­
dium, in the proposed dual 2D material based SP RI sensor configura­
tion. The sensor arrangement was completed with a BK7 prism in a
Kretschmann configuration. The sensor numerically demonstrated a
maximum sensitivity 93.81 % larger than a conventional sensor without
2D materials, reaching a value of 214 deg/RIU at an operating wave­
length of 633 nm. It was argued that ε-SnSe benefited the sensor design
by directly improving the performance parameters, and Graphene hel­
(10) ped in better recognizing biomolecules in the RI range of 1.338–1.377.
In the same year, a couple of more works employing SnSe and Graphene
were proposed [22,82] for detecting cancer cells and Colorectal Cancer
Alliance (CEA) biomarkers, as tabulated in Table. 3.
Last year, in 2021, Verma et al. proposed a multilayered biosensor
with 2D materials exhibiting a sensitivity of 206 deg/RIU, which could

Table 3
Recent advancements in the design and performance of 2D material multilayer prism based SP RI biosensors.
Ref Year Material Layers Features/Sensing Biomaterials Sensitivity λE DR [RI] FOM FWHM S/ DwA
(deg/RIU) (nm) (RIU− 1) (Deg) E (Y/N)

[5] 2022 Prism/Gold/ε-SnSe/Gold/ 93.81 % better than the typical 214 633 1.338–1.377 – – S N
Graphene/SM sensor without 2D material
[124] 2022 Prism/ Ag/MXene/ Ag2/ ZnO/ – 161 633 1.33–1.35 67.93 2.37 S Y
Graphene/SM
[22] 2022 Prism/Silver/SnSe/Heterostructure Cancerous cell 187 – 1.33–1.41 24.83 – S Y
BP/MoS2/SM
[93] 2022 Prism/Ti/Silver/ MoS2/Graphene/ CEA biomarker 144.72 633 1.334–1.37 62.38 – S Y
SM
[94] 2021 Prism/Gold/Heterostructure BP/ – 224.57 633 – 36.17 6.209 S N
MoS2/SM
-6
[95] 2021 Prism/Gold/Borophene/ LOD: 4.84 × 10 206.26 632.8 1.33–1.335 – – S N
Antimonene/SM
[96] 2020 Prism/Gold/2WS2/Ni/Graphene/ – 243.31 632.8 1.33–1.365 34.03 7.15 S N
SM
[97] 2020 Prism/Gold/Heterostructure BP- – 194.8 633 1.33–1.37 – – S N
MoS2/Antimonene/SM
[98] 2019 Prism/Gold/MoS2/Ni/Graphene/ – 229 633 1.33–1.35 – – S N
SM
[82] 2019 Prism/Gold/WS2/MXene/SM – 198 633 ~1.33 – – S N
[83] 2019 Prism/Silver/Franckeite/SM – 188 633 1.33–1.36 – – S N
[84] 2019 Prism/Gold/Si/BP/TMDC layers/ – 163.1 633 ~1.33 11.13 14.65 S N
SM
[85] 2019 Prism/Gold/Silver/TiO2/ – 53 633 – 33.13 1.6 S N
Graphene/SM
[86] 2018 Prism/Gold/BP/WS2/SM – 187.22 633 – 18.72 – S N
[17] 2018 Prism/Gold/WS2/Graphene/SM Biomolecular interactions with min. 95.71 633 – QF:25.19 – S Y
Ref. 3.15 × 10− 2
[87] 2018 Prism/Gold/MoS2/Graphene/SM – 73.5 632.8 – – 17.6 S Y
[88] 2017 Prism/Gold/Si/MoS2/Gold/ – 210 633 1.33–1.335 – – S N
Graphene/SM
[89] 2017 Prism/Air/MoS2/Al/MoS2/ – 190.83 633 1.33–1.42 – – S N
Graphene/SM
[20] 2017 Prism/Gold/MoS2/Graphene/SM DNA hybridization with min. 89.29 633 – QF:13.13 – S Y
Ref. 2.5 × 10− 2
[90] 2016 Prism/Gold/MoS2/Gold/Graphene/ – 182 633 1.33–1.36 – – S N
SM
2
[91] 2016 Prism/Gold/Si/MoS2/SM Min. ref. 2.56 × 10− 155.68 600 – – 17.46 S N
[92] 2015 Prism/Cr/Ag/Graphene/Affinity/ – 68.03 – 1.33–1.40 9.69 – S N
SM

*SM: Sensing Medium; DL: Detection Limit; DR: Detection Range; λE: Excitation wavelength; Min. Ref.: Minimum reflectivity; LOD: Limit of detection; S/E: Simulation/
Experiment; QF: Quality factor; DwA: Demonstration with analyte? Y/S: Yes/No.

