Near perfect light trapping in a 2D gold nanotrench grating at oblique angles of incidence and its application for sensing

A two-dimensional nanotrench cavity grating on a thick gold film was fabricated by using e-beam lithography. Optical reflection spectra from the fabricated device were measured at oblique angles of incidence for TE and TM polarizations. Near perfect light absorption was observed at different wavelengths for TE and TM polarizations at oblique angles of incidence. The peak absorption wavelength of TM polarization red-shifts significantly as angle of incidence increases. The peak absorption wavelength of TE polarization blue-shifts slightly as incident angle increases. Using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, two orders of magnitude magnetic field enhancement was revealed inside nanotrenches, indicating strong light trapping inside the nanostructure. The fabricated device was investigated as a refractive index chemical sensor. It was found that sensitivity increases for TM polarization and decreases for TE polarization when angle of incidence increases from zero.