Numerical Analysis of Midinfrared D-Shaped Photonic-Crystal-Fiber Sensor Based on Surface-Plasmon-Resonance Effect for Environmental Monitoring

An exciting prospect for the sensing community is the potential of midinfrared fiber sensors. Taking advantage of the design flexibility of photonic crystal fiber and the high excitation loss of gold layers, a high-performance midinfrared D-shaped sensor based on the surface-plasmon-resonance effect was designed and numerically investigated by a mature finite-element tool. Numerical results showed that the designed fiber is especially suitable for sensing. In an operating wavelength ranging from 2.9 to 3.6 mu m, maximal wavelength sensitivity of 11,500 nm/refractive index unit (RIU) and a maximal refractive index (RI) resolution of 8.7 x 10(-6) RIU were obtained by the wavelength-interrogation method when analyte RI varied from 1.36 to 1.37. Maximal amplitude sensitivity of 230 RIU-1 was obtained by the amplitude-interrogation method with a high linearity of 0.99519 and an adequate figure of merit of 142. Additionally, the sensor had good fabrication tolerance. Our sensor is a promising candidate for environmental monitoring.