8
R.A. Mahmud et al.
sense biomolecules of DNA/RNA and other bioanalytes [95]. Different
layers of the proposed sensor configuration have been depicted in Fig. 7
(a). Authors numerically investigated six structures with varying com­
binations of layers using Graphene, Antimonene, and Borophene in be­
tween Silver and sensing medium. Specifically, the Gold-Borophene-
Antimonene sensing medium structure has shown maximum sensi­
tivity with a high penetration depth of 76.73 nm. Authors attributed the
enhanced sensitivity of the biosensor to the Borophene and Antimonene
layers and the higher electronic density of Borophene for chemical
binding, effective charge transfer, and more delocalized 5s/5p orbitals
of Antimonene for improved bimolecular absorptions. Moreover, the
authors also briefly discussed a plausible fabrication method for the
proposed sensor via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and laser irradi­
ation techniques.
In the same year, Singh et al. reported another heterostructure
multilayered SP RI biosensor with numerical simulation [94]. The
sensor displayed a sensitivity of 224.57 deg/RIU, FOM, FWHM, and
detection accuracy of 36.17 RIU− 1, 6.2091 deg, and 0.161 deg− 1,
respectively. The sensor heterostructure consists of Blue Phosphorene
(BP)/MoS2 sandwiched between the Gold film and the sensing layer in a
Kretschmann configuration, as shown in Fig. 7(b). A maximum angular
shift of 252 deg/RIU was reported when employing two layers of 2D
materials.
Later, in 2020, Alagdar et al. reported a multilayered biosensor with
transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) with Graphene 2D material,
Tungsten disulfide (WS2), etc., and Gold layer [96], as shown in Fig. 7
(c). The simulation results predicted a sensitivity of 243.31 deg/RIU
with 34.03 RIU− 1 FOM and 7.15 deg FWHM by optimizing TMDC layers.
In the same year, Singh et al. developed a BP/MoS2 heterostructure and
Antimonene based SP RI sensor with increased sensitivity by enhancing
the charge transfer between the metal and dielectric layers with the help
of the BP/MoS2 heterostructure [97]. With sensor layers optimization, a
sensitivity of 198.4 deg/RIU was numerically calculated, which could
detect RI changes of roughly 1.33. Moreover, it was shown that the TM
field intensity of light wave increased in the Gold layer, reached a
maximum at BP/MoS2 heterostructure-Antimonene interface, and then
decreased in the sensing layer. This was attributed to the confinement
and strong control of the charge carrier in the BP/MoS2 region, sug­
gesting effective charge transfer from the sensing medium to the Gold
Fig. 7. Prism based SP RI biosensor topology incorporating 2D materials in
multilayered configurations. (a) Verma et al. [95], (b) Singh et al. [94], and (c)
Alagdar et al. [96].
9
Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939
layer, which aided in increased sensitivity.
Another approach to enhance the performance of the multilayer SP
RI biosensor was proposed in 2019 by Nisha et al. In this case, sand­
wiching a 2D material layer with Gold and noble magnetic material
(Nickel) has shown a sensitivity of 229 deg/RIU [98]. The work
comprehensively discussed the effect of a number of layers of Graphene/
MoS2 2D materials by utilizing the Fresnel transfer matrix method and
numerically simulating the incident and reflection characteristics at 633
nm. It was shown that the proposed sensor could detect a RI range of
1.33–1.35, implying potential sensing applications in the chemical,
medical, and biological fields.
In 2019, Xu et al. theoretically studied a prism based multilayer SP RI
biosensor employing a new family of 2D materials called MXene and
TMDC [82]. The suggested design was based on a Prism/Gold/WS2/
Ti3C2Tx/sensing medium multilayer structure that has been tuned for
the number of layers of 2D materials to obtain improved sensitivity. For
a single layer of MXene and five layers of WS2, the authors achieved the
best sensitivity of 198 deg/RIU at an excitation wavelength of 633 nm.
Moreover, the sensor was numerically capable of sensing RI around
1.33, thus applicable in biochemical sensing. Later this year [83–85] and
in previous years, 2018 [17,86,87], 2017 [88,89], 2016–15 [90–92],
several reports on the application of 2D materials in SP RI biosensing
applications employing prism based multilayer structure have been re­
ported and has been summarized in Table. 3 in terms of configuration,
features, sensitivity, DL, etc.
However, it is noteworthy to mention the work of Rahman et al. in
2017, who proposed an SP RI biosensor that can detect DNA hybridi­
zation in a Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS) solution with an excitation
wavelength of 633 nm [20]. The PBS solution comprises 0.0003 mol
Sodium Phosphate monobasic, 0.022 mol Sodium Chloride, 0.0016 mol
Sodium Phosphate dibasic, and 0.00054 mol Potassium Chloride, all of
which were mixed in MilliQ water at a physiological pH of 7.5. The
sensor configuration consists of layers of 2D materials in the Kretsch­
mann arrangement. The multilayers consist of Gold/MoS2/Graphene/
sensing medium, where MoS2 exhibits high optical absorption effi­
ciency, was used adjacent to the Graphene layer that exhibits poor op­
tical absorption efficiency, and the Gold layer to improve the
performance. Besides, Graphene also protected the MoS2 layer from
contamination or decomposition in the ambient environment. The
sensor could numerically detect mismatched target DNA and comple­
mentary target compared to the Probe DNA and achieved a sensitivity of
89.29 deg/RIU with a FOM of 13.13 RIU− 1 and minimum reflection of
2.5 × 10− 2.
B. Grating-based Biosensors.
The grating based biosensors utilize a dielectric/metal grating design
to achieve the SP resonance condition. When an optical light EM wave
falls on the metal-dielectric interface exhibiting gratings with an inci­
Fig. 8. Basic dielectric-metal grating structure employed in grating based SP RI
biosensors. Adapted from Wijaya et al. [114].
R.A. Mahmud et al. Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939

