Effect of relative in-plane twisting in graphene bilayer on sensing using surface plasmon resonance

TL;DR

This study theoretically investigates how in-plane twisting of bilayer graphene near the magic angle enhances surface plasmon resonance sensing capabilities, showing potential for improved bio-sensing applications.

Contribution

It introduces the concept that twisted bilayer graphene at the magic angle significantly improves SPR sensing parameters compared to monolayer and untwisted bilayer graphene.

Findings

T-BLG with near 1° twist angle shows the best sensing performance.

Enhanced coupling at the magic angle leads to higher sensitivity and FOM.

Graphene layers can serve as both plasmonic and ligand materials for biosensing.

Abstract

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is generally observed by excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on the metal (Au/Ag) surface. In order to utilize the SPR phenomenon for sensing application, the metal surface is functionalized with suitable ligands. Although such functionalization can enhance the specific adsorption capability of the sensor however due to large thickness of the ligands, the plasmonic field of the metal surface becomes less sensitive towards the adsorption of analytes. In the next generation SPR based sensor, graphene can be utilized not only as plasmonic material but also a suitable ligand for attracting analytes through {\pi}-{\pi} interaction. In this article, we present our theoretical simulation studies on the observation of SPR phenomenon using graphene monolayer (MLG), bilayer graphene (BLG) and in-plane twisted layers of BLG (T-BLG) as plasmonic materials deposited over Zinc-Selenide substrate. The Kretschmann configuration under wavelength interrogation setup was simulated and SPR wavelength for graphene systems/water interface was estimated. The bio-sensing simulation was performed and the sensing parameters viz. sensitivity, figure-of-merit (FOM) and plasmonic field for different graphene systems were obtained. Interestingly, the excellent sensing parameters were found in T-BLG system with relative in-plane twist angle near to magic angle viz. 1o. The enhancement is due to strong coupling between the layers twisted at the magic angle. This study demonstrates that the monolayer, bilayer and twisted bilayer graphene can be employed as a standalone layer system for not only generation of plasmonic fields but also enhanced sensing due to its intrinsic pi-pi interactions with bio-analytes.