Three-core photonic crystal fiber surface plasmon resonance sensor

Abstract A three-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor with high performance is presented. The structure of the biosensor is easy to implement and has good repetition. The outer layer of the fiber structure is gold film. The analyte is placed on the surface of the gold film. The Full vector finite element method is used to numerical simulation and analysis the transmission mode and characteristics of the three-core PCF-SPR biosensor. The influence of sensor structure parameters on sensing performance is investigated. The structure parameters are optimized. The optimum structure parameters are given. The refractive index (RI) sensitivity of the sensor is discussed there. The results show that the average refractive index sensitivity of the sensor is 3435 nm/RIU in the sensing range of 1.33–1.40, and the resolution is 2.91 × 10 −6  RIU. The sensor has the advantages of high sensitivity and high resolution. And it can be applied to real-time detection of the biomolecules and small drug-molecules.