dence angleθ, its momentum increases due to diffraction. The basic
structure of the grating based biosensor is depicted in Fig. 8. The x-axis
component of the wave vector of the optical light wave increased by an
amount of G, known as the wavenumber of the grating, for the increase
in the diffraction order m = + 1, to enable wave vector matching of the
light wave and the SPP. When the light is incident on the metallic grating
structure, it scatters, and the propagation constant of the diffracted
optical light wave changes by a multiple of the wave number of the
grating structure. Furthermore, in this case, the SP resonance occurs
when the wave number of the diffracted light due to grating kd , which
changes with the diffraction order, excites the SPW along the metal-
dielectric interface, i.e., when kd ⩾kSPP . The wave number of the
metallic grating is given by:
2π 2π
kd = kx + mG = nd sinθ + m
λ Λ
imaging pattern in a periodic grating structure. The authors employed
Cytop polymer as noble metal and investigated different biomaterials
like Ether, Ethyleneglycol, Chlorobenzene, and Quinoline, with the
frequency-dependent RI. The structure of the sensor is depicted in Fig. 9
(a), which exhibits a grating period Λ with a 50 % duty cycle. The
repetition of the self-imaging pattern occurs at the Talbot plane, which is
a distance denoted by dTalbot , that can be expressed as the following
equation for a diffraction grating structure:
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
dTalbot = (λ/nr )(1 − 1 − (λ/nr Λ)2 ) (12)
where λ represents operating wavelength in free space and nr describes
the background refractive index. The self-imaging pattern of the sensor
without biomaterial and air differs from those with air and other ma
(11)

