A Narrow Groove Structure Based Plasmonic Refractive Index Sensor

A refractive index (RI) sensor based on plastic optical fiber (POF) with narrow groove structures coated with a gold layer (POF-NGS (Au)) is proposed and demonstrated. The proposed sensor was characterized using intensity interrogation, where the change in transmission power is induced by light filed interaction and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). Narrow groove structures with lengths of 5 mm were fabricated using an ultraviolet laser, and a gold layer was sputtered to the surface of the whole fiber. The effect of the machining pitch on the RI response was studied. In this paper, dB and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> were used to represent the change of transmission power. Experiments have shown that the POF-NGS (Au) RI sensor has liner response between 1.340 and 1.356. The curvature of the output is largest when the machining pitch is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$400~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> with sensitivity 12.5 dB/RIU (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$126~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>/RIU). The repeatability and temperature sensitivity characteristics were also characterized. Furthermore, the proposed sensor offers improved stability and signal to noise ratio.

[1]  Mohammad Tausiful Islam,et al.  Exposed-core localized surface plasmon resonance biosensor , 2019, Journal of the Optical Society of America B.

[2]  Chi Chiu Chan,et al.  Photonic crystal fiber refractive index sensor based on a fiber Bragg grating demodulation , 2012 .

[3]  Libo Yuan,et al.  Liquid Level Sensor Based on a V-Groove Structure Plastic Optical Fiber , 2018, Sensors.

[4]  J. H. Weaver,et al.  Optical constants of Cu, Ag, and Au revisited , 2015 .

[5]  Luigi Zeni,et al.  Monitoring of Low Levels of Furfural in Power Transformer Oil with a Sensor System Based on a POF-MIP Platform , 2015, Sensors.

[6]  N. Jing,et al.  Refractive Index Sensing Based on a Side-Polished Macrobend Plastic Optical Fiber Combining Surface Plasmon Resonance and Macrobending Loss , 2019, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[7]  Weijian Tian,et al.  A CNT-coated refractive index sensor based on Michelson interferometer with thin-core fiber , 2018, Optical Fiber Technology.

[8]  J. Shin,et al.  High‐sensitivity refractive index sensors based on in‐line holes in plastic optical fiber , 2015 .

[9]  Yong Zhao,et al.  Fiber optic SPR sensor for refractive index and temperature measurement based on MMF-FBG-MMF structure , 2016 .

[10]  Investigation of refractive index sensors based on side-polished plastic optical fibers , 2017 .

[11]  A. Corso,et al.  SPR Sensor Platform Based on a Novel Metal Bilayer Applied on D–Shaped Plastic Optical Fibers for Refractive Index Measurements in the Range 1.38–1.42 , 2016, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[12]  Meihua Bi,et al.  A Sensitivity-Enhanced Refractive Index Sensor Using a Single-Mode Thin-Core Fiber Incorporating an Abrupt Taper , 2012, Sensors.

[13]  A. Subrahmanyam,et al.  Gold Sputtered U-Bent Plastic Optical Fiber Probes as SPR- and LSPR-Based Compact Plasmonic Sensors , 2018, Plasmonics.

[14]  Patricia Scully,et al.  Chemical tapering of polymer optical fibre , 1999 .

[15]  Jie Zheng,et al.  The influence of temperature to a refractive index sensor based on a macro-bending tapered plastic optical fiber , 2016 .

[16]  Lin Zhang,et al.  Optical RI sensor based on an in-fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot cavity embedded with a micro-channel , 2012, Other Conferences.

[17]  Yulong Hou,et al.  Two-dimensional displacement optical fiber sensor based on macro-bending effect , 2019 .

[18]  Jian Liang,et al.  Low-Cost Multipoint Liquid-Level Sensor With Plastic Optical Fiber , 2014, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[19]  Cosimo Trono,et al.  Improvement in refractive index sensitivity by means of internally curved long period fiber gratings , 2014, Other Conferences.

[20]  Ke Li,et al.  Optical Fiber Refractometer Based on a Long-Period Grating Inscribed in a Fiber Loop Mirror , 2012, 2012 Symposium on Photonics and Optoelectronics.

[21]  Derek Abbott,et al.  A Hi-Bi Ultra-Sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance Fiber Sensor , 2019, IEEE Access.

[22]  Jia Liu,et al.  A Cost-Effective Relative Humidity Sensor Based on Side Coupling Induction Technology , 2017, Sensors.

[23]  Hao Zhang,et al.  Low-Temperature Cross-Sensitivity Refractive Index Sensor Based on Single-Mode Fiber With Periodically Modulated Taper , 2016, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[24]  Derek Abbott,et al.  Localized surface plasmon resonance biosensor: an improved technique for SERS response intensification. , 2019, Optics letters.

[25]  Guanxiu Liu,et al.  D-Shaped Plastic Optical Fiber Sensor for Testing Refractive Index , 2014, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[26]  Yong Zhao,et al.  High sensitivity refractive index sensor based on splicing points tapered SMF-PCF-SMF structure Mach-Zehnder mode interferometer , 2016 .

[27]  M. Pesavento,et al.  Towards the development of cascaded surface plasmon resonance POF sensors exploiting gold films and synthetic recognition elements for detection of contaminants in transformer oil , 2017 .

[28]  B. D. Gupta,et al.  Surface-plasmon-resonance-based fiber-optic refractive index sensor: sensitivity enhancement. , 2011, Applied optics.

[29]  Humberto Varum,et al.  Liquid level gauge based in plastic optical fiber , 2015 .

[30]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Reflective tilted fiber Bragg grating refractometer based on strong cladding to core recoupling. , 2009, Optics express.