Abstract
In this work, we experimentally analyzed the effect of tapering in light-diffusing optical fibers (LDFs) when employed as surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based sensors. Although tapering is commonly adopted to enhance the performance of plasmonic optical fiber sensors, we have demonstrated that in the case of plasmonic sensors based on LDFs, the tapering produces a significant worsening of the bulk sensitivity (roughly 60% in the worst case), against a slight decrease in the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the SPR spectra. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that these aspects become more pronounced when the taper ratio increases. Secondly, we have established that a possible alternative exists in using the tapered LDF as a modal filter after the sensible region. In such a case, we have determined that a good trade-off between the loss in sensitivity and the FWHM decrease could be reached.
Highlights
Cennamo et al have recently presented an experimental analysis of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors based on tapered plastic optical fibers, confirming the theoretical predictions [23]
SPR sensors based on tapered optical fibers have been exploited in several application fields, such as water pollutant detection [24,25], magnetic field sensing [26], and many others [27,28,29]
We explored the use of tapered silica light-diffusing optical fibers (LDFs) in plasmonic sensors configurations
Summary
When using an optical fiber as the SPR medium, additional advantages, such as immunity to electromagnetic interference, remote sensing capabilities, a light weight, etc., can be obtained [4,5,6,7,8,9]. In this case, both silica and polymeric optical fibers (POF) can be used to develop groundbreaking sensors in several application fields [10,11,12,13].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
