Surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic sensor for the IR region using a conducting metal oxide film

Theoretical modeling of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based fiber optic sensor with a conducting metal oxide [indium tin oxide (ITO)] as the SPR active material is proposed. The theoretical analysis reveals that the proposed sensing probe can be utilized for sensing in the IR region, where most of the gases show their absorption regime. Comparison of sensitivity predicts that an ITO-layer-coated SPR-based fiber optic sensor is about 60% more sensitive than a gold-coated fiber optic sensor. The physical reasons behind sensitivity enhancement are provided. Apart from this, various advantageous features of the ITO over the noble metals, silver and gold, are addressed. (c) 2010 Optical Society of America