This work presents an optical fiber sensors based on lossy–mode resonance (LMR) phenomenon supported by indium tin oxide (ITO) thin overlay for investigation of electro-polymerization effect on ITO’s surface. The ITO overlays were deposited on core of polymer-clad silica (PCS) fibers using reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS) method. Since ITO is electrically conductive and electrochemically active it can be used as a working electrode in 3-electrode cyclic voltammetry setup. For fixed potential applied to the electrode current flow decrease with time what corresponds to polymer layer formation on the ITO surface. Since LMR phenomenon depends on optical properties in proximity of the ITO surface, polymer layer formation can be monitored optically in real time. The electrodeposition process has been performed with Isatin which is a strong endogenous neurochemical regulator in humans as it is a metabolic derivative of adrenaline. It was found that optical detection of Isatin is possible in the proposed configuration.
Glass and fiber structures with Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coating were subjected to annealing in order to identify impact of the thermal treatment on their optical and electrochemical properties. It is shown that the annealing process significantly modifies optical properties and thickness of the films, which are crucial for performance of optical fiber sensors. Moreover, it visibly improves electrochemical activity of ITO on glass slides and thicker (∅=400 μm) ITO-coated fibers, whereas in the case of thinner fibers (∅=125 μm) it could lead to a loss of their electrochemical activity. Depending on the applied substrate and the annealing process, the investigated structures with ITO coating can be further used as fiber-based sensors with integrated opto-electrochemical readout.
Low-coherence sensors using Fabry-Perot interferometers are finding new applications in biophotonic sensing, especially due to the rapid technological advances in the development of new materials. In this paper we discuss the possibility of using boron-doped nanodiamond layers to protect mirror in a Fabry-Perot interferometer. A low-coherence sensor using Fabry-Perot interferometer with a boron-doped nanodiamond (B-NCD) thin protective layer has been developed. B-NCD layers with different boron doping level were investigated. The boron level, expressed as the boron to carbon (/[C]) ratio in the gas phase, was: 0, 2000, 5000 or 10000 ppm. B-NCD layers were grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The sensing Fabry-Perot interferometer, working in the reflective mode, was connected to the source and to the optical processor by single-mode fibers. Superluminescent diodes with Gaussian spectral density were used as sources, while an optical spectrum analyzer was used as an optical processor. The design of the sensing interferometer was optimized to attain the maximum interference contrast. The experiment has shown that B-NCD thin layers can be successfully used in biophotonic sensors.
Fabrication process of thin boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond (B-NCD) microelectrode on fused silica single mode optical fiber has been investigated. The B-NCD films were deposited on the fibers using Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MW PA CVD) at glass substrate temperature of 475 ºC. We have obtained homogenous, continuous and polycrystalline surface morphology with the mean grain size in the range of 100-250 nm and high sp3 content in B-NCD films. The films deposited on glass reference samples exhibit high refractive index (n≈2.05 at λ=550 nm) and low extinction coefficient. Furthermore, cyclic voltammograms (CV) were recorded to determine the electrochemical window and reaction reversibility at the B-NCD fibre-based electrode. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements in aqueous media consisting of 5mM K3[Fe(CN)6] in 0.1M Na2SO4 demonstrated a width of the electrochemical window up to 2.5 V and relatively fast kinetics expressed by a redox peak splitting below 500 mV. Moreover, thanks to high-n B-NCD overlay, the coated fibers can be also used for enhancing sensitivity of long-period gratings (LPGs) induced in the fibers. The LPG is capable for measuring variations in refractive index of surrounding liquid by tracing shift in resonance appearing in transmitted spectrum. Possible combined CV and LPG-based measurements are discussed in this work.
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