Performance of nanoplasmonic biosensors

Bok, 2012

This chapter aims to give an overview of how to optimize the performance of nanoplasmonic sensors. Specific biosensing challenges beyond the capability of current nanoplasmonic sensors will be discussed. Various methods to improve sensor performance will then be introduced, including solving issues related to surface chemistry. We distinguish the concept of signal enhancement, which is related to the choice of nanostructure and surface functionalization, from the concept of noise minimization, which is related to the spectroscopy techniques employed. The concepts of bulk sensitivity, figure of merit, nanostructure performance, and their relation to detection limit are discussed in detail.