Abstract
This study presents a numerical investigation of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors incorporating silicon nitride (Si(3)N(4)) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2)) for HIV DNA hybridization detection. By optimizing the thickness of Ag and Si(3)N(4) and the number of MoS(2) layers, two configurations, Sys(2) (Ag-Si(3)N(4)) and Sys(3) (Ag-Si(3)N(4)-MoS(2)), were selected for comparative analysis. Performance metrics, including the resonance angle shift, sensitivity, detection accuracy, and quality factor, demonstrated that Sys(2) achieved the highest sensitivity of 210.9°/RIU and an enhanced figure of merit (86.98 RIU(-1)), surpassing state-of-the-art SPR sensors. Although Sys(3) exhibited a lower sensitivity of 158.1°/RIU due to MoS(2)-induced optical losses, it provided a lower limit of detection, suggesting a trade-off between sensitivity and spectral broadening. Compared to previous SPR biosensors, the proposed configurations achieve superior sensitivity while maintaining stability and selectivity, positioning them as promising candidates for next-generation nucleic acid detection platforms.