Surface Plasmon Induced Polarization Filter Based on Au Wires and Liquid Crystal Infiltrated Photonic Crystal Fibers

The polarization filter characteristics of Au wires and liquid crystal infiltrated photonic crystal fibers are investigated by using the finite element method. The nematic liquid crystal of E7 being injected into cladding air holes is benefit to induce large birefringence under controllable electrical field. The simulation results show that the surface plasmon resonance is strongly inspired by core modes in y-polarized direction. Meanwhile, the coupling between core modes in x-polarized direction and surface plasmon polaritons modes is faint. The confinement losses can achieve 446 dB/cm in y-polarized direction and 0.8 dB/cm in x-polarized direction at wavelength of 1550 nm in one of our designed fiber. The effects of fiber structural parameters and temperature are investigated with a view of tuning and optimizing the confinement loss spectrum. Own to the large contrast of confinement losses in two orthogonal directions, the designed Au wires and liquid crystal infiltrated photonic crystal fibers promise candidate for tunable polarization filter devices.     

A Novel Polarization Filter Based on Photonic Crystal Fiber with a Single Au-Coated Air Hole and Semi-Hourglass Structure

A polarization filter that has a novel photonic crystal fiber structure of semi-hourglass part and Au-coated film is proposed. We simulated the performance of the structure by the finite element method. The numerical simulation results show that altering the structure parameters and the thickness of Au film can lead to an optimal parameter combination with remarkable features, owing to the semi-hourglass part that induced huge asymmetry factor into the structure. On the one hand, when the thickness of Au film is controlled to be 18.7 nm, we can get the confinement loss 1304.02 dB/cm and 3.96 dB/cm on y-polarization and x-polarization respectively at λ = 1.55 μm. On the other hand, controlling the thickness to 35 nm, the confinement loss on y-polarization and x-polarization is 848.87 dB/cm and 1.31 dB/cm respectively at λ = 1.31 μm. In addition, the bandwidth with crosstalk smaller than − 20 dB is 680 nm and 800 nm at λ = 1.55 μm and 1.31 μm, respectively, when the fiber length is 500 μm. This structure, as a reference, can provide a new idea when designing a photonic crystal fiber structure applied in optical communication and sensor system.

     

A Polarization-independent SPR Sensor Based on Photonic Crystal Fiber for Low RI Detection

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed for low refractive index (RI) detection. The core of PCF is formed by two-layer air walls and either layer is composed of six identical sector rings with negative curvature. Plasmonic material gold (Au) is coated on the external cladding surface. Finite element method (FEM) is applied to investigate the performance of the SPR sensor. Results show that the sensor is independent of polarization due to the coincident coupling properties of the two polarized modes. Additionally, in low RI ranging from 1.20 to 1.33, the sensor keeps a high spectral sensitivity with an average value of 7738 nm/RIU. When RI varies from 1.32 to 1.33, the resolution reaches to its maximum of 8.3 × 10⁻⁶. The proposed sensor shows much significance in low RI detection, which is promising in real-time measurement for medical, water pollution, and humidity.

     

<Emphasis Type="Bold">A Research of Magnetic Control Ferrite Photonic Crystal Filter</Emphasis>

In this article, an anisotropic magnetized ferrite photonic crystal model is analyzed by using the finite-difference time-domain method. The electromagnetic wave propagates in anisotropic ferrite material and forms two kinds of Eigen propagation mode: left-hand circular polarization (LCP) mode and right-hand circular polarization (RCP) mode. Therefore, the ferrite material is used to produce photonic crystal and wave polarized by these two kinds of polarization modes can be obtained. Because the electromagnetic properties of the ferrite material are greatly influenced by the bias magnetic field, the ferrite photonic crystal band gap can be controlled by adjusting the intensity of the bias magnetic field, and then a magnetron photonic crystal filter is formed. The results show that the magnetic photonic crystal with the bias magnetic field to the LCP/RCP wave forms different pass band and band gap, which can obtain different forms of polarized wave.     

