Fabrication of an aluminum-porous alumina sensor by in situ monitoring anodization of thin aluminum films

The aim of the present work is to optimize a well-known plasmon-based aluminum/porous anodic alumina sensor. This kind of sensors is produced by partial electrochemical anodization of an aluminum film, while the remaining, non-anodized metallic film is used for supporting the propagation of surface plasmons. The anodized porous alumina is preferable against a flat solid surface as it presents much larger sensing area and thus enhanced detecting efficiency. In this work, a novel method for controlling the remaining aluminum film thickness is reported, based on a simple optical reflectance measurement during the electrochemical anodization of the initial metallic film.