Resonant couplings in U-shaped fibers for biosensing Londero, Carolina; Delgado-Pinar, Martina; Cuadrado-Laborde, Christian ...
Journal of lightwave technology,
07/2023, Letnik:
41, Številka:
13
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
U-shaped tight curvatures in optical fibers lead to resonant couplings between the fundamental and higher order modes that are sensible to different parameters, such as strain or temperature, for ...example. The optical response of the sensor consists on the shift of the resonant wavelength of the coupling. In the case of singlemode fibers, the coupling involves a so-called "cladding mode" and, due to its evanescent field, the curved region will be sensible to changes in the external medium, as well. In this paper, we present the fabrication and characterization of a robust, easy-to-make, U-shaped fiber sensor based on singlemode telecom fiber and its application for biosensing. The resonant nature of the sensing mechanism presents the advantage of large dynamic ranges for RI variations without the ambiguity of other techniques such as interferometry. We studied the performance of the U-shaped fiber sensor for different bending radii, to optimize its sensitivity and detection limit at 1550 nm operation wavelength, as well as the effect of temperature on its response. The shift of the resonant wavelength was measured in detail as a function of the external RI within the range 1.33-1,37; the detection limit was established in (3.71±0.03)×10 -5 RIU. Furthermore, the device was successfully tested as a proof of concept biosensor, using a system model antigen-antibody (BSA-aBSA.)
We present a detailed experimental study of four-wave mixing tuning in photonic crystal fibers that were filled either with ethanol or with heavy water. It is demonstrated that wide tuning ranges can ...be achieved in both cases through the variable chromatic dispersion generated by thermo-optic effect. Tunability of the signal band from 745 nm to 919 nm, and of the idler band from 1260 nm to 1759 nm is demonstrated with a pump at 1064 nm. Numerical calculations were carried out and show good agreement with experimental measurements.
Discovering nanoscale phenomena to sense biorecognition events introduces new perspectives to exploit nanoscience and nanotechnology for bioanalytical purposes. Here we present Bio Bragg Gratings ...(BBGs), a novel biosensing approach that consists of diffractive structures of protein bioreceptors patterned on the surface of optical waveguides, and tailored to transduce the magnitude of biorecognition assays into the intensity of single peaks in the reflection spectrum. This work addresses the design, fabrication, and optimization of this system by both theoretical and experimental studies to explore the fundamental physicochemical parameters involved. Functional biomolecular gratings are fabricated by microcontact printing on the surface of tapered optical microfibers, and their structural features were characterized. The transduction principle is experimentally demonstrated, and its quantitative bioanalytical prospects are assessed in a representative immunoassay, based on patterned protein probes and selective IgG targets, in label-free conditions. This biosensing system involves appealing perspectives to avoid unwanted signal contributions from non-specific binding, herein investigated in human serum samples. The work also proves how the optical response of the system can be easily tuned, and it provides insights into the relevance of this feature to conceive multiplexed BBG systems capable to perform multiple label-free biorecognition assays in a single device.
•Diffractive bioreceptor nanostructures on optical waveguides to quantify label-free assays.•New transduction phenomenon demonstrated by experimental and theoretical results.•Functional protein assemblies patterned on optical microfibers by microcontact printing.•Minimized non-specific binding signal contributions, assessed in human serum samples.•Tunable optical response and multiplexing perspectives in miniaturized biosensors.
In-fiber opto-mechanics based on forward Brillouin scattering has received increasing attention because it enables sensing the surrounding of the optical fiber. Optical fiber transverse acoustic ...resonances are sensitive to both the inner properties of the optical fiber and the external medium. A particularly efficient pump and probe technique-assisted by a fiber grating-can be exploited for the development of point sensors of only a few centimeters in length. When measuring the acoustic resonances, this technique provides the narrowest reported linewidths and a signal-to-noise ratio better than 40 dB. The longitudinal and transverse acoustic velocities-normalized with the fiber radius-can be determined with a relative error lower than 10
, exploiting the derivation of accurate asymptotic expressions for the resonant frequencies. Using this technique, the Poisson's ratio of an optical fiber and its temperature dependence have been measured, reducing the relative error by a factor of 100 with respect to previously reported values. Using a single-point sensor, discriminative measurements of strain and temperature can be performed, achieving detection limits of ±25 με and ±0.2 °C. These results show the potential of this approach for the development of point sensors, which can be easily wavelength-multiplexed.
The nanostructuration of biolayers has become a paradigm for exploiting nanoscopic light-matter phenomena for biosensing, among other biomedical purposes. In this work, we present a photopatterning ...method to create periodic structures of biomacromolecules based on a local and periodic mild denaturation of protein biolayers mediated by UV-laser irradiation. These nanostructures are constituted by a periodic modulation of the protein activity, so they are free of topographic and compositional changes along the pattern. Herein, we introduce the approach, explore the patterning parameters, characterize the resulting structures, and assess their overall homogeneity. This UV-based patterning principle has proven to be an easy, cost-effective, and fast way to fabricate large areas of homogeneous one-dimensional protein patterns (2 min, 15 × 1.2 mm, relative standard deviation ≃ 16%). This work also investigates the implementation of these protein patterns as transducers for diffractive biosensing. Using a model immunoassay, these patterns have demonstrated negligible signal contributions from non-specific bindings and comparable experimental limits of detection in buffer media and in human serum (53 and 36 ng·mL
of unlabeled IgG, respectively).
Here we present a self-started passively mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser with in-band pumping at 1561 nm that fully retains polarization and emits beyond 2 μ m. We obtained a sequence of light ...pulses at 13.084 MHz, where the pulse and spectral widths were 94 ps and 70 pm, respectively, at 2069.5 nm. The measured instantaneous angular frequency shows that these light pulses are chirp-free.
Optical fiber characterization using whispering gallery mode resonances of the fiber itself has been demonstrated to be a powerful technique. In this work, we exploit the thermal sensitivity of ...whispering gallery mode resonances to characterize the pump-induced temperature increment in holmium doped and holmium-ytterbium codoped optical fibers. The technique relies on the measurement of the resonances' wavelength shift due to temperature variation as a function of the pump power. Holmium doped fibers were pumped to the second excited level 5I6 of the Ho3+ ion using a laser diode at 1125 nm and ytterbium-holmium codoped fibers to the 2F5/2 level of the Yb3+ ion by a laser diode at 975 nm. Our results demonstrate that pumping ytterbium-holmium codoped fibers at 975 nm results in dramatic thermal effects, producing a temperature increment two orders higher than that observed in holmium doped fibers pumped with a 1125 nm laser diode.
A rigorous Surface Impedance (SI) formulation for planar waveguides is presented. This modal technique splits the modal analysis of the waveguide in two steps. First, we obtain the modes ...characteristic equations as a function of the SI and, second, we need to obtain the surface impedance values using either analytical or numerical methods. We validate the technique by comparison with well-known analytical cases: the parallel-plate waveguide with losses and the dielectric slab waveguide. Then, we analyze an optical hollow-core waveguide defined by two high-contrast subwavelength gratings validating our results by comparison with reported values. Finally, we show the potential of our formulation with the analysis of a THz hollow-core waveguide defined by two surface-relief subwavelength gratings, including material losses in our formulation.
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