LAUSR

Abstract Graphene-based optical sensors have been developed for research into the biological intercellular refractive index (RI) because they offer greater detection depths than those provided by the surface plasmon resonance technique. In this Letter, we propose an experimental approach for measurement of the detection depth in a graphene-based optical sensor system that uses transparent polydimethylsiloxane layers with different thicknesses. The experimental results show that detection depths of 2.5 μ m and 3 μ m can be achieved at wavelengths of 532 nm and 633 nm, respectively. These results prove that graphene-based optical sensors can realize long-range RI detection and are thus promising for use as tools in the biological cell detection field. Additionally, we analyze the factors that influence the detection depth and provide a feasible approach for detection depth control based on adjustment of the wavelength and the angle of incidence. We believe that this approach will be useful in RI tomography applications.