where kx is the propagation constant of the non-diffracted optical light

wave, m = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3, … is the diffraction order, Λ and nd corre­
sponds to the grating period and refractive index of the dielectric.
Table 4 summarizes recent advancements in multilayer grating based SP
RI biosensors employing experimental as well as simulation approaches
and focusing on various materials used and performance metrics
[10,27,99–113]. For instance, in 2022, Ni et al. reported a grating based
SP RI biosensor that can potentially sense different biomaterials like
lipid membranes, lipid rafts, etc. [107]. The fabricated sensor comprises
Silver with Polystyrene or Polydimethylsiloxane material and experi­
mentally demonstrated a sensitivity of 494 nm/RIU. Besides perfor­
mance investigation, the fabrication technique involving grating on
commercial Digital Versatile Disc–Recordable (DVD-R), deposition of a
Silver grating layer, spacer layer of Polystyrene, and top Silver layer, has
been thoroughly discussed. The sensor was shown to detect RI range of
1.329–1.379. In the same year, employing a similar grating structure but
with Gold metal gratings, a sensitivity of 312 nm/RIU [95] was reported
experimentally by fabricating the sensor with nano-imprint technology
and able to detect RI range of 1.34–1.446. Alternatively, a highly sen­
sitive (786 nm/RIU) has also been demonstrated over a Gold film and
Silicon substrate grating based SP RI biosensor [106].
Fig. 9. Topology of the recently proposed multilayer grating based SP RI bio­
In 2021, Farhadi et al. [109] proposed and numerically investigated a
sensors by (a) Farhadi et al. [109], (b) Zeng et al. [111], and (c) Chamoli
grating based SP RI biosensor using the Talbot effect, a repeating self-
et al. [10].

Table 4
Recent advancements in the design and performance of multilayer grating based SP RI biosensors.
Ref Year Materials Features/Sensing Sensitivity θI Λ DR (RI) FOM λR (µm) S/ DwA
Biomaterials (nm/RIU) (deg) (nm) (RIU− 1) E (Y/N)

[106] 2022 Gold thin film/Si Bilayer trapezoidal 786 40 633 1.33–1.37 30 0.4–1.5 E Y
grating fabrication
[107] 2022 Silver/Polystyrene or Lipid membranes and 494 – 1.329–1.3792 – 0.75–0.94 E Y
Polydimethylsiloxane rafts
[108] 2022 Gold grating/ Nano-imprint 311.97 25 741 1.34–1.446 – 0.45–1.05 E Y
Polydimethylsiloxane technology fabrication
[109] 2021 Cytop Polymer grating – 324 – 1.3–1.65 20.99 0.55–0.65 S Y
[10] 2020 Gold coated BAF10 grating Blood glucose 2300 0 1060 1.33–1.38 1500 1.3–2.0 S Y
[110] 2020 Silica/SiO2/Al – 2077.26 55 6733 (m 1.33–1.36 – 1.0–1.3 E Y
= 3)
[111] 2020 Gold coated Si based grating – 1820 0 1800 1.33–1.4 293.5 2.3–2.5 S N
[112] 2020 Graphene/Gold grating LOD:0.00005 RIU 1782 – 1800 1.1–2.1 QF: – S Y
21,214
[113] 2019 Al coated – 1200 – 1200 1.33–1.37 – 0.5–1.0 E Y
[99] 2019 Gold grating/nitride – 1140 0 1140 1.33–1.37 – 1.3–1.65 S N
[27] 2018 Gold/Al coated Lung cancer biomarkers 1349.8 – 1.32–1.34 – 0.8–1.14 S Y
1.66–1.69
[100] 2018 Al coated/DVD-R – 637 30 740 1.33–1.37 – 0.6–0.75 E Y
[102] 2017 Gold coated – 800 ± 27 0 730 1.33–1.4 – 0.97–1.08 E Y
[103] 2017 Gold coated – 647.8 0 550 1.33–1.357 – 0.65–0.85 E Y
[104] 2017 Gold coated LOD: 6.3 × 10− 6 425 70 320 – 35 0.6–0.9 E Y
[105] 2017 Silver/Gold coated LOD: 4.12 × 10− 5 356 0 320 1.335–1.3596 – 0.46–0.54 E Y

*DR: Detection Range; FOM: Figure of merit; θI: Incident angle, measure normal to the interface; Λ: Grating period; λR: Operating wavelength range; LOD: Limit of
detection; S/E: Simulation/Experiment; DwA: Demonstration with analyte? Y/S: Yes/No.

