Refractive Index Sensor Based on Micro- Structured Optical Fibers with Using Finite Element Method

Abstract

In this paper a refractive index sensor based on micro-structured optical fiber has been proposed using Finite Element Method (FEM). The designed fiber has a hexagonal cladding structure with six air holes rings running around its solid core.  The air holes of fiber has been infiltrated  with different liquids such as water , ethanol, methanol, and toluene then sensor characteristics like ; effective refractive index , confinement loss, beam profile of the fundamental mode, and sensor resolution are investigated by employing the FEM. This designed sensor characterized by its low confinement loss and high resolution so a small change in the analyte refractive index could be detect which is could be useful to detect the change of the information of the biological molecule reaction and also in medical applications in fields like toxins, drug residues, vitamins, antibodies, proteins and parasites.