Double Sided Photonic Crystal Fiber PCF Temperature and Refractive Index RI Sensor Based On Surface Plasmon Resonance SPR
Double Sided Photonic Crystal Fiber PCF Temperature and Refractive Index RI Sensor Based On Surface Plasmon Resonance SPR
Double Sided Photonic Crystal Fiber PCF Temperature and Refractive Index RI Sensor Based On Surface Plasmon Resonance SPR
To cite this article: Jia-Kai Wang, Yu Ying, Zhi-jun Gao, Ke Xu, Qi Qi & Guang-yuan Si (2023)
Double-sided photonic crystal fiber (PCF) temperature and refractive index (RI) sensor based
on surface plasmon resonance (SPR), Instrumentation Science & Technology, 51:1, 1-15, DOI:
10.1080/10739149.2022.2078835
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
A double-sided photonic crystal fiber (PCF) temperature and Photonic crystal fiber (PCF);
refractive index (RI) sensor based on surface plasmon reson- surface plasmon resonance
ance (SPR) is reported to simultaneously measure temperature (SPR); temperature and
refractive index (RI) sensor
and RI. An arc groove covered with gold is filled with chloro-
form for temperature detection. The D-shaped plane coated
with silver is in direct contact with the analyte to provide the
RI. Two independent channels distinguish temperature and RI
changes, thus completely solving the cross-sensitivity problem.
The sensing characteristics of the plane coating, arc coating,
and inner ring coating are discussed. The influence of gold
film closure on the optimum RI measurement range was iden-
tified, and the best sensing structure of chloroform as a tem-
perature-sensitive material is obtained. The sensing
characteristics of different types of metal films are investi-
gated. It is concluded that the band separation may be
achieved by plating gold film and silver film in the arc groove
and D-plane, respectively. The influence of the central angle
of the arc groove on the sensor characteristics was investi-
gated. High-order resonance may be avoided at a 180 center
angle. The influence of the thickness of the metal film on the
sensitivity of the sensor is studied numerically, and the opti-
mal coating thickness is 50 nm. This work simplifies the selec-
tion of the RI range of sensing materials and provides a new
approach to solve the high-order resonance and band interfer-
ence in SPR multi-parameter sensors.
Introduction
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a phenomenon that occurs when evan-
escent waves encounter plasma waves on the surface of the metallic
film.[1,2] Currently, SPR has been widely applied in biological detection,[3,4]
Figure 1. Schematic of the sensing system where PCF is the photonic crystal fiber and OSA is
the optical spectrum analyzer.
literature report,[14] this paper identifies the relationship between the influence
of the degree of gold film closure on the RI limit and provides the band separ-
ation of temperature and RI measurement simultaneously. This study identifies
a theoretical basis for the study of optical fiber surface coatings in the future
and promotes the further development of PCF multi-parameter sensors.
The silver-coated plane is directly in contact with the analyte, and the external
RI is measured by stimulating the x-polarization of the fiber core. Two inde-
pendent channels independently separate temperature and RI changes, and
simultaneously measure multiple parameters without matrix equations.
The COMSOL Multiphysics software was used to model the cross-section
of the double-sided PCF. The model is divided into 22547 domain elements
and 2129 boundary elements as shown in Figure 3.
The finite element method (FEM) was used to analyze the model. The
intersection of the real part of the core mode and the real part of the SPP
mode in the temperature sensing channel (channel I) is shown in Figure 4.
The real part of the effective mode RI (Re(neff)) of the core model is
depicted by the black line. The Re(neff) of the SPP mode is depicted by the
red line. The resonance is strongest when the black and red lines inter-
sect.[17] The strongest energy coupling between the fiber core and the gold
film surface is reached at the intersection point k1 equal to 860 nm.
The core mode real part and SPP mode real part in the RI sensing chan-
nel (channel II) are shown in Figure 5. The meanings of the red line, black
line, and intersection points are similar to those in Figure 4. The strongest
energy coupling between the fiber core and the silver film surface is
reached at the intersection point k2 equal to 555 nm.
As shown in Figure 6, the loss spectra of channel I and channel II were
obtained by simulating the electric field distribution mode. The confine-
ment loss is expressed by:[18]
2p
Loss ¼ 8:686 Imðneff Þ 104 dB=cm (2)
k
where k is the wavelength of the transmitted light and Imðneff Þ is the
imaginary part of the effective RI. In Figure 6, the x-polarization of channel
I and the x-polarization of channel II are depicted by the black and red
lines, respectively. The loss peak appearing at k1 equal to 860 nm in chan-
nel I was used to measure the temperature. The loss peak appearing at k2
equal to 555 nm in channel II was used to measure the RI.
INSTRUMENTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 5
Figure 3. Double-sided photonic crystal fiber (PCF) geometry and mesh divider.
Figure 4. Dispersion relationship of the real components of the effective refractive index
between the core mode and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode in channel I at RI ¼ 1.355
and T ¼ 20 C.
Figure 5. Dispersion relationship of the real components of the effective refractive index
between the core mode and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode in channel II at T ¼ 20 C
and RI ¼ 1.355.
Figure 6. Loss spectra in channel I and channel II at T ¼ 20 C and RI ¼ 1.355 where x-pol rep-
resents the x-polarization.
the previous section. The thickness of the gold film in channel I of the
three structures is 50 nm. Schematic diagrams of the three models are
shown in Figure 7. The identification of optimum RI measurement range
of different structures provides a theoretical basis for subsequent structural
innovation and sensor material selection.
To obtain the best RI sensing range for different structures, the ampli-
tude sensitivity was introduced as a measurement index. When the ampli-
tude sensitivity drops suddenly or is too small, this indicates that the
sensor performance can no longer meet the requirements. The amplitude
sensitivity is expressed by:[19]
SðRIU1 Þ ¼ @aðk, na Þ=@na =aðk, na Þ (3)
where @aðk, na Þ is the change of modal loss value, @na is the change in RI,
and aðk, na Þ is the modal loss value under RI na :
First, for the plane coating model in Figures 7a and 8a shows the loss
spectra in the RI range from 1.33 to 1.38 RIU. The loss curve is no longer
smooth when the RI is 1.38 because the flat coating structure can no longer
restrict the light transmission in the fiber core, resulting in mode diver-
gence. Figure 8b shows the amplitude sensitivity. The maximum value of
the amplitude sensitivity is 311.9 RIU1 when the RI is 1.35. The amplitude
sensitivity is relatively large for RI values between 1.35 and 1.37 RIU.
Figure 8 shows that the optimal RI measurement range for the structure is
between 1.35 and 1.37 RIU.
Second, for the arc coating model in Figures 7b and 9a shows the loss
spectra for RI values between 1.40 and 1.45 RIU. When the RI is 1.45, the
loss peak becomes abnormally large and an interference peak appears due
to the interference of higher-order resonances. At this point, the loss peak
does not accurately reflect the change in RI.
Figure 9b shows the amplitude sensitivity which is unusually high at RI
1.44, which is caused by the anomalous loss at RI 1.45. As the RI decreases
INSTRUMENTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 7
Figure 7. Three sensing structure models: (a) plane coating, (b) arc coating, and (c) inner
ring coating.
Figure 8. (a) Loss spectra from 1.33 to 1.38 RIU. (b) Amplitude sensitivity from 1.33 to
1.37 RIU.
Figure 9. (a) Loss spectra from 1.40 to 1.45 RIU. (b) Amplitude sensitivity from 1.40 to
1.44 RIU.
Figure 10. (a) Loss spectra from 1.44 to 1.50 RIU. (b) Amplitude sensitivity from 1.44 to 1.49 RIU.
the gold film becomes small. In this study, the arc coating is chosen
because the RI of chloroform is between 1.420 and 1.445 (20 to 60 C).
This finding provides a theoretical basis for future sensor work for coat-
ings. Depending on the structure, different RI sensing structures may be
selected. This finding simplifies the simulation process by making the selec-
tion of sensing materials more purposeful.
Figure 11. Loss spectra using gold, silver, and copper metal films in channel I at RI ¼ 1.375
and T ¼ 60 C.
Figure 12. Loss spectra using gold, silver, and copper metal films in channel II at T ¼ 60 C
and RI ¼ 1.375.
Table 2. Signal-to-noise ratios for three metal films at two refractive indices.
Signal-to-noise ratio
Refractive index Au Cu Ag
1.355
1.365 3.2536 2.2043 2.3077
1.375 6.6527 4.5719 5.3846
when the gold film is used for the arc groove. In addition, when the gold
film is used in the arc groove, the position of the resonance peak is furthest
to the right at 60 C. Therefore, it is necessary to sacrifice some SNR to
obtain band separation when choosing a metal film on the D-shaped plane.
By observing the positions of the three resonance peaks in Figure 12, it can
be seen that the silver film is optimum.
10 J.-K. WANG ET AL.
Figure 13. Loss spectra of three central angles in channel I: h ¼ 110 , 180 , and 250 .
