Solution-Deposited Thin Silver Films on Plastic Surfaces for Low-Cost Applications in Plasmon-Coupled Emission Sensors

摘要

We report the deposition of highly uniform thin silver films on plastic materials using a wet-chemistry method, suitable for surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE). This approach is reproducible for diverse low-cost applications and versatile to generate silver surfaces on various plastics substrates. An oxygen plasma pretreatment of the plastic provides for rapid silvering, leading to a 47-nm-thick continuous film for SPCE applications. The surface smoothness and thickness of the films have been estimated using atomic force microscope. The higher refractive index of polycarbonate, resulted in an SPCE angle of θ F = 470 for Rhodamine B, compared to glass (θ F = 500). The current study presents details on film deposition conditions, appropriate choice of index matching fluids, substrates, and light sources that play a vital role to augment SPCE emission intensity.