Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324

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Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sbsr

Analysis of a gold coated plasmonic sensor based on a duplex core photonic T

crystal fiber
Araf Shafkat
⁎

Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (EEE), Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), Chittagong, Bangladesh

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: An exploration of a gold-coated dual-core with hexagonally arranged circular air holes SPR-PCF sensor is pre-
Photonic crystal fiber sented in this paper. Chemically inactive and stable material gold is provided as plasmonic material in this
Plasmonic design. Placement of the gold layer outside of the PCF structure simplifies the detection process of this sensor and
Analyte also assures fabrication feasibility. The performance of this sensor is investigated in terms of wavelength sen-
SPP
sitivity, amplitude sensitivity, resolution, sensor length and linearity response by using the Finite Element
Resolution
RI
Method (FEM) based COMSOL Multiphysics software. Maximum wavelength sensitivity is found to be 10,700
nm/RIU for analyte sensing range between 1.39 to 1.40 by using wavelength interrogation method as well as
maximum amplitude sensitivity reaches about 1770 RIU-1 for analyte RI 1.39 by using amplitude interrogation
method. Besides, the sensor's resolution is found to be 9.34×10-6. The outcome of alternating structural para-
meters such as gold layer thickness, pitch, air hole diameter, different shapes of air hole in the core is also
discussed as well. The reported sensor might be a fruitful aspirant in the field of biological sample detection,
organic chemical sensing and biomolecule recognition.

1. Introduction
The 21st century has noticed a huge advancement in the develop-
ment of biosensors and their applications in areas of medical diag-
nostics, food controlling, environmental safety, drug technology, mo-
lecular interactions, etc. [1]. Since the last few decades, optical
biosensors are widely used for the identification of enzyme and protein,
observing antigen-antibody interaction [2]. Because of the development
of optical instrumentations, optical sensors have gained much intent-
ness for its easy and instant detection capability [3]. There are various
optical sensor techniques available such as surface plasmon resonance,
resonant mirrors, photoluminescence and modal interferometry in op-
tical waveguides [4]. Surface plasmon resonance has been proved as an
effective and easy technology among all because it has many lucrative
features over any other optical methods [5]. The growing necessity
from pharmaceutical companies and biological research organizations
accelerates the practical impersonation of SPR sensors [6].
SPR is occurred by the stimulation of surface electrons of the metal-
dielectric interface when the frequency of incident light creates re-
sonance with the frequency of surface electrons. As a result, a non-ra-
diative surface wave known as SPP (Surface Plasmon Polariton) is
generated which is very sensitive to RI change of its surrounding
medium. This technique is used in SPR sensors for sensing motive [7].
SPR sensors have multipurpose applications in gas sensing [8], patho-
gens identifying [9], DNA detecting [10], liquid sensing [11], water
sample monitoring [12]. The aptitude of SPR biosensor switches from
traditional prism-based structure to PCF based platform because tradi-
tional structures are heavy and many other devices are related to it
[13]. On the other hand, PCF's formation can be modified to get the
desired evanescent field. It also reduces the heaviness of the sensor and
provides a flexible design, remote sensing competency, and better sta-
bility [14,15]. After 2013, noticeable progress is observed in the im-
provement of SPR-PCF biosensors. Many researchers came up with their
proposed structure to fleet the development of SPR biosensors. Based on
sensing approaches SPR sensors can be categorized into two types
[14,16]. In one type, the metal layer is selectively coated inside the air
holes of PCF and in another type, the metal layer is coated outside of
the PCF structure [17]. Yang et al. reported a selectively coated struc-
ture that comprises hexagonally arranged two layers of air holes and six
air holes of the 2nd ring are selectively coated with the graphene layer.
This structure is difficult to fabricate as air holes are very small and the
uniform coating is required for each air holes which is hard to provide
and also time-consuming [18]. Rifat et al. also proposed a structure
with three selectively filled analyte channels where the central channel
is coated with graphene‑silver bi-metallic layers. This sensor shows
418 RIU−1 amplitude sensitivity and 3000 nm/RIU wavelength