10
R.A. Mahmud et al.
terials (Ethyleneglycol, Chlorobenzene, Quinoline). In this case, the
sensor sensitivity was calculated as Δλ/Δn, Δλ representing the reflec­
tion red-blue shifts in the self-imaging pattern due to the change of
biomaterials and Δn the change in the RI of the biomaterials. The pro­
posed sensor achieved a sensitivity of 324 nm/RIU with a FOM of 20.99,
the ability to distinguish RI range of 1.35–1.65, and could be a potential
on-chip biosensor with a plasmonic Talbot effect.
Next, Zeng et al. [111] reported another biosensor that can detect in
the RI range of 1.33–1.40, which falls within the range of several bio­
logical and chemical specimens. For instance, the RI of glucose con­
centration and different cancer cells falls within the range. The sensor
structure was based on SiO2 substrate with Si grating material and Silver
plasmonic material, as depicted in Fig. 9(b). A layer of BK7 glass was
placed above the Silver layer while the analyte was placed under this
plasmonic layer to enhance the sensor stability. The RI of SiO2 was
modeled employing Eqn. (6) (Sellmeier’s equation), while for the BK7
glass, the RI was expressed as:
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
1.039612λ2 0.231792λ2
nBK7 = 1 + 2 + 2 + 2
λ − 0.00600 λ − 0.02002 λ − 103.56065
where λ represents the operating wavelength of light in µm. Moreover,
numerical simulations also showed three intensity peaks at three
different wavelengths, which was explained by the following Fabry-
Pérot like-cavity expression:
4πnf
hcosθ = 2mπ
λp
where, h represents the cavity length, nf is the RI of the material between
Silver and Si, termed as a spacer layer, θ is the diffraction angle, λp
represents the peak intensity wavelength, and m is a positive integer.
Sensor simulations depicted that the peaks were ~ 1836 nm apart from
each other and exhibited a sensitivity of 1820 nm/RIU with an FWHM of
6.2 nm and a high FOM of 293.5 RIU− 1 in the wavelength range of
2300–2530 nm.
In the same year (2020), Chamoli et al. [10] proposed a grating based SP
RI sensor to detect glucose concentration in human blood. The authors
designed the sensor with Si3N4 as the substrate and barium flint (BAF10) glass
as the grating material on the plasmonic Gold metal layer. In their simulation,
the RI of BAF10 was incorporated according to the following governing
2 2
equation: n2BAF10 − 1 = λ2 − 1.5851495λ + 0.143559385λ + 1.08521269λ
0.00926681282 λ2 − 0.0424489805 λ2 − 105.613573
where λ represents the operating wavelength and nBAF10 is the RI of BAF10
glass. Moreover, the classical Drude-Lorentz model (Eqn. (8)) was employed
to model the Gold plasmonic material. The sensor structure is shown in Fig. 9
(c) with grating height h, grating width W, and grating periodΛ. The RI of
glucose, which was the analyte, depends on its concentration in the blood and
was expressed as:
n = nw + aC
where nw represents the RI of water at 25 ◦ C, a = 0.00143, and C denotes
the sugar concentration in g/100 mL. After optimizing the sensor
structure, a numerical sensitivity value of ~ 2600 nm/RIU with a FOM
of ~ 1500.
Besides the above reports, Table. 4 summarizes other grating based
SP RI sensors since 2015. For instance, employing a Graphene and Gold
grating based SP RI sensor, a simulated sensitivity of 1782 nm/RIU
[100] was demonstrated. Moreover, Long et al. [98] showed experi­
mentally a SiO2/Aluminum grating based SP RI biosensor exhibiting a
sensitivity of 2077.26 nm/RIU and RI DR of 1.33–1.36. In addition,
other works reported in 2017–2019 [27,101–108], which were mostly
experimental based, are also summarized in Table. 4. For instance, Cao
et al. [113] proposed an Aluminum grating based SP RI sensor and
experimentally demonstrated the performance characteristics while
comparing it with numerical results. In this case, the Aluminum coated
Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939
grating based sensor design obtained a sensitivity of 1200 nm/RIU and
DR of 1.33–1.37. It is noteworthy to mention that in 2018, Dai et al.
proposed rectangular grating with Silver and experimentally reported a
sensitivity of 254.13 deg/RIU [101]. The sensor demonstrated a DR of
1.333–1.386 RI and exhibited a grating period of 480 nm.
5. MIM-based biosensors
Strong field confinement is a fundamental requirement for compact
interconnections in highly integrated optical circuitry and biosensors.
MIM structures are one of the most popular topologies that effectively
confines the EM field while incurring a significant degree of propagation
loss. To illustrate the function of a MIM based SP RI biosensor, a
straightforward arrangement consisting of a metallic ring resonator and
a straight metallic waveguide over a dielectric substrate with unidirec­
tional coupling is shown in Fig. 10. In this case, the matrix describing the
relationship between the input and output of the arrangement is given
by:
1.010469λ2 [ ] [ ][ ]
(13) Et1 t κ Ei1
= * * (17)
Et2 − κ t Ei2
Ei1 represents the optical light wave complex mode amplitude at the
input port of the straight waveguide, Et1 denotes the transmission
complex mode amplitude at the output port, Et2 is the coupled complex
mode amplitude to the ring, and Ei2 is the complex mode amplitude
transmitted from the ring. The coupling parameters κ and t are defined
(14) by the coupling mechanism [115], and * denotes the complex conjugate.
The coupling is assumed to be lossless, and the attenuation constant α
includes discrete losses that occur throughout the transit of waves
through the resonator. While SPP propagates through the straight
waveguide, a part of it couples to the ring resonator and then couples
back to the straight waveguide, yielding a resonance condition at a
particular wavelength. This resonant wavelength λm is given by [116]:
Re(neff ) × Peff
λm = (18)
m − (φ/2π)
where, neff refers to the effective index, Peff refers to the effective path
traversed by the SPP in the resonator, φ refers to the total phase shift at
the edges of the resonator, and m refers to a positive number. The ma­
terial or analyte whose RI is to be determined is usually placed in the
cavity.
2
(15)
Ring and cavity resonators are most commonly used in biosensing
applications to generate a frequency spectrum, such as Lorentzian,
Notch-type, and Fano-resonance types, and exhibit a specific resonant
frequency or wavelength that varies as a function of the RI of the
(16)
Fig. 10. Structure of a simple plasmonic waveguide side coupled with a
ring resonator.
11
R.A. Mahmud et al. Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939

