High-sensitivity photonic crystal fiber refractive index sensor based on directional coupler

Abstract

A high-sensitivity photonic crystal fiber (PCF) refractive index sensor based on the resonant coupling of core mode and defect mode is studied by the finite element method. The large liquid-filled is placed near to the core for easy coupling with the core mode. The simulation results show that when the refractive index of the analyte is 1.425–1.45 and 1.45–1.46, the average sensitivity is 60,611 and 28,000 nm/RIU respectively, and the corresponding minimum detection limits are 1.58 × 10−6 and 2.86 × 10−6 RIU.