A biomolecular sensor system utilizing a transverse propagation wave of
surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is described. The system comprises: a
substrate; a dielectric layer, having a groove therein and standing on
top of the substrate; a sensing film layer, sitting at the groove; a pair
of prism devices, each resting on one side of the groove and both
separating a tunable distance. Besides, the sensor system further
comprises a light source, a light detector (a frontend of which
connecting to a spectrometer and a backend connecting to a differential
amplifier) and a channel with a cover forming inside the groove for the
acquisition of the reflected light from the prism devices. Since the
sensor system is constructed by exploiting the SPR technique on the
transverse propagation, a whole contact surface is under detection
(parallel detection) which differentiates it from the traditional method
of single-area SPR detection. The sensor system is applicable not only
for the far-infrared remote sensing with a transverse distance of several
centimeters, but further for the biomedical sensing applications in the
miniature sizing and high throughput.