Modelling and Analysis of High-Performing Reconfigurable SPR Refractive Index Sensor Employing Beryllium Oxide, Nickel, and BlueP/WS2 Nanomaterials

A novel design of an optical refractive index sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been offered in the article. The structure of the sensor is grounded on a Kretschmann configuration which comprises of CaF2 prism, silver (Ag) metal, beryllium oxide (BeO) nanomaterial, Nickel (Ni), and a heterostructure 2D nanomaterial (blue phosphorene/tungsten diselenide; BP/WS2). The analyte has been sensed on the 2D heterostructure material surface to examine the change in refractive index (RI). For prudent examination of the reflectivity of the proposed sensor, the transfer matrix method (TMM) has been employed. The optimization of sensitivity in terms of thickness and number of layers has also been investigated. Electric field intensity enhancement factor and phase interrogation parameters and normalized electric field distribution have also been utilized to validate the resonance angle position and to justify ultrahigh sensitivity. Utilizing the 2D nanomaterials intensifies the sensitivity of the proposed structure up to 401.2° per refractive index unit (deg/RIU). The FoM and detection accuracy (DA) is optimized up to 178.31 RIU−1 and 0.444 deg−1 respectively. The sensor offers a simple and selective structure with efficient cost and thickness. Additionally, the advantage of being real-time, stable, and label-free detection of an analyte sample with a very small amount of sample makes the proposed sensor a competing technology to be fabricated as a sensor chip for commercial applications.