Synthesis of multifunctional plasmonic nanopillar array using soft thermal nanoimprint lithography for highly sensitive refractive index sensing.

A low-cost plasmonic nanopillar array was synthesized using soft thermal nanoimprint lithography, and its sensitivity was determined through far-field spectroscopic measurements. Its transmission spectrum was highly dependent on the refractive index of the surrounding medium, with its sensitivity being 375 nm per refractive index unit according to the spectral shift. Moreover, a simple sensor whose reflected color changed with a change in the plasma frequency on varying the surrounding medium was fabricated.