Plasmon-based devices have been used effectively in sensing applications, primarily due to their ability to concentrate light in small spatial regions and their high sensitivity to changes in the background environment. Nevertheless, current plasmonic sensors vary in size from several hundred microns to a few millimetres, limiting their potential for system integration. Now, a recent study published in the journal Nanotechnology shows that dark modes of sub-wavelength plasmonic cavities, excited via second harmonic interaction at metal surfaces, open the door to much smaller, micron-sized devices that could match the performance of previous designs.
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/46281