Sensing self-referenced fiber optic long-range surface plasmon resonance sensor based on electronic coupling between...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Optical Sensing
• Plasmonics

Background:

• Fiber optic sensors are crucial for real-time monitoring.
• Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors offer high sensitivity.
• Improving the sensitivity and accuracy of SPR sensors is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel hollow gold nanoparticle (HGNP)-modified fiber optic long-range surface plasmon resonance (LRSPR) sensor.
• To investigate the enhanced sensing properties of HGNP-modified LRSPR sensors compared to traditional ones.
• To develop a self-referencing sensor for improved detection accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a fiber optic LRSPR sensor modified with HGNPs.
• Utilizing the coupling between LRSPR and HGNP localized surface plasmon polaritons (LSPPs).
• Employing finite element method (FEM) for mode-field distribution simulation.

Main Results:

• HGNPs enhance the plasmonic field, leading to signal amplification.
• The HGNP-modified LRSPR sensor showed a 1874.79 nm/RIU improvement in sensitivity.
• Achieved a 1.42-fold improvement in figure of merit (FOM) and a 50% reduction in limit of detection (LOD).

Conclusions:

• The HGNP-modified LRSPR sensor exhibits significantly enhanced sensing performance.
• The sensor provides high detection accuracy, FOM, and low LOD for biochemical detection.
• This technology holds potential for remote, real-time online monitoring in biochemical applications.