Design of a Single-Polarization Single-Mode Photonic Crystal Fiber Filter Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance

We design a single-polarization single-mode photonic crystal fiber filter based on surface plasmon resonance. The finite element method is employed to evaluate the characteristics of the filter. The proposed fiber is devised such that there is a great discrepant confinement loss between two polarizations of x and y by varying two air holes in the cladding region, which is composed of hexagonal structural air holes in pure silica selectively filling with gold wires. Numerical simulations show that single-polarization single-mode operation waveband can be tuned by adjusting the parameters of the photonic crystal fiber. The confinement losses of the unwanted polarization can reach to 126.10 and 326.30 dB/cm in the wavelengths of 1.31 and 1.55 μm, while the corresponding confinement losses of the wanted polarized mode are only 0.08 and 1.20 dB/cm, respectively. Furthermore, the crosstalk can come to a maximum of 120.34 and 310.41 dB in the two communication bands. The bandwidths of the fiber designed for 1.31 and 1.55 μm are, respectively, 20 and 60 nm, which may be found useful applications for fiber polarizer.     

Polarization Characteristics of High-Birefringence Photonic Crystal Fiber Selectively Coated with Silver Layers

The polarization characteristics of high-birefringence photonic crystal fiber (HB-PCF) selectively coated with silver layers are numerically investigated using the full-vector finite element method (FEM). The fundamental mode coupling properties and polarization splitting effect are discussed in detail. Results show that the resonance wavelength, resonance strength, and splitting distance between two polarized modes can be adjusted significantly by changing the fiber structure, the diameter of silver rings, and the thickness of silver layers. A single-polarization filter at 1310 nm bands is proposed with the corresponding loss 500 dB/cm and full width half maximum (FWHM) only 23 nm. This work is very helpful for further studies in polarization-dependent wavelength-selective applications or other fiber-based plasmonic devices.

     

A Polarization Filter Based on Photonic Crystal Fiber with Symmetry Around Gold-Coated Holes

We propose a modified design for a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) polarization filter based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The air holes are arrayed in diamond lattices, and the diameter of the holes around the gold-coated holes are different that can separate the refractive index of the x-polarization and y-polarization second order surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes. The influences of structural parameters of the photonic crystal fiber (PCF) on the filter characteristics are studied using the finite element method (FEM). Great changes have taken place in the results of numerical simulation by changing the thickness of the gold film and air hole diameter. Simulation results show that the resonance wavelength is communication wavelength 1550 mm, the loss of the y-polarization mode is 43,126.7 dB/m. When the length of the fiber is 500 μm, extinction ratio is more than 20 dB at the communication wavelength, and bandwidth achieve to 190 nm. It is an important property of PCF polarization filter in production.     

A Polarization Filter Based on a Novel Photonic Crystal Fiber with a Gold-Coated Air Hole by Using Surface Plasmon Resonance

A novel design of a polarization filter based on photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed in this paper. With the introduction of a gold-coated air hole, the resonance strength is much stronger in y-polarized direction than in x-polarized direction at some particular wavelengths, which is due to the metal surface plasmon effects. At the wavelength of 1.31 μm, the loss of y-polarized mode is 2138.34 dB/cm while the loss is very low in x polarization. Furthermore, the loss peak can be flexibly adjusted from the wavelength of 1.26 to 1.56 μm by changing the thickness of a gold layer, and the loss in y polarization can be kept above 1200 dB/cm. The significant loss in y polarization makes this PCF a good candidate for developing a polarization filter with high performance.     

Plasmonic Broadband Polarization Splitter Based on Dual-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber with Elliptical Metallic Nanowires

We design two kinds of plasmonic broadband polarization splitters based on dual-core photonic crystal fiber (DC-PCF) with elliptical Au or Ag nanowire in this paper. It is analyzed for the polarization independent characterestics of the designed DC-PCF by the finite element method (FEM). In order to excite the surface plasmon resonance (SPR), the metal Au and Ag are filled into elliptical central air hole. The resonance coupling between the fourth- or fifth-order surface plasmon modes (SPMs) and core-guided modes (CGMs) are founded by this numerical simulation. The device lengths of the designed splitters with Au nanowire are 2937 and 827 μm at the wavelength of 1.31 and 1.55 μm, respectively. As the extinction ratios are better than ?20 dB, its bandwidths are better than 94 and 103 nm. For the designed Ag nanowire splitter, the device lengths are 3066 or 809 μm at 1.31 or 1.55 μm, respectively. The bandwidths with the extinction ratio better than ?20 dB are 66 and 104 nm, respectively.     

