The Effect of Relative In-Plane Twisting in Graphene Bilayer on Sensing Using Surface Plasmon Resonance

Abstract

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is generally observed by the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on the metal (Au/Ag) surface. In order to utilize the SPR phenomenon for sensing application, the metal surface is functionalized with suitable ligands. Although such functionalization can enhance the specific adsorption capability of the sensor however due to the large thickness of the ligands, the plasmonic field of the metal surface becomes less sensitive towards the adsorption of analytes. In the next generation SPR-based sensor, graphene can be utilized not only as plasmonic material but also as a suitable ligand for attracting analytes through π-π interaction. In this article, we present our theoretical simulation studies on the observation of the SPR phenomenon using graphene monolayer (MLG), bilayer graphene (BLG), and in-plane twisted layers of BLG (T-BLG) as plasmonic materials deposited over zinc-selenide substrate. The Kretschmann configuration under wavelength interrogation setup was simulated, and SPR wavelength for graphene systems/water interface was estimated. The bio-sensing simulation was performed, and the sensing parameters viz. sensitivity, figure-of-merit (FOM), and plasmonic field for different graphene systems were obtained. Interestingly, the excellent sensing parameters were found in T-BLG system with relative in-plane twist angle near to magic angle viz. 1°. The enhancement is due to strong coupling between the layers twisted at the magic angle. This study demonstrates that the MLG, BLG and T-BLG can be employed as a standalone layer system for not only the generation of plasmonic fields but also enhanced sensing due to its intrinsic interactions with bio-analytes.