Refractive index sensing through surface plasmon resonance in light-diffusing fibers

In this paper, we show that light-diffusing fibers (LDF) can be efficiently used as host material for surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based refractive index sensing. This novel platform does not require a chemical procedure to remove the cladding or enhance the evanescent field, which is expected to give better reproducibility of the sensing interface. The SPR sensor has been realized by first removing the cladding with a simple mechanical stripper, and then covering the unclad fiber surface with a thin gold film. The tests have been carried out using water-glycerin mixtures with refractive indices ranging from 1.332 to 1.394. The experimental results reveal a high sensitivity of the SPR wavelength to the outer medium's refractive index, with values ranging from ~1500 to ~4000 nm/RIU in the analyzed range. The results suggest that the proposed optical fiber sensor platform could be used in biochemical applications.