Experimental study on a high-sensitivity optical fiber sensor in wide-range refractive index detection
Xiaojian Meng, Jianshe Li, Ying Guo, Yundong Liu, Shuguang Li, Haitao Guo, Weihong Bi, Huibin Lu, Tonglei Cheng
Abstract
A novel plasmonic sensor based on a photonic crystal fiber has been fabricated. Experimental results show that 2 cm is an optimal fiber length of the sensor for refractive index monitoring. It is found that the average wavelength sensitivity and the resolution of the proposed sensor are 4000 nm/RIU and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>2.5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thickmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">R</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">I</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">U</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> in the wind range of 1.3333–1.4035, respectively. In addition, this paper presents a set of operation flat roofs that is used in the side-polished fiber technique. Moreover, two effective methods of coating silver film are discussed in detail. The research in this paper has enlightening significance for exploring new optical fiber sensing technology and will open a new design methodology for optical fiber sensors.