Quasiperiodic Nanohole Arrays on Optical Fibers as Plasmonic Sensors: Fabrication and Sensitivity Determination

Large-scale plasmonic nanodisk array as a biosensing platform fabricated by transfer nanoprinting

Surface plasmon resonance based on nanostructures has been a powerful analytical tool in rapid detection and analysis of biomolecules. However, the fabrication of nanostructure sensors, such as electron beam lithography and focused ion beam milling, has inherent defects as manufacturing cost, complex process flow, and small fabrication area. In this paper, using the transfer nanoprinting approach based on an ultrathin anodic aluminum oxide membrane, a centimeter-scale ordered periodic Ag-ZnS bilayer nanodisk on Au film with a low cost and simple process is fabricated. A surface plasmon polariton Bloch mode from nanodisk arrays is experimentally demonstrated at normal incident of light. The plasmonic platform exhibits an ideal refractive index bulk sensitivity of up to 438 nm/RIU. Furthermore, by using a polyelectrolyte bilayer with well-defined thickness, the surface sensitivity of the biosensing platform is also investigated. The large-scale plasmonic bilayer nanoparticle biosensing platform has broad application prospects in development of low-cost and high-performance biosensing chips.

Plasmonic Functionality of Optical Fiber Tips: Mechanisms, Fabrications, and Applications

Optical fiber tips with the flat end-facets functionalized take the special advantages of easy fabrication, compactness, and ready-integration among the community of optical fiber devices. Combined with plasmonic structures, the fiber tips draw a significant growth of interest addressing diverse functions. This review aims to present and summarize the plasmonic functionality of optical fiber tips with the current state of the art. Firstly, the mechanisms of plasmonic phenomena are introduced in order to illustrate the tip-compatible plasmonic nanostructures. Then, the strategies of plasmonic functionalities on fiber tips are analyzed and compared. Moreover, the classical applications of plasmonic fiber tips are reviewed. Finally, the challenges and prospects for future opportunities are discussed.

Photothermomechanical Nanopump: A Flow-Through Plasmonic Sensor at the Fiber Tip

Optical fibers equipped with plasmonic flow sensors at their tips are fabricated and investigated as photothermomechanical nanopumps for the active transport of target analytes to the sensor surface. The nanopumps are prepared using a bottom-up strategy: i.e., by sequentially stacking a monolayer of a thermoresponsive polymer and a plasmonic nanohole array on an optical fiber tip. The temperature-dependent collapse and swelling of the polymer is used to create a flow-through pumping mechanism. The heat required for pumping is generated by exploiting the photothermal effect in the plasmonic nanohole array upon irradiation with laser light (405 nm). Simultaneous detection of analytes by the plasmonic sensor is achieved by monitoring changes in its optical response at longer wavelengths (∼500-800 nm). Active mass transport by pumping through the holes of the plasmonic nanohole array is visualized by particle imaging velocimetry. Finally, the performance of the photothermomechanical nanopumps is investigated for two types of analytes, namely nanoscale objects (gold nanoparticles) and molecules (11-mercaptoundecanoic acid). In the presence of the pumping mechanism, a 4-fold increase in sensitivity was observed compared to the purely photothermal effect, demonstrating the potential of the presented photothermomechanical nanopumps for sensing applications.

A Highly Versatile Porous Core Photonic Quasicrystal Fiber Based Refractive Index Terahertz Sensor

Miniaturized real-time fiber optic sensing systems with high sensing performance are in extreme demand. In this work, we propose a novel photonic quasicrystal fiber sensor in the terahertz region and test its sensing characteristics using the finite element method. The proposed simulated sensor numerically investigates the cancer-infected cells from the normal cells in the human cervix, blood, adrenal glands, and breast based on the difference in their refractive index changes. The effective refractive index of core-guided mode is due to the interaction of light between the refractive index of the fiber material and infiltrated normal and cancer cells, respectively. The proposed sensor exhibits a high birefringence of 0.03, a low dispersion of 0.35 ps/THz/cm, along with a high numerical aperture of 0.99. Besides, the sensor holds a less-effective material loss of 2.53 × 10-9 (dB/cm), a maximum power fraction of 88.10, a maximum relative sensitivity of 82.67%, and an effective mode area of 3.16 mm2. The results envisage that the proposed sensor displays high sensing performances with a rapid cancer detection mechanism.

High-performance plasmonic lab-on-fiber sensing system constructed by universal polymer assisted transfer technique

Plasmonic lab-on-fiber (LOF) system has become an emerging sensing platform for the realization of miniaturized and portable plasmonic sensors. Herein, a facile and efficient polymer assisted transfer technique was reported for the preparation of plasmonic LOF systems. The proposed plasmonic LOF system was constructed through transferring plasmonic arrays to the end surface of optical fibers using polylactic acid as the sacrificial layer. The morphology of the transferred plasmonic arrays maintains excellent consistency with the original arrays. Importantly, the as-prepared plasmonic LOF system also possesses outstanding sensing performance in refractive index sensing and quantitative label-free biosensing applications. Additionally, the proposed polymer assisted transfer technique shows broad universality for various plasmonic arrays. Together with the above features, it is believed that the polymer assisted transfer technique will show great potential for the application of future plasmonic LOF systems.

