Open Access
Route towards a label-free optical waveguide sensing platform based on lossy mode resonances
(IFSA Publishing, 2019) Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Ozcariz Celaya, Aritz; Elosúa Aguado, César; Socorro Leránoz, Abián Bentor; Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; López Torres, Diego; Acha Morrás, Nerea de; Ascorbe Muruzabal, Joaquín; Vitoria Pascual, Ignacio; Imas González, José Javier; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Hernáez Sáenz de Zaitigui, Miguel; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Del Villar, Ignacio; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua,0011-1365-2017- 000117; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, PJUPNA26
According to recent market studies of the North American company Allied Market Research, the field of photonic sensors is an emerging strategic field for the following years and it is expected to garner $18 billion by 2021. The integration of micro and nanofabrication technologies in the field of sensors has allowed the development of new technological concepts such as lab-on-a-chip which have achieved extraordinary advances in terms of detection and applicability, for example in the field of biosensors. This continuous development has allowed that equipment consisting of many complex devices that occupied a whole room a few years ago, at present it is possible to handle them in the palm of the hand; that formerly long duration processes are carried out in a matter of milliseconds and that a technology previously dedicated solely to military or scientific uses is available to the vast majority of consumers. The adequate combination of micro and nanostructured coatings with optical fiber sensors has permitted us to develop novel sensing technologies, such as the first experimental demonstration of lossy mode resonances (LMRs) for sensing applications, with more than one hundred citations and related publications in high rank journals and top conferences. In fact, fiber optic LMR-based devices have been proven as devices with one of the highest sensitivity for refractometric applications. Refractive index sensitivity is an indirect and simple indicator of how sensitive the device is to chemical and biological species, topic where this proposal is focused. Consequently, the utilization of these devices for chemical and biosensing applications is a clear opportunity that could open novel and interesting research lines and applications as well as simplify current analytical methodologies. As a result, on the basis of our previous experience with LMR based sensors to attain very high sensitivities, the objective of this paper is presenting the route for the development of label-free optical waveguide sensing platform based on LMRs that enable to explore the limits of this technology for bio-chemosensing applications.
Open Access
Fiber-based label-free D-dimer detection for early diagnosis of venous thromboembolism
(SPIE, 2020) Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Fernández Irigoyen, Joaquín; Giannetti, Ambra; Baldini, Francesco; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Santamaría Martínez, Enrique; Del Villar, Ignacio; Chiavaioli, Francesco; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
D-dimer is a useful diagnostic biomarker for deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, collectively referred to as venous thromboembolism (VTE). The ability to detect in real-time the amount of D-dimer with a fast and reliable method is a key step to anticipate the appearance of these diseases. The combination of fiber-optic-based platforms for biosensing with the nanotechnologies is opening up the chance for the development of in situ, portable, lightweight, versatile, reliable and high-performance optical sensing devices towards lab-on-fiber technology. The generation of lossy mode resonances (LMRs) by means of the deposition of nm-thick absorbing metal-oxide films on special geometric-modified fibers allows measuring precisely and accurately surface refractive index changes, which are due to the binding interaction between a biological recognition element and the analyte under investigation. This approach enhances the light-matter interaction in a strong way, thus turning out to be more sensitive compared to other optical technology platforms, such as fiber gratings or surface plasmon resonance. Here, the results of a highly specific and sensitive biosensor for the detection of D-dimer based on LMR in fiber-optics are presented by monitoring in real-time the shift of the LMR related to the biomolecule interactions thanks to a conventional wavelength-interrogation system and an ad-hoc developed microfluidics. A detection limit of 100 ng/mL, a value 5-fold below the clinical cutoff value, has been attained for D-dimer spiked in human serum. The comparison of the results achieved with proteomics-based methodologies, which allows for the identification of betaand gamma-chains of fibrinogen, demonstrates the ability of our platform to specifically (>90%) recognize D-dimer.
Open Access
Sensitivity enhancement in low cutoff wavelength long-period fiber gratings by cladding diameter reduction
(MDPI, 2017) Del Villar, Ignacio; Partridge, Matthew; Rodríguez Rodríguez, Wenceslao Eduardo; Fuentes Lorenzo, Omar; Socorro Leránoz, Abián Bentor; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; James, Stephen; Tatam, Ralph; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua: 2017/PI044
The diameter of long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) fabricated in optical fibers with a low cutoff wavelength was be reduced by hydrofluoric acid etching, enhancing the sensitivity to refractive index by more than a factor of 3, to 2611 nm/refractive index unit in the range from 1.333 to 1.4278. The grating period selected for the LPFGs allowed access to the dispersion turning point at wavelengths close to the visible range of the optical spectrum, where optical equipment is less expensive. As an example of an application, a pH sensor based on the deposition of a polymeric coating was analyzed in two situations: with an LPFG without diameter reduction and with an LPFG with diameter reduction. Again, a sensitivity increase of a factor of near 3 was obtained, demonstrating the ability of this method to enhance the sensitivity of thin-film-coated LPFG chemical sensors.