Highly Sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance Based D-Shaped Photonic Crystal Fiber Refractive Index Sensor

In this article, a D-shaped photonic crystal fiber based surface plasmon resonance sensor is proposed for refractive index sensing. Surface plasmon resonance effect between surface plasmon polariton modes and fiber core modes of the designed D-shaped photonic crystal fiber is used to measure the refractive index of the analyte. By using finite element method, the sensing properties of the proposed sensor are investigated, and a very high average sensitivity of 7700 nm/RIU with the resolution of 1.30 × 10^?5 RIU is obtained for the analyte of different refractive indices varies from 1.43 to 1.46. In the proposed sensor, the analyte and coating of gold are placed on the plane surface of the photonic crystal fiber, hence there is no necessity of the filling of voids, thus it is gentle to apply and easy to use.     

Highly Sensitive SPR Sensor Based on D-shaped Photonic Crystal Fiber Coated with Indium Tin Oxide at Near-Infrared Wavelength

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on D-shaped photonic crystal fiber (PCF) coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) film is proposed and numerically investigated. Thanks to the adjustable complex refractive index of ITO, the sensor can be operated in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The wavelength sensitivity, amplitude sensitivity, and phase sensitivity are investigated with different fiber structure parameters. Simulation results show that ～6000 nm/refractive index unit (RIU), ～148/RIU, and ～1.2?×?10⁶ deg/RIU/cm sensitivity can be achieved for wavelength interrogation, amplitude interrogation, and phase interrogation, respectively, when the environment refractive index varies between 1.30 and 1.31. It is noted that the wavelength sensitivity and phase sensitivity are more pronounced with larger refractive index. The proposed SPR sensor can be used in various applications, including medicine, environment, and large-scale targets detection.     

Analytical Methods of Equivalent Circuit Model and Transmission Matrix for a Plasmonic Switch with Sensing Capability in Near-Infrared Region

In this paper, the simultaneous switching and sensing capabilities of a compact plasmonic structure based on a conventional rectangular hole in a silver film are proposed and investigated. The proposed structure has ultrahigh sensitivity up to 3000 nm/RIU and high figure of merit of 170 RIU⁻¹. Also, the simulation results show the potential of the presented refractive index sensor to detect malaria infection, cancer cells, bacillus bacteria, and solution of glucose in water. Simultaneously, by changing the incident lightwave polarization, the structure behaves like a plasmonic switch, which has high extinction ratios of 15.81, 31.20, and 25.03 dB at three telecommunication wavelengths of 850, 1310, and 1550 nm, respectively. The ultrafast response time of 20 fs is achieved for the wideband application of the switching capability at the wavelength range of 1056 to 1765 nm. Moreover, the equivalent circuit model and transmission (ABCD) matrix methods are derived to validate the simulated results. Simple design, good agreement between the numerical and analytical results, biomedical applications, ultrahigh sensitivity, and ultrafast performance of the proposed structure help this idea to open up paths for design and implementation of other multi-application plasmonic devices in near-infrared region. To the best of our knowledge, the mentioned analytical methods have not been studied former at near-infrared wavelengths. Therefore, the achievements could pave the way for verifying the simulation results of plasmonic nanostructures in future investigations.

     

One Dimensional Plasmonic Grating: High Sensitive Biosensor

We report a simple 1D grating device fabrication on ～50 nm gold (Au) film deposited on glass, which is employed as a high performance refractive index (RI) sensor by exploiting the surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) excited by the grating device along the Au/analyte interface. A finite element analysis (FEA) method is employed to maximize the sensitivity of the sensor for a fixed period and thickness of a gold film and its close correspondence with experiment has given the insight for high sensitivity and enhanced transmission. Significantly, in the context of economic design and performance, it is shown that an optimally designed and fabricated 1D grating can be as sensitive as 524 nm/RIU (linearity RI?=?1.33303 to 1.47399), which is remarkably higher than existing reports operating in a similar wavelength region.     

