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We report an effective surface immobilization protocol for capture of Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells 2 (TREM2), a receptor whose elevated concentration in cerebrospinal fluid has recently been associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We employ the proposed surface functionalization scheme to design, fabricate, and assess a biochemical sensing platform based on plasmonic interferometry that is able to detect physiological concentrations of TREM2 in solution. These findings open up opportunities for label-free biosensing of TREM2 in its soluble form in various bodily fluids as an early indicator of the onset of clinical dementia in AD. We also show that plasmonic interferometry can be a powerful tool to monitor and optimize surface immobilization schemes, which could be applied to develop other relevant antibody tests. 

Abstract Integration of nanoscale photonic and plasmonic components on Si substrates is a critical step toward Si‐based integrated nanophotonic devices. In this work, a set of unique complex 3D metamaterials with intercalated nanolayered and nanopillar structures with tunable plasmonic and optical properties on Si substrates is designed. More specifically, the 3D metamaterials combine metal (Au) nanopillars and alternating metal‐nitride (Au‐TiN and Au‐TaN) nanolayers, epitaxially grown on Si substrates. The ultrafine Au nanopillars (d≈ 3 nm) continuously grow throughout all the nanolayers with high epitaxial quality. Novel optical properties, such as highly anisotropic optical property, high absorbance covering the entire visible spectrum regime, and hyperbolic property in the visible regime, are demonstrated. Furthermore, a waveguide based on a silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) ridge with a multilayer structure is successfully fabricated. The demonstration of 3D nanoscale metamaterial design integrated on Si opens up a new route toward tunable metamaterials nanostructure designs with versatile material selection for various optical components in Si integrated photonics.