Resonant enhancement of plasmonic nanostructured fiber optic sensors

Year: 2018

Authors: Malara P., Crescitelli A., Di Meo V., Giorgini A., Avino S., Esposito E., Ricciardi A., Cusano A., Rendina I., De Natale P., Gagliardi G.

Autors Affiliation: CNR, INO, Via Campi Flegrei,34 Comprensorio A Olivetti, I-80078 Naples, Italy; CNR, IMM, Via Pietro Castellino 111, I-80131 Naples, Italy; Univ Sannio, Optoelect & Photon Grp, Corso Garibaldi 107, I-82100 Benevento, Italy; CNR, INO, Largo E Fermi 6, I-50125 Florence, Italy.

Abstract: Improving the sensing capabilities of miniaturized probes nanofabricated on the tip of optical fibers is crucial for a large number of sensing applications in remote and harsh environ-ments. While most research efforts are directed towards developing improved fabrications techniques or more sensitive structures, we show that the performance of these sensors can be significantly enhanced by designing an appropriate interrogation strategy. In our scheme, a nanostructured plasmonic fiber probe is included in an optical fiber resonator and interrogated with a single-mode laser. A wavelength shift of the plasmonic resonance generates a mismatch of the resonator optical impedance, which is monitored and actively compensated by an optoelectronic gain element. We characterize the technique using samples with different refractive index and compare its performance to a
conventional sensing scheme. Our cavity-enhanced configuration leads to a 50-fold improvement of the probe’s refractive index resolution (corresponding to a detection limit of 10−5 RIU, the lowest reported so far for this type of sensors). The demonstrated measurement scheme can be devised with any fiber-optic sensor that responds with a resonance shift or with an attenuation of the transmitted/reflected intensity.

Journal/Review: SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL

Volume: 273      Pages from: 1587  to: 1592

KeyWords: Nanofabrication; Fiber optics; Nanotechnology; Optical fiber fabrication; Optical fibers; Plasmonics; Plasmons; Probes; Refractive index; Resonators, Nanostructured fibers; Plasmonic resonances; Plasmonic sensors; Research efforts; Resonant enhancements; Sensing applications; Sensitive structure; Single-mode lasers, Fiber optic sensors
DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2018.07.030

Citations: 16
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