A compact fiber tip refractive index sensor using FIB-milled gold-coated singlemode-multimode-singlemode structure is demonstrated. Focused ion beam (FIB) is exploited to cut the fiber tip to obtain a flat end-face and then a layer of gold is coated on the tip surface, to increase its reflection. An average sensitivity of 265 nm/RIU is obtained experimentally with a ~2.94 μm diameter singlemode-multimode-singlemode fiber tip (SMST). Because of several advantages, including compactness, ease of fabrication, linear response, high sensitivity, easy connection with other fiberized optical components and low cost, this refractive index sensor could find various applications in chemical and biological area.

Date Published: 2 June 2014
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 9157, 23rd International Conference on Optical Fibre Sensors, 915781 (2 June 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2059382

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9157:
23rd International Conference on Optical Fibre Sensors
José M. López-Higuera; Julian D. C. Jones; Manuel López-Amo; José Luis Santos, Editor(s)