Design and theoretical analysis of a photonic crystal fiber based on surface plasmon resonance sensing

A photonic crystal fiber based on surface plasmon resonance (PCF-SPR) sensing of a silver layer is investigated. The sensor has two advantages: polarization independence and less noble metal consumption. The coupling characteristics and sensing performance of the sensor are numerically investigated by the finite-element method employing the COMSOL Multiphysics (R) software. The optical loss spectrum of the PCF-SPR sensor can be easily tuned by varying the parameters of the structure. The defined amplitude sensitivity is 4398 dB/RIU and spectral sensitivity is 4500 nm/RIU corresponding to resolution of 2.27 x 10(-6) RIU and 2.22 x 10(-5) RIU, respectively. (C) 2015 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)