Optical meta-waveguides for integrated photonics and beyond

The growing maturity of nanofabrication has ushered massive sophisticated optical structures available on a photonic chip. The integration of subwavelength-structured metasurfaces and metamaterials on the canonical building block of optical waveguides is gradually reshaping the landscape of photonic integrated circuits, giving rise to numerous meta-waveguides with unprecedented strength in controlling guided electromagnetic waves. Here, we review recent advances in meta-structured waveguides that synergize various functional subwavelength photonic architectures with diverse waveguide platforms, such as dielectric or plasmonic waveguides and optical fibers. Foundational results and representative applications are comprehensively summarized. Brief physical models with explicit design tutorials, either physical intuition-based design methods or computer algorithms-based inverse designs, are cataloged as well. We highlight how meta-optics can infuse new degrees of freedom to waveguide-based devices and systems, by enhancing light-matter interaction strength to drastically boost device performance, or offering a versatile designer media for manipulating light in nanoscale to enable novel functionalities. We further discuss current challenges and outline emerging opportunities of this vibrant field for various applications in photonic integrated circuits, biomedical sensing, artificial intelligence and beyond.

Fibre-Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor for Monoclonal Antibody Titer Quantification

An extraordinary optical transmission fibre-optic surface plasmon resonance biosensing platform was engineered to improve its portability and sensitivity, and was applied to monitor the concentrations of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs). By refining the fabricating procedure and changing the material of the flow cell and the components of the optical fibre, the biosensor is portable and robust to external interference. After the implementation of an effective template cleaning procedure and precise control during the fabrication process, a consistent sensitivity of 509 ± 5 nm per refractive index unit (nm/RIU) was achieved. The biosensor can detect the Mab with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.44 µg/mL. The results show that the biosensor is a potential tool for the rapid quantification of Mab titers. The biosensor can be regenerated at least 10 times with 10 mM glycine (pH = 2.5), and consistent signal changes were obtained after regeneration. Moreover, the employment of a spacer arm SM(PEG)2, used for immobilising protein A onto the gold film, was demonstrated to be unable to improve the detecting sensitivity; thus, a simple procedure without the spacer arm could be used to prepare the protein A-based biosensor. Our results demonstrate that the fibre-optic surface plasmon resonance biosensor is competent for the real-time and on-line monitoring of antibody titers in the future as a process analytical technologies (PATs) tool for bioprocess developments and the manufacture of therapeutic antibodies.

Ultra-high sensitivity SPR temperature sensor based on a helical-core fiber

A novel compact ultra-high sensitivity optical fiber temperature sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is proposed and demonstrated. The sensor is fabricated by employing a helical-core fiber (HCF), which is polished as a D-type fiber on the helical-core region and coated with a layer of Au-film and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The theoretical and experimental results show that the resonant wavelength and sensitivity of the proposed sensor can be effectively adjusted by changing the twisting pitch of HCF. Due to the high refractive index sensitivity of the sensor and the high thermo-optic coefficient of PDMS, the maximum sensitivity can reach -19.56 nm/°C at room temperature when the twist pitch of HCF is 2.1 mm. It is worth noting that the sensitivity can be further improved by using a shorter pitch of HCF. The proposed SPR temperature sensor has adjustable sensitivity, is easy to realize distributed sensing, and has potential application prospects in biomedical, healthcare, and other fields.

Optical anisotropy of self-organized gold quasi-blazed nanostructures based on a broad ion beam

To circumvent elaborate conventional lithographic methods for realizing metallic nanostructures, it is necessary to develop self-organized nanofabrication methods for suitable template structures and their optical characterization. We demonstrate the potential of ion bombardment with impurity co-deposition to fabricate terraced or quasi-blazed nanostructure templates. Self-organized terraced nanostructures on fused silica were fabricated using Ar⁺ ion bombardment with iron impurity co-deposition and subsequent Au shadow deposition. The aspect ratios are enhanced threefold, and the range of nanostructure period variation is significantly increased with respect to that of conventional nanostructures realized by pure ion bombardment. We reveal the key features of the method via atomic force microscopy and optical characterization. Variable-profile quasiperiodic nanostructures with periods of 100-450 nm, heights of 25-180 nm, and blaze angles of 10°-25° were fabricated over an area of 20×40mm², and these exhibited tunable and broadening optical anisotropy across the nanostructured area. Thus, the proposed method is a viable technique for rapid, cost-effective, and deterministic fabrication of variable nanostructure templates for potential optical applications.

