Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for detecting a surface plasmon resonance. The apparatus may radiate a polarized beam of light to a device, such as a surface plasmon resonance generator, and may measure variations in a temperature of the device to detect whether a surface plasmon resonance has occurred. The detection of a surface plasmon resonance may be associated with the presence of a particular material such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or materials disrupting ozone, for example.