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: u1302099@student.cuet.ac.bd.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbsr.2020.100324
Received 17 November 2019; Received in revised form 8 January 2020; Accepted 15 January 2020
2214-1804/ © 2020 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
A. Shafkat
Fig. 1. Cross-sectional image of proposed SPR-PCF sensor.
sensitivity but again fabrication complexity arises for this sensor as it
has selectively coated dual metal layers [19]. To eradicate fabrication
complexity of internally coated SPR-PCF sensors many researchers
performed investigations on the externally coated structures. Since
externally coated SPR sensors are easy to fabricate compared to in-
ternally coated structures most works have been performed on this
structure. Hasan et al. reported a gold-coated dual-core structure with a
maximum sensitivity of 2200 nm/RIU using the wavelength inter-
rogation method and maximum sensitivity of 266 RIU−1 using the
amplitude interrogation method in the sensing range between 1.33 to
1.36. But both amplitude and wavelength sensitivities are very low in
this case [20]. Chakma et al. reported a structure with wavelength
Fig. 2. Experimental setup for practical sensing with proposed SPR-PCF sensor.
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Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324
sensitivity of 9000 nm/RIU and amplitude sensitivity of 318 RIU−1
which shows comparatively better performance than the previous one
[21]. Several explorations have also been performed based on plas-
monic material alternation. Momota et al. proposed a hollow core
structure coated with a silver layer which shows 300 RIU−1 amplitude
sensitivity and 4200 nm/RIU wavelength sensitivity [22]. But the main
problem in this structure is that the silver layer can get oxidized in the
presence of liquid analyte. This problem can be solved by adding a
second layer with silver to prevent it from getting oxidized. A dual-core
PCF with Ag-TiO2 bi-metallic layer is proposed by Haque et al. which
solves the previous problem and shows promising amplitude sensitivity
of 2452 RIU −1 and wavelength sensitivity of 116,000 nm/RIU [23].
There are some other works reported based on different plasmonic
materials such as TiN [24], Graphene [25], Nb-Al2O3 [26]. Various
studies have also been done on the D-shaped structure. Wang et al.
reported a D-shaped sensor with 12,450 nm/RIU wavelength sensitivity
[27], Wu et al. reported a structure with 21,700 nm/RIU sensitivity
[28], and Liu et al. reported a symmetrical dual D-shaped structure with
14,660 nm/RIU sensitivity [29]. Though improved sensitivity is no-
ticeable in the case of D-shaped SPR-PCF sensors, rubbing and etching
of a specific part is required to obtain this type of shape which is
comparatively inconvenient in practical approach [30,31].
In this paper, the sufficiency of a duplex core SPR-PCF sensor is
explored by the numerical analysis which consists of hexagonally ar-
ranged two air hole rings. Circular shaped air hole has been chosen for
this design as it can be fabricated by using capillary stacking, and
standard stack-and-draw processes [32]. Gold is selected as plasmonic
material as it is chemically stable and has less possibility of getting
oxidized in the presence of liquid sensing medium [14,33]. Besides,
both plasmonic material and sensing medium are placed outside of the
PCF structure which provides favor for fabrication. All the parameters
of the sensor are considered in such a way that better performance can
be achieved from numerical analysis. Numerical simulation is
A. Shafkat Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324

Fig. 3. (a)-(c)Optical field distributions for x-polarized, y-polarized and SPP modes. (d) Dispersion relation between core-guided mode and SPP mode for A = 2 μm,
na = 1.37, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm, tg = 35 nm.

