We present an optical sensor based on excitation of surface plasma waves in optical fiber structure consisting of a side-polished single-mode polarization-maintaining fiber and a metal overlayer. We describe two modes of operation of the sensor in which variations in the refractive index of the sample are determined by measuring changes in the transmitted optical power at a fixed wavelength (amplitude mode) and by measuring changes in the wavelength at which the resonant attenuation of the fiber mode occurs (spectral mode). We demonstrate that this design allows suppressing sensitivity of the sensor to deformation of the fiber yielding an improved stability and resolution.

Date Published: 8 May 2001
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 4416, Optical Engineering for Sensing and Nanotechnology (ICOSN 2001), (8 May 2001); doi: 10.1117/12.427016

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4416:
Optical Engineering for Sensing and Nanotechnology (ICOSN 2001)
Koichi Iwata, Editor(s)