Open Access
Improving the width of lossy mode resonances (LMRs) in double-clad fibers
(IEEE, 2023) Imas González, José Javier; Del Villar, Ignacio; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
In this work, the characteristics of lossy mode resonances (LMRs) in double-clad fibers where the refractive index (RI) of the second cladding is lower than that of the first cladding are analyzed both numerically and experimentally. In the first place, the LMRs spectra obtained with a 75 nm TiO 2 thin film are simulated, and it is observed that a thicker second cladding improves the width of the resonances, making them narrower. Then, two experimental cases (no second cladding, and second cladding with thickness of 1.13 μm) are assessed, showing a good agreement with the previous simulations. Finally, an experimental refractometric study is carried out in liquids (surrounding medium refractive index in the 1.34 - 1.40 range) for both fibers, calculating the full width at 1 dB (FW 1dB ), the sensitivity, and the figure of merit (FOM). The FW 1dB is better for the LMR obtained on the fiber with second cladding while the sensitivity is slightly greater for the fiber without second cladding. In the case of the FOM, it is higher for the double-clad fiber as the narrowing of the resonances outweighs the lower sensitivity. These results show that the performance of LMR-based optical fiber sensors can be improved by employing double-clad fibers.
Open Access
D-shape optical fiber refractometer based on TM and TE lossy mode resonances
(SPIE, 2014) Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Del Villar, Ignacio; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza
The fabrication and characterization of an optical fiber refractometer based on Lossy Mode Resonances (LMR) is presented. TiO2/ poly (sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) coatings deposited on side-polished D-shaped optical fibers are used as LMR supporting coatings. LMRs are sensitive to the external medium refractive index and D-shaped optical fibers enable the observation of TE and TM LMR polarizations. These refractometers based on TE and TM LMR showed an average sensitivity of 2737 nm/RIU and 2893 nm/RIU respectively for a surrounding medium refractive index (SMRI) range from 1.35 to 1.41.
Open Access
Ammonia gas optical sensor based on lossy mode resonances
(IEEE, 2023) Armas, Dayron; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
This letter presents the fabrication and characterization of an ammonia (NH 3) gas optical sensor based on lossy mode resonances (LMRs). A chromium (III) oxide (Cr 2 O 3) thin film deposited onto a planar waveguide was used as LMR supporting coating. The obtained LMR shows a maximum attenuation wavelength or resonance wavelength centered at 673 nm. The optical properties of the coating can be modified as a function of the presence and concentration of NH 3 in the external medium. Consequently, the refractive index of the Cr 2 O 3 thin film will change, producing a red-shift of the resonance wavelength. Obtained devices were tested for different concentrations of NH 3 as well as repetitive cycles. Concentrations as low as 10 ppbv of NH 3 were detected at room temperature. Machine learning regression models were used to mitigate the cross-sensitivity of the device under temperature and humidity fluctuations.
Open Access
Femtomolar detection by nanocoated fiber label-free biosensors
(American Chemical Society, 2018) Chiavaioli, Francesco; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Del Villar, Ignacio; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Giannetti, Ambra; Tombelli, Sara; Trono, Cosimo; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Baldini, Francesco; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
The advent of optical fibre-based biosensors combined with that of nanotechnologies has provided an oppor-tunity for developing in situ, portable, lightweight, versatile and high-performance optical sensing platforms. We report on the generation of lossy mode resonances by the deposition of nm-thick metal oxide films on optical fibres, which makes it possible to measure precisely and accurately the changes in optical properties of the fibre-surrounding medium with very high sensitivity compared to other technology platforms, such as long period gratings or surface plasmon resonances, the gold standard in label-free and real-time biomolecular interaction analysis. This property, combined with the application of specialty structures such as D-shaped fibres, permits enhancing the light-matter interaction. SEM and TEM imaging together with X-EDS tool have been utilised to characterise the two films used, i.e. indium tin oxide and tin dioxide. More-over, the experimental transmission spectra obtained after the deposition of the nanocoatings have been numerically cor-roborated by means of wave propagation methods. With the use of a conventional wavelength interrogation system and ad-hoc developed microfluidics, the shift of the lossy mode resonance can be reliably recorded in response to very low analyte concentrations. Repeated experiments confirm a big leap in performance thanks to the capability to detect femtomolar concentrations in human serum, improving the detection limit by three orders of magnitude when compared with other fibre-based configurations. The biosensor has been regenerated several times by injecting sodium dodecyl sul-phate, which proves the capability of sensor to be reused.
