Protein adsorption monitored by plasmon-enhanced semi-cylindrical Kretschmann ellipsometry

Abstract The Kretschmann–Raether geometry is widely used to investigate the properties of various biological samples and their behavior on different substrates [1] (mostly on gold surface with/without different functionalization). In this configuration the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are used to enhance the sensitivity of the measurement. Recently, the combination of this method with spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) became more and more popular. In our work protein adsorption was monitored in situ using this configuration. The performance of the configuration was investigated for different thicknesses of the plasmonic layer. The best measurement parameters were identified in terms of layer thickness, angle of incidence (AOI) and wavelength range. It was shown that the spectroscopic capability over a broad wavelength range, the possibility to adjust the AOI accurately, as well as the phase information from the measurement proves to be a significant advantage compared to standard configuration and surface plasmon resonance configurations.