dielectric placed in the cavity. The sensitivity, in this case, for the MIM
based SP RI biosensors, is the ratio of variation in resonant wavelength
to the variation in RI. Moreover, the FWHM of the spectrum is a measure
of the bandwidth, and FOM is the ratio of the sensitivity to the FWHM of
the resonance spectrum. Table 5 presents the most recent developments
of MIM based SP RI biosensors along with the biomaterial detected to
evaluate the performance [9,11–14,117–121].
In 2022, Chao et al. proposed a MIM based SP RI sensor that could be
a potential lab-on-chip sensor for biochemical applications, such as
glucose concentration in urine [6]. Three sensor designs were consid­
ered: disk-type, ring-type, and modified ring-type (another straight
waveguide with air passing through the middle of the ring resonator).
Simulation results indicated a maximum sensitivity of 2800 nm/RIU
from the modified ring-type configuration, exhibiting a maximum FOM
of 333.3 RIU− 1. The dipping strength, which shows the sensor accuracy,
was calculated to be 86.97 %. Moreover, the sensor detected a change of
0.001 RI in glucose concentration of human urine, thus demonstrating a
quality factor in the range of 46.92–87.10. In the same year, S. Rohimah
et al. [9] proposed and demonstrated a Silver based obround-shaped
MIM biosensor numerically using blood plasma as an analyte, exhibit­
ing FOM of 33,562 RIU− 1 and being able to detect RI range of 1.0–1.1.
Hassan et al. developed a MIM based SP RI biosensor in 2021 that
incorporated nanodot-loaded rectangular cavities as resonators [11].
Although the work was simulation based, the authors recommended
nanoimprint lithography as a viable fabrication method and discussed
various steps. The proposed sensor design and fabrication steps are
illustrated in Fig. 11(a) and (b), respectively. The presented Silver
rectangular cavities based sensor was investigated with blood electro­
lytes and glucose. The refractive indices of major blood components
Na+, K+, and glucose, which regulate the biological systems and dis­
eases of the human body, have been theoretically calculated by the
following equations:
( )
Ck
(
Ck
)2
nNa+ = 1.3373 + 1.768 × 10− 3 − 5.8 × 10− 6 (19)
393 393
( ) ( )2
Ck Ck
nK + = 1.3352 + 1.6167 × 10− 3
− 4 × 10− 7
529.8 529.8
nglucose = 0.00011889Ck + 1.33230545
where C(mgdL− 1 ) is the electrolyte concentration and k is the concen­
tration factor. Moreover, sample preparation details were also discussed.
The sensor demonstrated a sensitivity of 7564 nm/RIU and a FOM of
120, with a quality factor and DL of 96.47 and 1.32 × 10-7 RIU,
respectively. Moreover, the sensor detected temperature change with a
sensitivity of 3.40 nm/oC-1. The same year, Bahri et al. reported a rect­
angular cavity based SP RI biosensor [118]. The sensor numerically
exhibited a sensitivity of 3010 nm/RIU and an RI DR of 1.0–1.08.
Following this, Li et al. [119] proposed a different MIM based SP RI
biosensor with a Q-shaped resonator in the same year, which could
monitor trace element concentrations in the human body. Silver metal
was employed for SPP excitation, and the sensor structure is depicted in
Fig. 11(c). Employing the Finite Element Method (FEM), the authors
demonstrated a high FOM of 211.42 RIU− 1 and a 2260 nm/RIU sensi­
tivity. The sensor was also shown to detect Na + ions with a sensitivity of
0.505 nm/mgdL-1, facilitating human body monitoring.
In 2020, Rakhshani proposed a sensor with a MIM configuration
featuring two concentric square resonators, which was numerically
analyzed [12]. The sensor utilized Silver plasmonic metal with SiO2 as
substrate, which could determine human blood groups, and demon­
strated a sensitivity of 1380 nm/RIU with FOM and a sensing resolution
of 142 RIU− 1 and 7.24 × 10-4, respectively. The authors also highlighted
the possibility of detecting two blood groups simultaneously. Next,
Bazgir et al. developed a dumbbell slotted waveguide design with Silver
and numerically achieved a sensitivity of 1260 nm/RIU with a RI DR of
1.0–1.4.
In 2018, various resonator cavity shapes based SP RI biosensors have
been proposed and investigated. For instance, racetrack [13] and ellip­
tical [14] resonators, and two MIM waveguides coupled with a ring
resonator [121] for detecting Hemoglobin concentration, viruses, and
biomolecules. The structures adopted Silver plasmonic material and
exhibited sensitivity in the range of 1100–4650 nm/RIU, as summarized
in Table. 5. The maximum FOM of 33,562 RIU− 1 was achieved with an
obround shaped resonator for a sensitivity of 1636 nm/RIU. In general,
the practical implementation of MIM based biosensors has been chal­
lenging despite the sensor exhibiting several advantages of photonic
(20) integration, compact size, etc. From the literature, the nanoimprint
fabrication technique seems promising and may open a new paradigm
(21) for the realization of lab-on-chip MIM based biosensing applications;
however, its experimental demonstration is still lacking in the literature.