Open Access
Gas detection using LMR-based optical fiber sensors
(MDPI, 2018) Dreyer, Uilian José; Ozcariz Celaya, Aritz; Ascorbe Muruzabal, Joaquín; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Vitoria Pascual, Ignacio; Martelli, Cicero; Cardozo da Silva, Jean Carlos; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
This work presents a first approach to the utilization of Lossy Mode Resonance (LMR) based optical fiber sensors for gas detection. The optical sensor is based on a SnO2 thin-film fabricated onto the core of cladding removed multimode fibers (MMF). The time response of the device to four different gases (NH3, NO, CO2 and O2) was monitored obtaining the best sensitivity for NO whereas the response to NH3 revealed the best repeatability.
Open Access
Lossy mode resonances biosensor for the detection of C-reactive protein
(Optica Publishing Group, 2016) Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Sánchez Zábal, Pedro; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
The fabrication and characterization of optical fiber biosensor based on Lossy Mode Resonances (LMR) to detect C-reactive protein (CRP) are presented. Indium tin oxide (ITO) coatings deposited on side-polished D-shaped optical fibers are used as LMR supporting coatings. The aptamer was immobilized on the ITO film using the Layer-by-Layer (LbL) nano-assembly process. The optical fiber sensor presented shows a high selectivity and low limit detection.
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
Experimental demonstration of lossy mode resonance generation for transverse-magnetic and transverse-electric polarizations
(Optica Publishing Group, 2013) Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Sagüés García, Mikel; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa
This Letter, presents the fabrication of lossy mode resonance (LMR) devices based on titanium dioxide (TiO2)/ poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) coatings deposited on side-polished D-shaped optical fibers. TiO2 thin films have been obtained by means of the layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique. LbL enables us to produce smooth and homogeneous coatings on the polished side of the fiber. This permits us to couple light from the waveguide to the TiO2-coating/external medium region at specific wavelength ranges. The generation of LMRs depends on the coating thickness, so that thicker coatings can produce more resonances. LMRs are sensitive to the external medium refractive index, which allows its utilization as refractometers. The characteristic D-shaped architecture of the devices employed in this Letter enables us to distinguish TE and TM polarizations, which had not been possible before with regular optical fibers due to their cylindrical symmetry. The results presented here show for the first time the experimental demonstration of the generation of LMRs produced by both TM and TE polarizations. More specifically, for these TiO2/PSS thin films, the TM and TM modes of the LMRs show a wavelength shift of 226 nm for the first-order LMR and 56 nm for the second-order LMR.
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
D-shape optical fiber pH sensor based on lossy mode resonances (LMRs)
(IEEE, 2016-01-07) Zubiate Orzanco, Pablo; Ruiz Zamarreño, Carlos; Del Villar, Ignacio; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza
The fabrication and characterization of an optical fiber pH sensor based on Lossy Mode Resonances (LMRs) is presented. PAH/PAA polymeric thin-films fabricated onto side-polished D-shaped optical fibers are used as LMR supporting coatings. The thickness of PAH/PAA coatings can be modified as a function of the external medium pH. As a consequence of this variation, the effective refractive index of the structure will change, producing a shift of the LMR. The fabricated sensor has been used to measure pH from 4.0 to 5.0. This pH sensor showed a sensitivity of 101.3 nm per pH unit, which means a resolution of ~6×10-4 pH units by using a conventional communications Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA), which is an improvement over commercial pH sensors.