performed for analyte RI ranging from 1.33 to 1.40 and operating Fused silica is widely used as a cladding material for the SPR-PCF
wavelength ranging from 0.570 to 1.040 μm. The influence of varying sensor. The refractive index of the fused silica can be defined by the
geometrical parameters on the proposed sensor has been carried out in Sellmeier equation [36].
the upcoming sections. 2 2 2
B1 B2 B3
n2 ( ) = 1 + 2 2 2
C1 C2 C 3.
2. Designing and experimental procedure
Here, n is the refractive index of the fused silica which depends on
A cross-sectional 2D image of the proposed sensor is shown in Fig. 1. operating wavelength λ. B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3 are known as Sellmeier
Air holes with three different diameters are used in this design. The coefficients. Here, B1 = 0.69616300, B2 = 0.407942600,
diameters of the large air hole and medium air hole are d2 = 1.6 μm, B3 = 0.897479400, C1 = 4.67914826 × 10−3,
and d = 0.8 μm respectively. Their values have been chosen in such a C2 = 1.35120631 × 10−2 and C3 = 97.9340025. The dielectric con-
way that light confinement in the intended direction can be obtained stant of gold is described by using the Drude-Lorentz model and this
[22]. The diameter of the small air hole is dc = 0.4 μm. Its value is kept model is based on the following equation [37]
smaller than the other air holes to lead the evanescent field towards the 2
. 2
D L
gold surface from four directions. The dual-core nature of this design Au = 2 2
( + j D) ( L) +j L
ensures a minimum travel path for the evanescent field to excite the
free electrons of the metal surface hence proper excitation is obtained Here ԑAu is the permittivity of gold, ԑ∞ = 5.9673 is the permittivity
[34]. Air holes of the 1st ring and 2nd ring are arranged by giving 60° of gold at high frequency, ω = 2πc/λ is known as the angular fre-
anticlockwise rotation. The relative distance between two air holes is quency where c is the velocity of light, ωD = 2113.6 THz × 2π is
known as pitch and it is considered to be A = 2.0 μm. The thickness of known as plasma frequency, γD=15.92 THz × 2π is known as the
the gold layer is denoted by ‘tg’. A layer called PML (Perfectly Matched damping frequency and ∆ԑ=1.09 is denoted by the weighting factor.
Layer) is considered outside of the PCF structure while performing si- ΩL = 650.07 × 2π THz and ГL=104.86 × 2π THz are known as
mulation. This layer absorbs the scattered light from the PCF structure Lorentz oscillator strength and spectral width respectively.
[35]. This article focuses on numerical simulation of the proposed sensor

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(caption on next page)

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A. Shafkat
Fig. 4. (a)Confinement loss (x-pol) for varying analyte RI, A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm, tg = 35 nm. (b) Confinement loss (y-pol) for varying
analyte RI, A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm, tg = 35 nm. (c) Amplitude sensitivity (x-pol) for varying analyte RI, A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm,
d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm, tg = 35 nm.(d) Amplitude sensitivity (y-pol) for varying analyte RI, A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm, tg = 35 nm. (e) A
graphical representation of wavelength interrogation sensitivity for na = 1.33–1.40 with tg = 35 nm, A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm. (f) Sensor
length for x and y-polarized core-guided modes.
however for the experimental purpose it can be accomplished by fol-
lowing the process which is depicted in Fig. 2. In the case of practical
sensing approach, incident light is transmitted from a light source and it
is induced the proposed sensor through a SMF (Single Mode Fiber).
After interacting with specific analyte the output is tracked by the OSA
(Optical Spectrum Analyzer). OSA is connected with a computer. By
analyzing the data from the computer an unknown substance can be
identified by observing its shifting in the loss depth. Shifting of re-
sonance peak happens because of RI change of analyte. If shifting oc-
curs towards higher wavelength it is called redshift and if shifting oc-
curs downwards lower wavelength it is called blueshift.
3. Simulation result and performance analysis
The optical field distributions for x-polarized, y-polarized and SPP
modes have been shown in Fig. 3(a)-(c) sequentially. Fig. 3(d) shows
the dispersion relation between core-guided mode and SPP mode. The
real part of the refractive index is taken on the left side and confinement
loss is taken on the right side. Broken red line, broken blue line, and
solid black line indicate the real part of the refractive index for x-po-
larized, y-polarized and SPP modes respectively. It is clear from the
figure that the real part of the refractive index decreases with increasing
wavelength. At 0.690 μm, the real part of the RI of SPP mode (solid
black line) intersects the real part of the RI of x-polarized mode (broken
red line). On this point a sharp peak loss occurs for the x-polarized
mode which is shown in the figure (solid red curve). It is the evidence of
large energy disposal from core guided mode to SPP mode. This is
known as the phase-matching condition. The same phenomenon also
happens for y-polarized core guided mode. But it shows low loss depth
(solid blue curve) compared to the x-polarized core-guided mode. For
this reason only x-polarized core-guided mode is considered for eval-
uating sensor's proficiency for varying geometrical parameters. The
peak confinement losses are found to be 133 and 55.4 dB/cm at
λ = 0.690 μm and na = 1.37 for x-polarized and y-polarized core-
guided modes respectively.
3.1. Confinement loss for varying analyte RI
Confinement loss arises from the leaky mode of the PCF. It can be
denoted by the following equation. [38]:
(dB/cm) = 8.686 × k o Im(n eff ) × 10 4
Where ko = 2π/λ is denoted as the wave number in free space, λ is
the operating wavelength and Im(neff) is the imaginary part of the ef-
fective index which value can be extracted from the simulation.
Confinement loss spectra of x and y-polarized modes of the pro-
posed sensor are demonstrated in Fig. 4 (a)-(b). Confinement loss is
plotted as a function of operating wavelength for varying analyte RI
ranging from 1.33 to 1.40. It's seen that with an increment in analyte RI,
confinement loss also increases as well as resonance peak shifts towards
higher value. It happens because propagation constant and kinetic
binding energy also change with RI change [39]. The lowest peak
confinement losses are found 37.5 and 16.7 dB/cm at RI = 1.33 and
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Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324
highest peak confinement losses are found 413 and 160 dB/cm at
RI = 1.40 for x and y-polarized modes respectively.
3.2. Amplitude sensitivity
Amplitude sensitivity is a vital parameter for measuring the sensor's
performance. It's an easy and cost-effective technique. Amplitude sen-
sitivity can be calculated from the following equation [40]:
1 ( , na )
SA ( ) [RIU 1] =
( , na ) na
Where α(λ, na) is the confinement loss, δα(λ, na) is the difference
between two-loss spectra at a particular wavelength and refractive
index and δnais the difference between RI of two analytes. Fig. 4 (c)–(d)
show the amplitude sensitivity of the proposed sensor for analyte RI
from 1.33 to 1.39 for x and y- polarized modes sequentially. Amplitude
sensitivity increases with an increase in analyte RI and peak point shifts
towards higher wavelength. RI ranging from 1.33 to 1.37, amplitude
sensitivity increases very slowly but for RI 1.37 to 1.38, it exhibits a
drastic change. Minimum amplitude sensitivities are found 188 and
184 RIU−1 at analyte RI = 1.33 and maximum 1770 and 1540 RIU−1
at analyte RI = 1.39 for x and y-polarized modes respectively.
3.3. Wavelength sensitivity
Sensitivity by wavelength interrogation method can be derived by
following equation [25]
S (nm/RIU) = peak / na
Here, ∆λpeak is the variety of peak wavelength shifting and ∆na is
the change of the refractive index of the analyte. For the whole process,
it is considered to be 0.01. For 1.33–1.34, 1.34–1.35,
1.35–1.36,1.36–1.37, 1.37–1.38, 1.38–1.39, 1.39–1.40 maximum wa-
velength sensitivities are achieved respectively 1600, 2000, 2600,
3300, 4400, 6500, 10,700 nm/RIU. A graphical representation of wa-
velength sensitivity is shown in Fig. 4(e). The sensor shows a maximum
wavelength sensitivity of 10,700 nm/RIU between RI 1.39 to 1.40. It's
relatively better than the proposed works of ref. [21,22,41,42].
3.4. Sensor length
If Po is the input power which is launched to the fiber the detected
power at the output can be expressed by the following equation
[30,43]:
( ,n
P(L, , na) = Po e a )L
Where α(λ,na) is the confinement loss at particular wavelength and
analyte RI and L is the sensing length which can be expressed by fol-
lowing equation:
1
(L=)
( , na)
Sensor length of the proposed sensor is depicted in the Fig. 4(f) for
A. Shafkat Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324

