Open Access
SnO2 based optical fiber refractometers
(SPIE, 2012) Sánchez Zábal, Pedro; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Hernáez Sáenz de Zaitigui, Miguel; Del Villar, Ignacio; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
In this work, the fabrication and characterization of refractometers based on lossy mode resonances (LMR) is presented. Tin dioxide (SnO2) films deposited on optical fibers are used as the LMR supporting coatings. These resonances shift to the red as a function of the external refractive index, enabling the fabrication of robust and highly reproducible wavelength-based optical fiber refractometers. The obtained SnO2-based refractometer shows an average sensitivity of 7198 nm/refractive index unit (RIU) in the range 1.333-1.420 RIU.
Open Access
Sensors based on thin-film coated cladding removed multimode optical fiber and single-mode multimode single-mode fiber: a comparative study
(Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2015) Del Villar, Ignacio; Socorro Leránoz, Abián Bentor; Hernáez Sáenz de Zaitigui, Miguel; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Sánchez Zábal, Pedro; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
Two simple optical fibre structures that do not require the inscription of a grating, a cladding removed multimode optical fibre (CRMOF) and a single-mode multimode single-mode structure (SMS), are compared in terms of their adequateness for sensing once they are coated with thin-films.The thin-film deposited (TiO2/PSS) permits increasing the sensitivity to surrounding medium refractive index. The results obtained can be extrapolated to other fields such as biological or chemical sensing just by replacing the thin-film by a specific material.
Open Access
Optical sensors based on lossy-mode resonances
(Elsevier Science, 2017) Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ascorbe Muruzabal, Joaquín; Acha Morrás, Nerea de; López Torres, Diego; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Sánchez Zábal, Pedro; Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Socorro Leránoz, Abián Bentor; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Hernáez Sáenz de Zaitigui, Miguel; Elosúa Aguado, César; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Bariáin Aisa, Cándido; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Del Villar, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Open Access
Optimization of fiber Bragg gratings inscribed in thin films deposited on D-shaped optical fibers
(MDPI, 2021) Imas González, José Javier; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Del Villar, Ignacio; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
A fiber Bragg grating patterned on a SnO2 thin film deposited on the flat surface of a D-shaped polished optical fiber is studied in this work. The fabrication parameters of this structure were optimized to achieve a trade-off among reflected power, full width half maximum (FWHM), sensitivity to the surrounding refractive index (SRI), and figure of merit (FOM). In the first place, the influence of the thin film thickness, the cladding thickness between the core and the flat surface of the D-shaped fiber (neck), and the length of the D-shaped zone over the reflected power and the FWHM were assessed. Reflected peak powers in the range from −2 dB to −10 dB can be easily achieved with FWHM below 100 pm. In the second place, the sensitivity to the SRI, the FWHM, and the FOM were analyzed for variations of the SRI in the 1.33–1.4 range, the neck, and the thin-film thickness. The best sensitivities theoretically achieved for this device are next to 40 nm/RIU, while the best FOM has a value of 114 RIU−1.
Open Access
Resonances in coated long period fiber gratings and cladding removed multimode optical fibers: a comparative study
(Optical Society of America, 2010) Del Villar, Ignacio; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Hernáez Sáenz de Zaitigui, Miguel; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
Two optical fiber devices have been coated in parallel: a long period fiber grating (LPFG) and a cladding-removed multimode optical fiber (CRMOF). The progressive coating of the LPFG by means of the layer-by-layer electrostatic-self-assembly, permits to observe a resonance wavelength shift of the attenuation bands in the transmission spectrum. The cause of this wavelength shift is the reorganization of the cladding mode effective indices. The cause of this modal reorganization can be understood with the results observed in the CRMOF coated in parallel. A lossy-moderesonance (LMR) is generated in the same wavelength range of the LPFG attenuation bands analyzed. Moreover, the thickness range where the wavelength shift of the LPFG attenuation bands occurs coincides exactly with the thickness range where the LMR can be visualized in the transmission spectrum. These phenomena are analyzed theoretically and corroborated experimentally. The advantages and disadvantages of both optical fiber devices are explained.
Open Access
Micro and nanostructured materials for the development of optical fibre sensors
(MDPI, 2017) Elosúa Aguado, César; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Del Villar, Ignacio; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Corres Sanz, Jesús María; Bariáin Aisa, Cándido; Goicoechea Fernández, Javier; Hernáez Sáenz de Zaitigui, Miguel; Rivero Fuente, Pedro J.; Socorro Leránoz, Abián Bentor; Urrutia Azcona, Aitor; Sánchez Zábal, Pedro; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; López Torres, Diego; Acha Morrás, Nerea de; Ascorbe Muruzabal, Joaquín; Ozcariz Celaya, Aritz; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica
The measurement of chemical and biomedical parameters can take advantage of the features exclusively offered by optical fibre: passive nature, electromagnetic immunity and chemical stability are some of the most relevant ones. The small dimensions of the fibre generally require that the sensing material be loaded into a supporting matrix whose morphology is adjusted at a nanometric scale. Thanks to the advances in nanotechnology new deposition methods have been developed: they allow reagents from different chemical nature to be embedded into films with a thickness always below a few microns that also show a relevant aspect ratio to ensure a high transduction interface. This review reveals some of the main techniques that are currently been employed to develop this kind of sensors, describing in detail both the resulting supporting matrices as well as the sensing materials used. The main objective is to offer a general view of the state of the art to expose the main challenges and chances that this technology is facing currently.
Open Access
Twin lossy mode resonance on a single D-shaped optical fiber
(Optica, 2021) Imas González, José Javier; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Del Villar, Ignacio; Pérez Escudero, José Manuel; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
This letter presents the fabrication of dual lossy mode resonance (LMR) refractometers based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) and tin oxide (SnO2) thin films deposited on a single side-polished D-shaped optical fiber. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, two independent LMRs are obtained in the same D-shaped optical fiber, by using a step-shaped nanostructure consisting of a first section of TiO2 with a thickness of 120 nm and a second section with a thickness of 140 nm (120 nm of TiO2 and 20 nm of SnO2). Each section is responsible for generating a first-order LMR with TM-polarized light (LMRTM). TiO2 is deposited by atomic layer deposition and SnO2 by electron-beam deposition. The theoretical results show that the depth of each of the resonances of the dual LMR depends on the length of the corresponding section. Two experimental devices were fabricated with sections of different lengths, and their sensitivities were studied, achieving values ∼ 4000 nm/refractive index unit (RIU) with a maximum of 4506 nm/RIU for values of the SRI between 1.3327 and 1.3485.
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
Design rules for lossy mode resonance based sensors
(Optical Society of America, 2012) Del Villar, Ignacio; Hernáez Sáenz de Zaitigui, Miguel; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Sánchez Zábal, Pedro; Fernández Valdivielso, Carlos; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Lossy mode resonances can be obtained in the transmission spectrum of cladding removed multimode optical fiber coated with a thin-film. The sensitivity of these devices to changes in the properties of the coating or the surrounding medium can be optimized by means of the adequate parameterization of the coating refractive index, the coating thickness and the surrounding medium refractive index (SMRI). Some basic rules of design, which enable the selection of the best parameters for each specific sensing application, are indicated in this work.
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.