Different types of plasmonic nanostructures are proposed and examined experimentally and theoretically, with a view towards sensing applications. First, a self-assembly approach was developed to create arrays of well-ordered glass-supported gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with controllable particle size and inter-particle spacing. Then, a periodic array of gold nano-disks (AuNDs) supported by a Bragg reflector was proposed and examined in a search for Fano resonances in its optical response. Arrays

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... f heptamer-arranged nanoholes (HNH) in a thin gold film were also proposed and explored theoretically and experimentally, revealing a very rich spectrum of resonances, several exhibiting a Fano lineshape. A commercial implementation of the vectorial finite element method (FEM) was used to model our plasmonic structures. Taking advantage of the periodic nature of the structures, a unit cell containing a single element was modelled. The transmittance, reflectance or absorbance spectra were computed, and the associated electromagnetic fields were obtained by solving the vector wave equations for the electromagnetic field vectors throughout the structures, subject to the applicable boundary conditions, and the applied source fields. The sensing performance of the structures, based on the bulk sensitivity, surface sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) was calculated. First, a novel bottom-up fabrication approach was applied (by our collaborators) to form a periodic array of AuNPs with controllable size over large areas on SiO2 substrates. In this method, self-assembly of block copolymer micelles loaded with metal precursors was combined with a seeding growth route to create ordered AuNPs of desired size. It was shown that this new fabrication method offers a new approach to tune the AuNP size and edge-to-edge inter-particle spacing while preserving the AuNP ordering. The optical characteristics of the AuNP arrays, such as their size, interparticle spacing, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) wavelength, and bulk sensitiv [...]