Fig. 4. (continued)

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A. Shafkat Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324

Table 1
Performance comparison of x and y-polarized core-guided modes of the proposed sensor for varying analyte RI with tg = 35 nm, A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm,
dc = 0.4 μm
Analyte RI Resonance wavelength Peak confinement loss (dB/cm) Resonance peak shift Wavelength sensitivity (nm/ Amplitude sensitivity Resolution
(μm) (nm) RIU) (RIU−1)

x-pol y-pol x-pol y-pol

1.33 0.595 37.5 16.7 16 1600 188 184 6.25 × 10−5

1.34 0.611 49.6 21.8 20 2000 270 260 5.0 × 10−5
1.35 0.631 66.8 29.1 26 2600 405 391 3.84 × 10−5
1.36 0.657 92.2 39.7 33 3300 634 582 3.03 × 10−5
1.37 0.690 133 55.4 44 4400 1080 911 2.27 × 10−5
1.38 0.734 211 80.3 65 6500 1750 1430 1.53 × 10−5
1.39 0.799 330 121 107 10,700 1770 1540 9.34 × 10−6
1.40 0.906 413 160 – – – – –

Fig. 5. (a) Confinement loss for varying gold layer thickness for na = 1.39 and na = 1.40. (b) Amplitude sensitivity for varying gold layer thickness for na = 1.39.