Table 5
Recent advancements in the design and performance parameters of MIM based SP RI biosensors.
Ref Year Features Materials Sensing Biomaterials Sensitivity DL DR (RI) FOM λR (µm) S/ DwA
(nm/RIU) (RIU) (RIU− 1) E (Y/N)

[9] 2022 Obround shaped Silver Blood plasma 1636 – 1.0–1.1, 33,562 0.6–2.0 S Y
resonator ~1.32
[6] 2022 Ring-type resonator with Silver Glucose concentration in 2800 – 1.335–1.342 333.3 0.6–1.6 S Y
air path urine
[11] 2021 Rectangular cavities Silver Blood electrolytes and 7564 1.32 × – 120 2.0–4.0 S Y
Glucose 10− 7
[118] 2021 Rectangular cavity Silver – 3010 3.84 × 1.0–1.08 – 0.9–3.5 S N
10− 6
[119] 2021 Q-Resonator Silver Trace element 2260 – 1.362–1.385 211.42 1.5–2.0 S Y
concentration in human
body
[12] 2020 Two double-square Silver/ Human blood groups 1380 7.24 × 1.0–1.6 142 0.5–2.0 S Y
resonators SiO2 10-4
[120] 2020 Dumbbell slot waveguide Silver – 1260 – 1.0–1.4 120 0.86–1.86 S N
[13] 2018 Racetrack resonator Silver/ Hemoglobin 4650 – 1.0–1.1 37 1.4–1.8 S Y
SiO2 concentration 2.4–2.9
[121] 2018 Two MIM waveguides Silver Biomolecules, viruses 1383 – 1.33–1.35 – 1.8–1.95 S Y
coupled to a ring
resonator
[14] 2018 Elliptical resonators Silver Hemoglobin 1100 – 1.0–1.03 224 0.9–1.1 S Y
concentration

