Modulation of the sensing bandwidth of dual-channel SPR sensors by TiO2 film

Facing the diversity and complexity of the types of parameters to be measured, multi-channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) fiber sensors provide an excellent solution. However, the sensing bandwidth is a key factor affecting the sensor performance. In this paper, we explore a method to modulate the sensing bandwidth using the TiO2 film. A dual-channel SPR sensor with a wide sensing bandwidth is proposed. In this sensor, no-core fiber (NCF) is used as the sensing probe, and multimode fibers are used for the transmission of optical signals. The sensor has a cascaded composite film structure, the region coated with Ag film as the refractive index sensing region and the region coated with Ag/TiO2/PDMS as the temperature sensing region. The experimental results show that the sensing bandwidth of the sensor varies for different TiO2 coating times. It indicates that the TiO2 film can regulate the sensing bandwidth flexibly. Therefore, to achieve the optimal sensing effect, the TiO2 coating time can be flexibly adjusted according to the RI characteristics of the environment. The maximum sensitivity of this dual-channel sensor is 4.5 nm/°C and 3151 nm/RU when the temperature range is between 10 and 80 °C and the RI range is between 1.333 and 1.385, respectively. In addition, we discuss the repeatability and stability of this dual-channel sensor.