Refractometers for different refractive index range by surface plasmon resonance sensors in multimode optical fibers with different metals

Abstract

We have realized a plasmonic sensor based on Au/Pd metal bilayer in a multimode plastic optical fiber. This metal bilayer, based on a metal with high imaginary part of the refractive index and gold, shows interesting properties in terms of sensitivity and performances, in different refractive index ranges. The development of highly sensitive platforms for high refractive index detection (higher than 1.38) is interesting for chemical applications based on molecularly imprinted polymer as receptors, while the aqueous medium is the refractive index range of biosensors based on bio–receptors. In this work we have presented an Au/Pd metal bilayer optimized for 1.38-1.42 refractive index range.