A pH optical fiber sensor based on electromagnetic resonances generated in a waveguide-nanocoating interface is presented here. The incorporation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into polymeric thin films has been deeply studied and the deposition of these thin-films onto an optical fiber core has been performed in order to obtain a resonance-based optical fiber device. The presence of both the metal nanoparticles and the polymers in the coating allows the generation of two different electromagnetic resonances: localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and lossy mode resonance (LMR). These phenomena can be simultaneously observed in the transmitted spectrum. The resultant device has shown a high sensitivity to pH changes from pH 4.0 to pH 6.0, with a large dynamical range and a very fast response.

Date Published: 21 May 2015
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9517, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VII; and Cyber Physical Systems, 95171W (21 May 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2179970

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9517:
Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VII; and Cyber Physical Systems
José Luis Sánchez-Rojas; Riccardo Brama, Editor(s)