A study of the spectral and luminescence manifestations of the aggregation of thymine chromophores in polythymidylic acid aqueous solutions at room temperature in the context of photochemical information recording using thymine

The luminescence and excitation spectra of polythymidylic acid aqueous solutions at room temperature were studied. In addition to the previously described band at 338 nm, two new bands at 320 and 350 nm were recorded at various excitation wavelengths. An examination of the excitation spectra that had not been studied previously, as well as their comparison with the differential absorption spectra previously recorded during photodimerization, allowed us to interpret the band at 320 nm as the band of noninteracting chromophores; the band at 338 nm as the band of the most photochemically active, densely packed stacking dimmers (exciton splitting of absorption band of ～4000 cm^?1); and the band at 350 nm as the band of photochemically inactive large stacking aggregates (n ≥ 10, exciton splitting of ～8000 cm^?1). The changes in the optical density of the polythymidylic acid aqueous solution at γ = 270 nm after successive irradiation of the solution with light at 279 + 302 and 248 nm were studied. The reasons for their incomplete reversibility are discussed.     

Improving the Sensitivity of Fiber Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor by Filling Liquid in a Hollow Core Photonic Crystal Fiber

Inspired by the classic theory, we suggest that the performance of a D-shaped fiber optical surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor can be improved by manipulating the fiber core mode. To demonstrate this, we propose a novel fiber SPR sensor based on a hollow core photonic crystal fiber with liquid mixture filled in the core. The fiber sensor design involves a side-polished fiber with gold film deposited on the polished plane and liquid filling. Numerical simulation results suggest that by tuning the refractive index of the liquid mixture, the predicted sensitivity will be over 6,430 nm/refractive index unit for an aqueous environment, which is competitive for fiber chemical sensing. This optimization method may lead to an ultrahigh sensitivityfiber optical biosensor.     

Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Refractive Index Sensor Based on Dual D-Shaped Photonic Crystal Fiber with Aluminum Nitride-Silver Films

A dual-core and dual D-shaped photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor with silver and aluminum nitride (AlN) films is designed. The distribution characteristics of the electromagnetic fields of core and plasmon modes, as well as the sensing properties, are numerically studied by finite element method (FEM). The structure parameters of the designed sensor are optimized by the optical loss spectrum. The results show the resonance wavelength variation of 489 nm for the refractive index (RI) range of 1.36?~?1.42. In addition, a maximum wavelength sensitivity of 13,400 nm/RIU with the corresponding RI resolution of 7.46?×?10^?6 RIU is obtained in the RI range of 1.41?~?1.42. The proposed sensor with the merits of high sensitivity, low cost, and simple structure has a wide application in the fields of RI sensing, such as hazardous gas detection, environmental monitoring, and biochemical analysis.

     

Polarization sensing of fluorophores in tissues for drug compliance monitoring.

We used a new method, polarization sensing, to monitor the concentration of the fluorophore rhodamine 800 in an intralipid suspension and in chicken tissue. Rhodamine 800 (Rh800) could be excited at 648 nm using a laser pointer. We developed a simple device for measuring the combined emission from a highly polarized reference film and the unpolarized or orthogonally polarized emission of Rh800 from the scattering intralipid or tissue. The concentration of Rh800 in this medium was revealed by large changes in the polarization (P) with values of P ranging from 0.8 to -0.9. It is possible to vary the sensitive Rh800 concentration range by variation of the detected emission wavelengths, orientation of the excitation polarizer, or fluorophore concentration in the reference film. Polarization sensing of fluorophores in tissue requires only steady-state detection, and can be accomplished with simple and/or portable electronics. Such devices may find use in electronic detection of ingested medicines based on transdermal detection of nontoxic long-wavelength fluorophores.     

Linear Dichroism and Orientation of the Phycomyces Photopigment

The greater sensitivity of a cylindrical Phycomyces sporangiophore to blue light polarized transversely rather than longitudinally is a consequence of the dichroism and orientation of the receptor pigment. The abilities of wild type and several carotene mutants to distinguish between the two directions of polarization are the same. The E-vector angle for maximum response relative to the transverse direction is 42 ± 4° at 280 nm, 7° ± 3° at 456 nm, and 7° ± 8° at 486 nm. The in vivo attenuation of polarized light at these wavelengths is very small. The polarized light effect in Phycomyces cannot arise from reflections at the cell surface or from differential attenuations due to internal screening or scattering.