We demonstrate the use of cost-effective tapered telecommunication fiber in refractive index-based sensing when operated in the visible range of wavelength. To fabricate the tapered fiber, a two-step chemical-etching method is adopted. The two-step etching method is quintessential in overcoming issues such as the uncontrollable etching of Ge-doped silica fibers by hydrofluoric acid. The work details the optimization of the etching process. The tapered fiber is then chemically treated to immobilize gold nanoparticles on it. Finally, the performance of the proposed Au-immobilized tapered fiber sensor probe is studied when excited with visible light. Different concentrations of sucrose are used to detect the refractive index sensitivity. Performance parameters such as sensitivity, full-width half maximum, the figure of merit, and quality factor are determined for the sensor probe.
Conventional sensing techniques including electrochemical, voltammetric, colorimetry, and non-enzymatic are widely used for the detection of chronic diseases. However, such techniques suffer from poor selectivity, complexity, low sensitivity, monofunctional, and expensive development procedures, which limits its widespread and accessibility across the medical field. Replacing these techniques with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) based optical sensors can be much more beneficial as these are real-time, label-free devices, highly reproducible, cheap, and hold higher sensitivity to changes in the refractive index of samples. The plasmonic nanoparticles like - Ag, Au and Cu are highly sensitive to their local environment and undergoes spectral response due to their strong scattering or absorption. The easy monitoring of these light signals paves the way for its utilization in the sensor market. This work studies the influence of morphology of Au on optical tapered fibers for sensing applications.
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