An Open-Source Simulator Applied to Prism Coupling Sensors Based on Kretschmann's Configuration

Abstract

In this letter, we present an open-source simulator applied to design and to analyze prism coupling sensors considering surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect based on Kretschmann's configuration. The open-source simulator is called Sim-SPR and takes into account principles of software engineering. For comparison purposes and to validate our results, we considered two simulation tools already consolidated in the literature and performed an experimental setup for detecting resonant angle in a prism-based SPR sensor. The sensor design was based on optical prism (BK7 glass) as well as Au thin film. The results show that Sim-SPR provides reflectance curves that present a minimum in the resonance condition, resulting in a good agreement when compared with simulation and experimental data. Sim-SPR provides new insights and it has great promise for possible applications in the field of biosensors.