Sensitivity to refractive index of high-aspect-ratio nanofins with optical vortex

An easy and large-scale fabrication technique of metal fins was used to produce periodic Au fin arrays that realized light confinement in the near-infrared region. Light confinement was revealed by vortex patterns in the optical power flow of an array of high-aspect-ratio fins (height of 1000 nm for a width of 50 nm). The light confinement resulted in sharp dips in the reflectance spectrum of the high-aspect-ratio fin array. The wavelengths of the reflectance dips were found to shift toward higher values when the refractive index of the surrounding medium was increased. Experimental and simulated dip shift values were in good agreement with a demonstrated sensitivity of 580 nm per refractive index unit. (paper)