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A. Shafkat
Fig. 6. (a) Confinement loss for varying pitch for na = 1.39 and na = 1.40. (b) Amplitude sensitivity for varying pitch for na = 1.39.
the variation of analyte RI. From previous subsection we saw that
confinement loss increases with analyte RI. As sensor length is directly
inverse of confinement loss it tends to decrease with increasing analyte
RI for x and y-polarized modes sequentially.
A comparison of the proposed sensor's performance for varying
analyte refractive index is shown on Table 1. This comparison is done
on the basement of resonance wavelength, confinement loss, amplitude
sensitivity, wavelength sensitivity, and resolution.
3.5. Resolution
Sensor’s resolution can be obtained by using the formula [41]:
R (RIU ) = na × min / peak
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Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324
here ∆na=0.01, ∆λmin=0.1, and ∆λpeak=107 nm. The minimum re-
solution of the proposed sensor has been found 9.34×10-6. That means
any change of refractive index of analyte between 0.01 can be detected
precisely by the proposed sensor. This result is much better than the
reported results of ref [41,42].
4. Performance observation for structural parameters alternation
In this section sensor's performance is optimized for varying struc-
tural parameters such as gold layer thickness, pitch, analyte layer
thickness, air hole diameter and different air hole shapes in the core.
The outcome of changing these parameters are explained in the fol-
lowing subsections.
A. Shafkat
Fig. 7. (a) Confinement loss for varying analyte layer thickness for na = 1.39 and na = 1.40. (b) Amplitude sensitivity for varying analyte layer thickness with
na = 1.39.
4.1. Impact of varying gold layer thickness
Fig. 5(a) shows the confinement loss spectra for different gold layer
thicknesses. For simulation purpose, three different gold layer thick-
nesses of 35, 40, and 45 nm have been considered respectively. The
sensor's performance is influenced by different gold layer thicknesses.
Large gold layer thickness reduces the effective coupling between core
guided mode and SPP mode as a result evanescent field can't penetrate
through the gold layer. In the case of thin gold layer core-guided mode
usefully couples with SPP mode [44,45]. Resonance wavelength
transfers towards higher value for increasing gold layer thickness.
Amplitude sensitivities are also calculated for varying gold layer
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Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324
thickness as well which is shown in Fig. 5(b). Maximum amplitude
sensitivities are obtained 1770, 1090, 471 RIU−1 for 35, 40, and 45 nm
gold layer thicknesses at analyte RI = 1.39 respectively. As maximum
amplitude sensitivity is achieved for 35 nm gold layer thickness so it is
compatible with furthermore analysis.
4.2. Impact of varying pitch
Sensor's characteristic is significantly affected by changing pitch
value. In Fig. 6(a) downward shifting of resonance wavelength is no-
ticeable for increasing pitch value. Confinement loss also reduces from
415 to 378 dB/cm at analyte RI = 1.39 and 530 to 375 dB/cm at
A. Shafkat
Fig. 8. (a) Confinement loss for changing the diameter of d2 at na = 1.39 and na = 1.40 with A = 2 μm, d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm. (b) Amplitude sensitivity for
changing the diameter of d2 at na = 1.39 with A = 2 μm, d = 0.8 μm, dc = 0.4 μm
analyte RI = 1.40 for changing pitch from 1.9 to 2.1 μm in this case.
Fig. 6(b) exhibits amplitude sensitivity for changing pitch. For
A = 1.9 μm amplitude sensitivity is achieved as 1710 RIU−1, for
A = 2.0 μm as 1770 RIU−1, for A = 2.1 μm as 1940 RIU−1. Amplitude
sensitivity can be enraged by increasing pitch value.
4.3. Impact of varying the thickness of analyte layer
Change in analyte layer thickness affects confinement loss as well as
amplitude sensitivity. The effect of changing analyte layer thickness is
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Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324
shown in Fig. 7(a). For A.L = 1.1 μm peak confinement loss varies from
419 to 470 dB/cm when RI changes from 1.39 to 1.40, for A.L = 1.2 μm
from 330 to 413 dB/cm and for A.L = 1.3 μm from 400 to 377 dB/cm.
Fig. 7(b) depicts amplitude sensitivity for changing analyte layer
thickness. Amplitude sensitivities are gained 1920, 1770, 1660 RIU−1
for A.L thickness = 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 μm periodically at na = 1.39. The main
reason for the decrease in amplitude sensitivity is that when analyte
layer thickness increases light gets expanded in a large area as a result
coupling efficiency between core-guided mode and SPP mode reduces
and sensitivity also decreases [39]. It's clear that thicker analyte layer
A. Shafkat
Fig. 9. (a) Confinement loss for changing the diameter of d at na = 1.39 and na = 1.40 with A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, dc = 0.4 μm. (b) Amplitude sensitivity for
changing the diameter of d at na = 1.39 with A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, dc = 0.4 μm.
reduces coupling efficiency as well as amplitude sensitivity of the
sensor. So the smaller the A.L thickness is the better the amplitude
sensitivity will be.
4.4. Impact of changing air hole diameter
Three different sizes of air holes are used in this structure. The effect
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of changing each air holes diameter on the sensor's behavior is ex-
plained individually. Confinement loss and amplitude sensitivity curves
for changing the diameter of large air hole ‘d2’ are depicted in Fig. 8(a)
and 8(b) respectively. Loss peak changes from 429 to 397 dB/cm for
na = 1.39 to 1.40 when d2 is 1.4 μm, 330 to 413 dB/cm for na = 1.39 to
1.40 when d2 is 1.6 μm, and 407 to 457 dB/cm for na = 1.39 to 1.40
when d2 is 1.8 μm sequentially. Maximum amplitude sensitivities are
A. Shafkat
Fig. 10. (a) Confinement loss for changing the diameter of dc at na = 1.39 and na = 1.40 with A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm. (b) Amplitude sensitivity for
