Inverse designed plasmonic metasurface with parts per billion optical hydrogen detection
Journal article, 2022

Plasmonic sensors rely on optical resonances in metal nanoparticles and are typically limited by their broad spectral features. This constraint is particularly taxing for optical hydrogen sensors, in which hydrogen is absorbed inside optically-lossy Pd nanostructures and for which state-of-the-art detection limits are only at the low parts-per-million (ppm) range. Here, we overcome this limitation by inversely designing a plasmonic metasurface based on a periodic array of Pd nanoparticles. Guided by a particle swarm optimization algorithm, we numerically identify and experimentally demonstrate a sensor with an optimal balance between a narrow spectral linewidth and a large field enhancement inside the nanoparticles, enabling a measured hydrogen detection limit of 250 parts-per-billion (ppb). Our work significantly improves current plasmonic hydrogen sensor capabilities and, in a broader context, highlights the power of inverse design of plasmonic metasurfaces for ultrasensitive optical (gas) detection.

Author

Ferry Nugroho

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Universitas Indonesia

Ping Bai

Eindhoven University of Technology

Iwan Darmadi

Chalmers, Physics, Chemical Physics

Gabriel W. Castellanos

Eindhoven University of Technology

Joachim Fritzsche

Chalmers, Physics, Chemical Physics

Christoph Langhammer

Chalmers, Physics, Chemical Physics

Jaime Gómez Rivas

Eindhoven University of Technology

Andrea Baldi

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Nature Communications

2041-1723 (ISSN) 20411723 (eISSN)

Vol. 13 1 5737

Ultrafast Nano-Plasmonic H2-sensor for a safe hydrogen economy

Swedish Energy Agency (49103-1), 2020-01-02 -- 2021-12-31.

Rambidrag inom utlysningen "Materials Science 2015"

Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) (RMA15-0052), 2016-05-01 -- 2021-06-30.

Subject Categories

Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics

Other Physics Topics

Signal Processing

DOI

10.1038/s41467-022-33466-8

PubMed

36180437

More information

Latest update

10/25/2023