Off-axis microsphere photolithography patterned nanohole array and other structures on an optical fiber tip for glucose sensing

Off-axis microsphere photolithography (MPL) was used as a method to create a plasmonic fiber-based sensor for glucose sensing. Sensitivity of 906 nm per RIU has been achieved. And multiple nanostructures have been successfully created on a fiber tip.

Selective Ultrasensitive Optical Fiber Nanosensors Based on Plasmon Resonance Energy Transfer

The facet of optical fibers coated with nanostructures enables the development of ultraminiature and sensitive (bio)chemical sensors. The sensors reported until now lack specificity, and the fabrication methods offer poor reproducibility. Here, we demonstrate that by transforming the facet of conventional multimode optical fibers onto plasmon resonance energy transfer antenna surfaces, the specificity issues may be overcome. To do so, a low-cost chemical approach was developed to immobilize gold nanoparticles on the optical fiber facet in a reproducible and controlled manner. Our nanosensors are highly selective as plasmon resonance energy transfer is a nanospectroscopic effect that only occurs when the resonance wavelength of the nanoparticles matches that of the target parameter. As an example, we demonstrate the selective detection of picomolar concentrations of copper ions in water. Our sensor is 1000 times more sensitive than the state-of-the-art technologies. An additional advantage of our nanosensors is their simple interrogation; it comprises of a low-power light-emitting diode, a multimode optical fiber coupler, and a miniature spectrometer. We believe that the plasmon resonance energy transfer-based fiber-optic platform reported here may pave the way for the development of a new generation of ultraminiature, portable, and hypersensitive and selective (bio)chemical sensors.

A self-assembled plasmonic optical fiber nanoprobe for label-free biosensing

The plasmonic optical fiber sensors have attracted wide attention for label-free biosensing application because of their high integration, small footprint and point-of-care measurement. However, the integration of plasmonic nanostructures on optical fiber probes always relies on the top-down nanofabrication approaches, which have several inherent shortcomings, including high cost, time-consuming, and low yields. Here, we develop a plasmonic nanohole-patterned multimode optical fiber probe by self-assembly nanosphere lithography technique with low fabrication cost and high yields. The multimode optical fiber possesses large facet area and high numerical aperture, which not only simplifies fabrication process, but also increases coupling efficiency of incident light. Originating from the resonant coupling of plasmonic modes, the plasmonic fiber nanoprobe has a distinct reflection dip in the spectrum and exhibits strong near-field electromagnetic enhancement. We experimentally investigate the sensing performances of plasmonic fiber nanoprobe, and further demonstrate it in real-time monitoring specific binding of protein molecules. The experimental results imply that the nanohole-patterned multimode optical fiber probe is a good candidate for developing miniaturized and portable biosensing systems.

Fiber optic plasmonic sensors: Providing sensitive biosensor platforms with minimal lab equipment

A simple, convenient, and inexpensive method to fabricate optical fiber based biosensors which utilize periodic hole arrays in gold films for signal transduction is reported. The process of hole array formation mainly relies on self-assembly of hydrogel microgels in combination with chemical gold film deposition and subsequent transfer of the perforated film onto an optical fiber tip. In the fabrication process solely chemical wet lab techniques are used, avoiding cost-intensive instrumentation or clean room facilities. The presented method for preparing fiber optic plasmonic sensors provides high throughput and is perfectly suited for commercialization using batch processing. The transfer of the perforated gold film onto an optical fiber tip does not affect the sensitivity of the biosensor ((420 ± 83) nm/refractive index unit (RIU)), which is comparable to sensitivities of sensor platforms based on periodic hole arrays in gold films prepared by significantly more complex methods. Furthermore, real-time and in-line immunoassay studies with a specially designed 3D printed flow cell are presented exploiting the presented optical fiber based biosensors.

Lab-on-Fiber Nanoprobe with Dual High-Q Rayleigh Anomaly-Surface Plasmon Polariton Resonances for Multiparameter Sensing

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based sensing is an attractive approach for realizing lab-on-fiber nanoprobes. However, simultaneous measurement of multiple parameters (e.g., refractive index and temperature) with SPR-based nanoprobes, although highly desirable, is challenging. We report a lab-on-fiber nanoprobe with dual high-Q Rayleigh anomaly (RA)-surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonances for multiparameter sensing. To achieve high-Q RA-SPP resonance the nanoprobe employs a plasmonic crystal cavity enhanced by distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) gratings on the end-face of a single-mode optical fiber. By tailoring the grating periods of the plasmonic crystal cavity and DBRs, two spatially separated high-Q RA-SPP resonance modes are designed within a 50 nm spectral range in C + L band. The fabricated nanoprobe demonstrates two RA-SPP resonances near 1550 nm with high Q-factors up to 198. These two high-Q resonances are further showed to exhibit distinctive responses to the changes of refractive index and temperature, which enables simultaneous measurements of both parameters. The proposed lab-on-fiber nanoprobes will pave the way for realizing compact multiparameter sensing solutions compatible with optical communication infrastructures.