Open Access
Stable multi-wavelength erbium fiber ring laser with optical feedback for remote sensing
(IEEE / OSA, 2015) Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Leandro González, Daniel; López-Amo Sáinz, Manuel; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
In this work, we demonstrate a stable fiber sensing system for remote temperature measurements, where the sensing element is an array of four fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) and sensor interrogation is achieved with a multi-wavelength erbium fiber ring laser. By introducing a feedback fiber loop in a fiber ring cavity, four laser emission lines were obtained simultaneously in single-longitudinal mode operation (SLM). The power instability obtained was lower than 0.5 dB with an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) higher than 50 dB for all the emitted wavelengths. The application of this system for remote temperature measurements has been demonstrated even though the SLM regime cannot be preserved.
Open Access
Monitoring the etching process in LPFGs towards development of highly sensitive sensors
(MDPI, 2017) Del Villar, Ignacio; Cruz, José Luis; Socorro Leránoz, Abián Bentor; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua: 2016/PI008; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua: 2016/PC025; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua: 2016/PC026
In this work, the monitoring of the etching process up to a diameter of 30 µm of two LPFG structures has been compared, one of them had initially 125 µm, whereas the second one had 80 µm. By tracking the wavelength shift of the resonance bands during the etching process it is possible to check the quality of etching process (the 80 µm fibre performs better than de 125 µm fibre), and to stop for a specific cladding mode coupling, which permits to obtain an improved sensitivity compared to the initial structure.
Open Access
Resilient amplified double ring optical networks to multiplex optical fibre sensors
(IEEE / OSA, 2009) Fernández Vallejo, Montserrat; Pérez Herrera, Rosa Ana; Elosúa Aguado, César; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Urquhart, Paul; Bariáin Aisa, Cándido; López-Amo Sáinz, Manuel; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
We report the experimental demonstration of two configurations of an amplified optical fibre double ring network for the multiplexing of sensors. The networks are designed to be inherently resilient to fibre failures because they enable simultaneous interrogation of all the optical fibre sensors using both rings. The first design demonstrates the feasibility of the so called 'dedicated protection' and the second one 'shared protection' for fibre optic intensity sensors. Raman amplification is used to overcome the losses of the couplers used in the rings, providing power transparency. The first network uses Raman amplification in both constituent rings but in the second one Raman pumping is activated only when a fibre failure occurs. We demonstrate how the topology allows the received powers from the sensors to be equalized.
Open Access
Long-range hybrid network with point and distributed Brillouin sensors using Raman amplification
(Optical Society of America, 2010) Zornoza Indart, Ander; Pérez Herrera, Rosa Ana; Elosúa Aguado, César; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Bariáin Aisa, Cándido; Loayssa Lara, Alayn; López-Amo Sáinz, Manuel; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
We propose a novel concept for hybrid networks that combine point and distributed Brillouin sensors in a cost-effective architecture that also deploys remote distributed Raman amplification to extend the sensing range. A 46-km proof-of-concept network is experimentally demonstrated integrating point vibration sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings and tapers with distributed temperature sensing along the network bus. In this network the use of Raman amplification to compensate branching and fiber losses provides a temperature resolution of 0.7°C and 13 m. Moreover, it was possible to obtain good optical signal to noise ratio in the measurements from the four point vibration sensors that were remotely multiplexed in the network. These low-cost intensity sensors are able to measure vibrations in the 0.1 to 50 Hz frequency range, which are important in the monitoring of large infrastructures such as pipelines.
Open Access
Single-mode-multimode-single-mode fiber (SMS): exploring environmental sensing capabilities
(IEEE, 2024-08-16) Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Armendáriz Ballesteros, Mikel; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
In this paper, we study the environmental sensing capabilities of a Single-Mode-Multimode-Single-Mode (SMS) fiber in a simple low-cost configuration. SMS fibers exhibit sensitivity to temperature, humidity, refractive index and strain, making them suitable for numerous applications in telecommunications, environmental monitoring, and more. Experimental results demonstrate that the sensor achieves a maximum temperature sensitivity of 4.53 nm/°C. Additionally, SMS fibers can also work as humidity sensors by absorbing or releasing moisture, leading to variations in the refractive index. Monitoring these changes allows for precise humidity measurements, with a sensitivity of 0.1548 nm/%RH. Moreover, SMS fibers show a refractive index sensitivity of 39.65 nm/RIU and strain sensitivities as high as 1.062 nm/¿¿, indicating good performance.
Open Access
Highly sensitive sensor for measuring material thermal expansion using a ring laser
(IEEE, 2023) Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Fuentes Lorenzo, Omar; Torres Betancourt, Angie Tatiana; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
A new thermal expansion sensor is presented in this letter. It combines an interferometric fiber sensor and an erbium-doped fiber ring laser as the light source. The sensor consists of a combination of single-mode, hollow-core, and no-core mirror fibers. The sensor was tested on two different types of based metal, such as aluminum and steel, giving sensitivities as high as 38.7 and 5.75 nm/°C, respectively, showing good performance.
Open Access
All fiber interferometer for ice detection
(Optica Publishing Group, 2018) Arozarena Arana, Jesús Antonio; Socorro Leránoz, Abián Bentor; Del Villar, Ignacio; Díaz Lucas, Silvia; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
This work presents an etched single-mode - multimode - single-mode structure that detects the solid-to-liquid change of state of the water due to an increased refractive index sensitivity within the 1.308 - 1.321 RIU range