| abstract |
The present invention addresses the problem of providing spherical zinc oxide particles which have particle diameters within a specific range, have excellent monodispersity, and have a high plasmon-resonance intensity. Also provided are a process for producing the spherical zinc oxide particles and a plasmon sensor chip obtained using the spherical zinc oxide particles, the chip having high sensitivity and being reduced in angle dependence during measurement.nThe spherical zinc oxide particles have been doped with one or more metallic elements selected from the group consisting of gallium (Ga), europium (Eu), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), samarium (Sm), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), niobium (Nd), and ytterbium (Yb), have an average particle diameter within the range of 50-5,000 nm, and have a coefficient of variation in particle diameter distribution within the range of 1.0-10%. |