Miniature refractive index fiber sensor based on silica micro-tube and Au micro-sphere

Abstract We demonstrated the refractive index sensing characteristics of a miniature fiber sensor composited by silica-hollow-tube (SHT) and Au-micro-sphere (AmS). The high sensitivity is obtained due to the evanescent field effect existing in the SHT with the inner diameter of ∼2.3 μm and the surface plasmon resonance effect excited on the surface of AmS with the diameter of ∼2 μm. Experimental results indicate that this sensor can continuously measure the glucose concentration in range of 0–60% with a good linearity. The high detection sensitivity up to 8.33 μmol/L (47.33 mW/RIU) enables its ability in determining the glucose concentration in either blood or body fluids. Furthermore, the tiny structure is promise to be integrated into the microchip or other injectable structures, and monitor the glucose concentration in real-time.