*DL: Detection limit; DR: Detection Range: FOM: Figure of merit; λR: Operating wavelength range; S/E: Simulation/Experiment; DwA: Demonstration with analyte? Y/
S: Yes/No.

12
R.A. Mahmud et al.
Fig. 11. (a) MIM based SP RI biosensor structure by Hassan et al. [11] with
nanodot-loaded cavities. (b) Nanoimprint fabrication technique adapted from
Hassan et al. [11], and (c) Proposed MIM based SP RI biosensor with a Q-shaped
resonator by Li et al. [119].
6. Conclusions and some future directions
This work presented various categories of SP RI biosensors, including
PCF based and other optical fiber based, prism based, incorporating new
2D materials, and grating based, multilayer SP RI biosensors. In general,
numerically, D-shaped and circular-shaped PCFs displayed the highest
sensitivity in resonant wavelength shift per RIU compared to other
categories. However, other optical fiber based SP RI biosensors have
been observed to be the most practical ones with fabrication and
experimental demonstration with various biomaterials. Furthermore, in
the domain of SP-based biosensing, multimode fiber and multicore fiber
with coupled and decoupled configurations are appearing. Advance­
ment in fabrication and experimental procedures has always been
essential to get better and improved techniques and designs of optical
fibers. Although prism based SP RI sensors have been widely explored in
recent decades, the configuration has garnered much attention recently,
thanks to the concept of a multilayer structure, including the new wave
of 2D materials, to optimize sensor performance and stability. However,
these 2D material based sensors are still in their infancy, with exclusive
simulation based reports in the literature. Furthermore, rather than
conventional grating based SP biosensors, in recent years, multilayered
devices have attracted the scientific community by engaging new
13
Optics and Laser Technology 159 (2023) 108939
materials to improve sensor performance. In literature, most of the
works in this category are experimentally based, suggesting another
promising biosensor topology. Lastly, advancements in MIM based SP RI
biosensors were highlighted as promising candidates for lab-on-chip
applications. However, owing to their simulation based reports and
small footprint, they may experience fabrication challenges that need
attention.
This comprehensive review of SP RI biosensors suggests possible
opportunities and directions for improving biosensor performance and
creating appropriate fabrication techniques for their practical deploy­
ment. Most PCF based, 2D material based, and MIM based biosensors
have yet to be fabricated or tested, implying a vast field of study to be
explored. On the other hand, other optical fiber based and grating based
SP RI biosensors have been demonstrated by fabricating and testing with
biomaterials. This indicates their potential practical deployment in
biosensing applications. However, simple and cost-effective fabrication
technologies are required to qualify for commercial disposition while
preserving the sensor performance. This could be another avenue for
research and improvement. Lastly, MIM SP RI based biosensors neces­
sitate increased research engagement to create viable fabrication tech­
niques for practical applications. Recently, machine learning, deep
learning, and inverse designing have made inroads into SP based devices
and applications, enabling the prospective exploratory area of research,
notably in SP RI biosensors, due to the availability of extensive nu­
merical/visual data of the field and supported by high performance
computing capabilities. This review has unfolded various routes for
further improvement of SP RI biosensors in practical filed biosensing
applications.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
No data was used for the research described in the article.
Acknowledgment
The work of R. A. Mahmud and R. H. Sagor is partly supported by the
Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur, Bangladesh. The work of M.
Z. M. Khan is partially funded by the Deanship of Research Oversight
and Coordination (DROC) at King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals through the Research Center for Communication Systems and
Sensing grants INCS2103 and INCS2204 .
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