Refractive index sensor based on SPR in symmetrically etched plastic optical fibers

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. A. Physical. 2016-08, Vol.246, p.163-169
• Main Authors: Al-Qazwini, Yusser, Noor, A.S.M., Al-Qazwini, Zaineb, Yaacob, Mohd H., Harun, S.W., Mahdi, M.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Detection; Etching; Fibers; FWHM; Gold; Optical fibers; Plastic optical fiber; Refractive index sensor; Refractivity; Sensitivity; Sensors; Spectrometers; Surface plasmon resonance
• ISSN: 0924-4247; 1873-3069
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sna.2016.04.064

•We fabricated an SPR sensor based on symmetrically etched plastic optical fibers.•The etching method used ensures the geometrical circular symmetry of the optical fiber.•We investigated the impact of the design parameters such as gold thickness, residual fiber thickness, and sensing length.•The performance of the sensor in terms of its sensitivity, detection accuracy, and robustness is tuned by the studied parameters. In this work, we fabricate and characterize a surface plasmon resonance sensor based on etched plastic optical fibers. The etching method used ensures the geometrical circular symmetry of the optical fiber. The sensor was tested by immersion in sensing solutions of different refractive indices and the transmittance is measured using a spectrometer system. The sensor performance in terms of sensitivity and detection accuracy can be controlled by adjusting the design parameters such as gold thickness, residual fiber thickness, and sensing length. We realized a sensitive, cost-effective, and robust sensor suitable for aqueous media sensing by reducing the overall fiber thickness up to 964μm with a sensing length of 10mm coated with a thin gold film of around 55nm. The demonstrated sensor exhibits a sensitivity of 1600nm/RIU and a full width at half maximum of around 154nm.