Tailoring the plasmonic whispering gallery modes of a metal-coated resonator for potential application as a refractometric sensor.

Plasmonic whispering gallery (WG) modes confined in metal-coated resonators are theoretically investigated by electromagnetic analyses. The resonance can be tuned from internal surface plasmonic WG modes to the hybrid state of the plasmonic mode by an introduced isolation layer. As the coated metal is reduced in size, the optical resonance is shifted out by the mode coupling of the internal and external surface plasmonic WG modes. Based on the optical leak of the plasmonic WG mode, the optical influences led by the surroundings with a variable refractive index are considered. Device performance criteria such as optical power leak, resonant wavelength shift, and threshold gain are studied. Full wave simulations are also employed and the results present good consistency with analytic solutions. The metal-coated resonator assisted by an active material is expected to provide promising performance as a refractometric sensor.