Influence of the Central angle of the arc groove upon the optical properties
In this section, the influence of the central angle of the arc groove on
optical properties is discussed. Since the variation of the central angle only
affects the sensing characteristics of channel I, only the loss spectrum of
channel I is provided in Figure 13. For convenience, the loss spectra at
40 C are considered here.
The SNRs for three central angles at two temperatures are shown in
Table 3. Table 3 shows that the SNR is the highest when the central angle
of the arc groove is 180 . As can be seen from Figure 13, the loss spectrum
at the 250 central angle has a peak when the temperature is 40 C, but
there is a severe interference which is caused by the higher-order reson-
ance. According to Figure 13 and Table 3, when the central angle of the
arc groove is 180 , the SNR is high and there are no interferences.
Therefore, the central angle of the arc groove was selected to be 180 .
Influence of gold film and silver film thicknesses upon the optical properties
In this section, the influence of different thicknesses of gold and silver films
on the optical properties are discussed. Too thin a metal film can make
processing difficult, and too thick a metal film leads to unnecessary cost.
Therefore, in channel I, different loss spectra were analyzed for gold film
thicknesses from 40 to 60 nm as shown in Figure 14. The SNRs for three
gold film thicknesses at two temperatures are shown in Table 4.
The temperature sensing is the optimum when the thickness of the gold
film is 50 nm because when other conditions are certain, the number of free
electrons on the surface of the gold film is proportional to the thickness of
the gold film, and the strength of the SPR phenomenon is proportional to the
number of free electrons. However, in practice, very thick gold films absorb
more free electrons[21] and weaken the SPR phenomenon.
INSTRUMENTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 11
Figure 14. Loss spectra in channel I for h1 ¼ 40 nm, 50 nm, and 60 nm.
Table 4. Signal-to-noise ratios for three gold film thicknesses at two temperatures.
Signal-to-noise ratio
Temperature ( C) h1 ¼ 40 nm h1 ¼ 50 nm h1 ¼ 60 nm
20
40 3.2754 5.5556 2.1527
60 6.5641 9.7037 4.7468
Figure 15. Loss spectra in channel II for h2 ¼ 40 nm, 50 nm, and 60 nm.
Table 5. Signal-to-noise ratios for three gold ring thicknesses at two refractive indices.
Signal-to-noise ratio
Refractive index h2 ¼ 40 nm h2 ¼ 50 nm h2 ¼ 60 nm
1.355
1.365 1.4396 2.3077 1.2378
1.375 2.8953 5.3846 2.5077
Figure 16. (a) Loss spectra of the sensor as a function of temperature. (b) Relationship
between the loss peak and the temperature.
as the RI increases from 1.355 to 1.375. The linear fit between the reson-
ance wavelength and the RI change is shown in Figure 16b. The RI sensi-
tivity of the sensor is 3480 nm/RIU in the range from 1.355 to 1.375 RIU,
and the correlation coefficient between the resonance wavelength and tem-
perature change is 0.9968.
Figure 17. (a) Loss spectra of the sensor as a function of refractive index. (b) Relationship
between the loss peak and the RI.
Conclusions
A double-sided PCF temperature and RI sensor based on SPR is described.
The optical properties of the structure were analyzed by FEM. The results
showed that the sensor simultaneously measured temperature and RI in
two independent channels. The influence of gold film closure on the opti-
mal RI measurement range was found, and the optimal sensing structure of
chloroform as a temperature-sensitive material was obtained. The influence
of the central angle of the arc groove on the sensor characteristics was
investigated. When the central angle is 180 , higher-order resonance was
avoided. The results showed that the temperature sensitivity is 3.05 nm/ C
with a correlation coefficient of 0.9979 from 20 to 60 C. The RI sensitivity
is 3480 nm/RIU with a correlation coefficient of 0.9968 between 1.355 and
1.375 RIU. With high sensitivity and no cross-sensitivity, this double-sided
PCF temperature and RI sensor has a wide potential range of applications.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest involving this study.
Funding
This work was supported by National Key R & D Program of China (grant number
2021YFB3201600) and Innovation Leadership Program in Sciences and Technologies for
Young and Middle-aged Scientists of Shenyang City (RC200026). This work was performed
in part at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication in the Victorian Node of the
Australian National Fabrication Facility.
14 J.-K. WANG ET AL.
ORCID
Jia-Kai Wang http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7374-8605
Zhi-jun Gao http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3280-7741
Guang-yuan Si http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6060-2482
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