Plasmonic dark field microscopy with a polymer substrate

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel plasmonic dark field microscopy technique using a polymer-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide, enabling high-contrast imaging with a chip-scale, stable, and biocompatible structure.

Contribution

It introduces a new plasmonic dark field microscopy method leveraging polymer-loaded waveguides, compatible with conventional microscopy and suitable for biological applications.

Findings

Successful experimental demonstration of the technique

High-contrast dark-field images obtained

Polymer substrate offers stability and biocompatibility

Abstract

In this letter, a plasmonic dark field microscopy taking advantages of the polymer loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide (PLSPPW) is experimentally demonstrated. The dye molecules (Rhodamine 6G, Rh6G) are doped in the PLSPPW to launch the plasmonic waves or guided waves. Due to the localized property of these waves, the near-field optical energy on the surface of PLSPPW can be scattered into the far-field only in the presence of the objects. The scattering signals then form the dark-field image of the objects. The proposed technique just utilizes a chip-scale integrated plasmonic multilayered structure which is highly compatible with the conventional optical microscopy. The polymer film involved in the PLSPPW also brings about the merits of small roughness, good stability and bio-compatibility