changing the diameter of dc at na = 1.39 with A = 2 μm, d2 = 1.6 μm, d = 0.8 μm.
obtained to be 1820, 1770, 1610 RIU−1 for d2 = 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 μm
respectively at na = 1.39. Amplitude sensitivity decreases with in-
creasing value of d2 and resonance wavelength also shifts towards a
higher value. As the diameter of d2 increases, light confinement area
inside the cores reduces so sufficient evanescent field can't be generated
to excite surface plasmons of the metal layer that's why amplitude
sensitivity minimizes.
Fig. 9 (a) and 9(b) illustrate the confinement loss and amplitude
sensitivity curves for changing medium air hole diameter ‘d’. In both
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Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324
figures, confinement loss and amplitude sensitivity are plotted as a
function of wavelength. Loss depth increases from 385 to 451 dB/cm
for changing ‘d’ from 0.6 to 1.0 μm at RI = 1.40. Amplitude sensitivity
also shows a significant amount of change and calculated as 1520,
1770, 1996 RIU−1 respectively for RI 1.39. The larger the diameter of
‘d’, the better light confinement happens inside the cores and a strong
evanescent field is generated in the intended light confinement area to
properly interact with the plasmonic material layer that's why ampli-
tude sensitivity enhances.
A. Shafkat
Fig. 11. (a–c) Proposed structure with square, circular and elliptical air holes in
duplex cores. (d–f) Optical field distributions (x-pol) for square, circular and
elliptical air holes in duplex cores.
Changing the diameter of the small air hole ‘dc’ also has a significant
influence on the sensor's performance which is shown in Fig. 10 (a) and
10(b) by confinement loss and amplitude sensitivity curves. Perfor-
mance is investigated for dc = 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 μm and loss peak
changes from 367 to 363, 330 to 413 and 103 to 150 dB/cm respec-
tively for na = 1.39 to 1.40. Shifting in resonance wavelength is ob-
served for raising the value of dc. Maximum amplitude sensitivities are
achieved as 618, 1770, 1510 RIU -1 for dc = 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 μm re-
spectively at na = 1.39. Amplitude sensitivity reaches its maximum
value for dc = 0.4 μm. It's the fair size to create strong mutual coupling
between core guided mode and SPP mode so amplitude sensitivity is
maximum for this diameter of ‘dc’. If ‘dc’ varies upward or downward
from 0.4 μm coupling efficiency reduces as a result amplitude sensi-
tivity decreases.
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4.5. Impact of different shapes of air hole in the core
Sensor's performance is also investigated for using different shapes
of air hole in the core. Three different shapes of air hole for example
square, circular and elliptical are selected for performance investiga-
tion. For square air hole length of one side is considered to be 0.2 μm,
for circular air hole radius is considered to be 0.2 μm and for elliptical
air hole, semi-major axis and semi-minor axis lengths are considered to
be 0.2 and 0.1 μm respectively. In Fig. 11(a)–(c) proposed sensor's
structures are shown for square, circular and elliptical air holes in the
core. Fig. 11(d)–(f) display optical field distribution of x-polarized
mode for three structures respectively at analyte RI = 1.40. Confine-
ment loss and amplitude sensitivity curves are illustrated in
Fig. 12(a)–(b). In the case of square air hole loss depth increases from
364 to 525 dB/cm for varying RI from 1.39 to 1.40 while maximum
wavelength sensitivity of 14,700 nm/RIU and amplitude sensitivity of
906 RIU−1 are obtained. Similarly for circular air hole wavelength
sensitivity of 14,300 nm/RIU and amplitude sensitivity of 938 RIU−1
and in case of elliptical air wavelength sensitivity of 16,100 nm/RIU
and amplitude sensitivity of 739 RIU−1 are achieved. It's obvious that
the elliptical air hole provides comparatively better wavelength sensi-
tivity and circular air hole provides relatively better amplitude sensi-
tivity.
Though the proposed sensor shows better wavelength sensitivity in
case of elliptical air hole in the core fabrication of elliptical air hole is
challenging. On the other hand, amplitude sensitivity is far better in the
case of the solid core than the elliptical air hole in the core. In this
article, the main priority is given to amplitude sensitivity than wave-
length sensitivity as it is cost-effective and easy to determine than
wavelength sensitivity. That's why solid core has been chosen as an
optimum structure.
5. Linearity response
Linearity response is an important instrument that tries to develop a
relationship between two variables. In Fig. 13, the linearity response of
the proposed sensor is illustrated where resonance wavelength is
plotted as a function of analyte RI. Here, analyte RI is an independent
variable and it's taken on the x-axis. On the contrary, resonance wa-
velength is a dependent variable that is taken on y-axis. The regression
equation is obtained as y = 4.1179×-4.918. The value of R2 is found to
be 0.9017 which is a sign of good linearity.
6. Performance analogy with existing works
A detailed performance analogy is done based on sensing range,
wavelength sensitivity, amplitude sensitivity, and resolution of our
work with previously published works in this section which is shown in
Table 2
7. Conclusion
This work represents numerical research on a duplex core SPR-PCF
sensor. The allocation of plasmonic material gold beyond the PCF
structure provides a compact design for fabrication and also gentles the
detection process. Sensing performance has been optimized for analyte
RI ranging from 1.33 to 1.40. The proposed structure exhibits maximum
wavelength sensitivity of 10,700 nm/RIU for analyte RI changing from
1.39 to 1.40 and maximum amplitude sensitivity of 1770 RIU−1 for
analyte RI 1.39. Besides, the sensor's resolution is gained to be
A. Shafkat Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324

