Reflective-distributed SPR sensor based on twin-core fiber

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate a reflective-distributed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on the twin-core fiber. Firstly, we study the effects of the fiber dual tapered (DT) probe grinding angle on the SPR dynamic range. The results show that for larger grinding angles, the resonance wavelength increases, resulting in a higher testing sensitivity. By using this method, we can make the sensor operate in an optimal waveband. Secondly, on the basis of the results above, we grind the DT probe to be an asymmetric wedge shape to configure two grinding angles (6° and 17°) to realize the distributed sensing. Results show that, with the refractive index detecting a range of 1.333–1.385, we can get two separated sensing zones, 591–715nm and 729–966nm, the testing sensitivity are 2385nm/RIU and 4558nm/RIU respectively. By using this method, we can detect multiple analytes in the same sensing area simultaneously, besides that we can also effectively compensate for the errors caused by background index interference, and the refractive index change resulting from the non-specific binding, or physical absorption and others. It worth to say that by using this method, we can adjust and control the resonance wavelength by changing the fiber grinding angle, while keeping the testing sensitivity is not reduced. For practical applications, this reflective distributed fiber-based sensor is much suitable for biochemical sensing, it has small size and can enter a small testing spaces (μm scale). The diameter of the twin-core fiber is the only 125μm, which helps to be integrated into a micro-fluidic chip. In this paper, we integrate the fiber probe into an infusion needle to simulate blood vessels on-line monitoring.