Surface plasmon dispersion and luminescence quenching applied to planar waveguide sensors for the measurement Of chemical concentrations

Two novel types of planar waveguide sensors for the chemical domain are introduced. Both are realized by thin film technologies. They consist of multilayered structures coated by a very thin organic overlayer that is able to absorb the species to be measured out of the environment. This absorbtion results in a change in its dielectric function. In the first sensor to be demonstrated this change is measured using a surface plasmon mode as a probe. In the second one the radiationless energy transfer from luminescent centres incorporated in one of the layers to the overlayer serves as a probe