The Influence of Substrate on the Optical Properties of Gold Nanoslits

Abstract

Nanoslits have various applications, including localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based nanodevices, optical biosensors, superfocusing, high-efficiency refractive index sensors and chip-based protein detection. In this study, the effect of substrates on the optical properties of gold nanoslits placed in free space is discussed; for this purpose, glass BK7 and Al2O3 are used as substrates and the wavelength of incident light is supposed to be 650 nm. The optical properties, power flow and electric field enhancement for gold nanoslits are investigated by using the finite element method (FEM) in COMSOL Multiphysics software. The effect of polarization of an incident electromagnetic wave as it propagates from a gold nanoslit is also analyzed. As special case, the effect of glass and alumina substrate on magnetic field, power flow and electric field enhancement is discussed. The goal of this research is to investigate the phenomenon of power flow and electric field enhancement. The study of power flow in gold nanoslits provides valuable insights into the behavior of light at the nanoscale and offers opportunities for developing novel applications in the field of nanophotonics and plasmonics. The consequences of this study show the significance of gold nanoslits as optical nanosensors.