Qiu-Shun Li

TiO_2 nanoparticle thin film-coated optical fiber Fabry-Perot sensor

In this paper, a novel TiO(2) nanoparticle thin film coated optical fiber Fabry-Perot (F-P) sensor had been developed for refractive index (RI) sensing by monitoring the shifts of the fringe contrast in the reflectance spectra. Using in situ liquid phase deposition approach, the TiO(2) nanoparticle thin film could be formed on the fiber surface in a controlled fashion. The optical properties of as-prepared F-P sensors were investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The results indicated that the RI sensitivity of F-P sensors could be effectively improved after the deposition of nanoparticle thin-films. It was about 69.38 dB/RIU, which was 2.6 times higher than that of uncoated one. The linear RI measurement range was also extended from 1.333~1.457 to 1.333~1.8423. More importantly, its optical properties exhibited the unique temperature-independent performance. Therefore, owing to these special optical properties, the TiO(2) nanoparticle thin film coated F-P sensors have great potentials in medical diagnostics, food quality testing, environmental monitoring, biohazard detection and homeland security, even at elevated temperature.

Optical Response of Fiber-Optic Fabry-Perot Refractive-Index Tip Sensor Coated With Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Ultra-Thin Films

The polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) thin film-coated Fabry-Perot (F-P) optical fiber tip sensors had been developed for in situ refractive index (RI) measurement. Using the simple layer-by-layer (LBL) approach, the sensor surfaces had been successfully coated with PEM thin films of poly(diallyldimethyl- ammonium choloride)/poly(styrenesulfonate sodium salt) (PDDA/PSS)n (n is number of bilayers). Their optical response to the changes of external RI had been investigated and evaluated. The results demonstrated that after coated with PEM thin films, the inflection point of as-formed F-P tip sensor would shift from 1.457 to 1.4623 but its RI sensitivity was slightly reduced from 39 dB/RI to 25 dB/RI. In addition, their fringe contrast exhibited the unique temperature-independent performance. Therefore, owing to these special optical properties, simple operation and easy miniaturization, these novel PEM thin film coated F-P tip sensors have great potential in the detection and sensing of chemical and biological molecules, even at elevated temperature.

Label-free Detection of Biotin Using Nanoporous TiO2/DNA Thin-film Coated Wavelength Interrogated Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors

The sensing sensitivity of the wavelength interrogated surface plasmon resonance(WISPR) biosensor could be improved by self-assembly of nanoporous thin-film of TiO2 nanoparticles/DNA(TiO2/DNA)n(n is the number of bilayer) on wavelength interrogated surface plasmon resonance(WISPR) chips. The growth behavior and surface structure of the nanoporous thin-film were investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The home-made WISPR sensor with Krestchmann configuration consisted of a tungsten-halogen lamp as a photon source and a CCD camera as the detector. After the deposition of (DNA/TiO2)n thin film on WISPR chips, the resonance peak of the reflection spectra appeared in air. With the increases of n, the resonance wavelength gradually red shifted, which is consistent with the simulated results. After the optimization of the porous film, the WISPR biosensor was utilized to detect low-molecular-weight analytes, such as biotin. The result demonstrates that the sensitivity of [poly(styrene sulfonate)/polyally lamine hydrochlorides]5(PSS/PAH)5 could be 4 times higher than that of polyelectrolyte multilayer modified WISPR sensor.

An Ultrasensitive Long-Period Fiber Grating-Based Refractive Index Sensor with Long Wavelengths

The response of a novel long-period fiber grating (LPFG) with a period of 180 µm to a surrounding refractive index (RI) was investigated. The results displayed that, with the increase in RI of the surrounding media of cladding glass in the grating region, the resonant peak located at 1336.4 nm in the transmission spectrum gradually shifts towards a shorter wavelength, while the resonant peak located at 1618 nm gradually shifted towards a longer wavelength. Moreover, the resonant peak at 1618 nm is much more sensitive to the surrounding RI than that of the one at 1336.4 nm. Compared with the conventional LPFG and other types of wavelength-interrogated RI sensors, such as ring resonators, surface plasmon resonance sensors, and Fabry–Perot interferometric sensors, this novel LPFG possesses a higher sensitivity, which achieved 10,792.45 nm/RIU (RI unit) over a RI range of 1.4436–1.4489.

In situ molecular self-assembly and sensitive label-free detection of streptavidin via a wavelength interrogated surface plasmon resonance sensor

The sensing sensitivity of wavelength interrogated surface plasmon resonance(WISPR) biosensor is improved by self-assembly of polyelectrolyte multilayer(PEM) film of poly(allylamine hydrochloride)(PAH)/poly(sodium-p-styrenesulfonate)(PSS) on the Au film coated glass chip via the layer-by-layer(LBL) technique. The home-made WISPR with Krestchmann configuration consists of a tungsten-halogen lamp as a photon source and a charge coupled device(CCD) camera as the detector. The influence of PEM film thickness on the optical properties of WISPR biosensors was investigated theoretically and experimentally. In order to achieve higher sensing sensitivity, the PEM film thickness has to be designed as ca.14 nm at an Au layer thickness of 50 nm and an incidental angle of 11.8°. Furthermore, the PEM coated WISPR biosensor can serve as highly sensitive biosensor, in which the biotin-streptavidin is used as bioconjugate pair. After deposition of the PEM film of (biotin/PAH)(PSS/PAH)3, the modified WISPR biosensor is more sensitive to the low concentration(<0.01 mg/mL) of streptavidin. And the sensing sensitivity can be further increased by one order of magnitude compared with that of the biotin/PAH coated WISPR biosensor. Thus, such low-cost, high-performance and efficient PEM-coated WISPR biosensors have great potentials in a diverse array of fields such as medical diagnostics, drug screening, food safety analysis, environmental monitoring, and homeland security.

Label-free optical quantification of protein interactions using two cascaded-microring resonators-based waveguide sensors

A high sensitive optical sensor with integrated two cascaded micro-ring resonators is investigated experimentally. The biotin film is immobilized on the surface of the sensing ring to detect different concentrations of streptavidin.

Highly sensitive refractive index sensor based on a TiO 2 nanowire array

We propose a novel, highly sensitive refractive index (RI) sensor by means of combining the Kretschmann prism with a TiO2 nanowire array and do not use a metallic layer in the Kretschmann configuration. Its RI sensing performance was investigated through measuring different concentrations of sodium chloride solution. Experimental results showed that, with increasing RI of liquid, the resonant wavelength in the reflectance spectrum redshifted gradually in the visible light range. There was a very good linear relationship between resonant wavelength and RI in the range of 1.3330 to 1.3546. More importantly, in contrast to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, the interferometric sensors showed higher sensitivity to the external RI. In the case of the transverse magnetic mode, the RI sensitivity is up to 320,700.93 a.u./RIU (refractive index unit) by expression of light intensity, which is 9.55 times that of the SPR sensor. As for the transverse electric mode, it achieves 4371.76 nm/RIU by expression of the resonant wavelength, which is increased by a factor of 1.4 in comparison with the SPR sensor. Moreover, the experimental results have favorable repeatability. A TiO2 nanowire array sensor has also other advantages, such as easy manufacturing, low cost, and in situ determination, etc. To our knowledge, this fact is reported for the first time. It has great potential applications in the field of biological and chemical sensing.