Abstract
With the increasing demand of achieving comprehensive perception in every aspect of life, optical fibers have shown great potential in various applications due to their highly-sensitive, highly-integrated, flexible and real-time sensing capabilities. Among various sensing mechanisms, plasmonics based fiber-optic sensors provide remarkable sensitivity benefiting from their outstanding plasmon–matter interaction. Therefore, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and localized SPR (LSPR)-based hybrid fiber-optic sensors have captured intensive research attention. Conventionally, SPR- or LSPR-based hybrid fiber-optic sensors rely on the resonant electron oscillations of thin metallic films or metallic nanoparticles functionalized on fiber surfaces. Coupled with the new advances in functional nanomaterials as well as fiber structure design and fabrication in recent years, new solutions continue to emerge to further improve the fiber-optic plasmonic sensors’ performances in terms of sensitivity, specificity and biocompatibility. For instance, 2D materials like graphene can enhance the surface plasmon intensity at the metallic film surface due to the plasmon–matter interaction. Two-dimensional (2D) morphology of transition metal oxides can be doped with abundant free electrons to facilitate intrinsic plasmonics in visible or near-infrared frequencies, realizing exceptional field confinement and high sensitivity detection of analyte molecules. Gold nanoparticles capped with macrocyclic supramolecules show excellent selectivity to target biomolecules and ultralow limits of detection. Moreover, specially designed microstructured optical fibers are able to achieve high birefringence that can suppress the output inaccuracy induced by polarization crosstalk and meanwhile deliver promising sensitivity. This review aims to reveal and explore the frontiers of such hybrid plasmonic fiber-optic platforms in various sensing applications.
Highlights
Plasmonic fiber-optic sensors have captured intensive research attention in recent years due to their high degree of integration, high sensitivity, flexibility and remote-sensing capability [1,2,3].Fiber-optic plasmonic sensors can be generally classified into two categories, surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based sensors and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based sensors
To further improve the measurement accuracy, sensitivity and selectivity to analyte molecules, specially designed fiber structures or functional materials are normally applied to strengthen the intensity of surface plasmon or the adsorption to target molecules
(LPG) (Figure adapted with permission from reference [12]). (b) tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG)
Summary
Plasmonic fiber-optic sensors have captured intensive research attention in recent years due to their high degree of integration, high sensitivity, flexibility and remote-sensing capability [1,2,3]. SPR- and LSPR-based hybrid fiber-optic sensors are realized by depositing thin metal films and metallic nanoparticles on various fiber structures (e.g., fiber gratings, side-polished fiber, microfiber, etc.). Reveal new opportunities in plasmon–matter enhancement by constructing 2D material/metal hybrid plasmonic structures or heavily doping-free carriers in 2D TMOs to realize intrinsic strong plasmonics in frequently used visible or near-infrared (NIR) optical windows. The exploration of how the highly birefringent MOF based SPR sensor can suppress polarization crosstalk and improve sensitivity in the meantime; how to integrate graphene-on-gold hybrid structure on the fiber-optic platform to strengthen the surface plasmon intensity and to effectively adsorb biomolecules; how to dope abundant free electrons in 2D. MoO3 and achieve highly integrated microfiber based plasmonic sensing in NIR optical frequencies; how to synthesize cyclodextrin-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in a one-step process and realize microfiber based highly selective detection of cholesterol in human serum, etc. MoO3 and achieve highly integrated microfiber based plasmonic sensing in NIR optical frequencies; how to synthesize cyclodextrin-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in a one-step process and realize microfiber based highly selective detection of cholesterol in human serum, etc. will be demonstrated
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