Research on dual-core photonic crystal fiber based on local surface plasmon resonance sensor with silver nanowires

A photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based on local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor with silver nanowires deposited in two microfluidic detection channels is designed. The coupling characteristics and sensing properties of the proposed sensor are analyzed numerically by finite-element method (FEM). The optical loss spectra of the proposed PCF-LSPR sensor can be effectively tuned by the parameters of the PCF structure and silver nanowires configuration. When the cylindrical silver nanowires number is 12 (single-detection channel), arranged in an even way, and the angle between adjacent cylindrical silver nanowires is 10 deg, an average wavelength sensitivity of 5507.1 nm / RIU is obtained in the refractive index (RI) range from 1.330 to 1.360, and a maximum wavelength sensitivity of 9000 nm / RIU is achieved in the RI sensing range from 1.355 to 1.360, corresponding to a maximum RI resolution of 1.11 × 10 − 5 RIU, which can be used to detect slight changes in the RI of an unknown analyte.