Fig. 12. (a) Confinement loss for changing air hole shape in duplex cores for na = 1.39 and na = 1.40. (b) Amplitude sensitivity for changing air hole shape in duplex
cores for na = 1.39 and na = 1.40.

9.34 × 10−6 which is very promising for identifying a slight change in Author's statement
RI. In addition, a detailed analysis above shows that the sensor's per-
formance can be improved by optimizing its design parameters. Light No funding has been received for accomplishing the work reported
confinement in dual cores and four channels interaction of the eva- in this paper and the author declares he has no financial interest from
nescent field with surface electrons of the metal layer establishes strong this reported paper.
coupling between core-guided and SPP modes that's why the proposed
sensor shows excellent amplitude sensitivity and by observing this re-
sponse an unknown substance can easily be detected. This sensor could Declaration of Competing Interest
be competent for detecting organic chemicals, biological components,
liquid samples, etc. The author declares no conflict of interest.

14
A. Shafkat Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research 28 (2020) 100324

Fig. 13. Linearity response of the proposed sensor.

Table 2
Performance analysis of proposed sensor with existing works.
Literature Analyte sensing range Wavelength sensitivity (nm/RIU) Amplitude sensitivity (RIU−1) Resolution

[16] 1.33–1.39 5000 396 2.0 × 10−5

[21] 1.34–1.37 9000 318 1.11 × 10−5
[34] 1.33–1.40 9000 725.8918 and 1085 1.11 × 10−5
[26] 1.36–1.41 8000 1560 –
[46] 1.39–1.46 8000 – 1.0 × 10−6
[47] 1.45–1.48 8000 700 1.25 × 10−5 and 1.7857 × 10−5
Proposed 1.33–1.40 10,700 1770 9.34 × 10−6

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