Enhancing the Magnetic Plasmon Resonance of Three-Dimensional Optical Metamaterials via Strong Coupling for High-Sensitivity Sensing

We report an effective method to enhance and modify the magnetic plasmon (MP) resonance in three-dimensional (3D) optical metamaterials consisting of periodic arrays of silver vertical split-ring resonators (VSRRs) for high-sensitivity sensing. By positioning the 3D metamaterials above a thick silver film separated by a silica dielectric spacer layer, the strong coupling between the MP resonance in the VSRRs and the surface plasmons polaritons (SPPs) propagating on the silver film can be realized and gives rise to an ultra-narrowband hybrid MP mode with a huge enhancement of magnetic fields. For the coupling to happen, the magnetic field direction of the SPPs should be parallel to the magnetic moment induced in the VSRRs. More importantly, because the ultra-narrowband hybrid MP mode is extremely sensitive to the surrounding media, the sensitivity and the figure of merit (FOM) of the 3D metamaterials can reach as high as 700 nm/RIU and 170, respectively, suggesting that the proposed 3D metamaterials hold potential applications in label-free biomedical sensing.