For the first time, we perform a theoretical investigation into the operation of a multilayer nanocomposite based optical fibre surface plasmon resonance hydrogen sensor. The sensor consists of Pd nanoparticles embedded in host material of Ta2O5 over a thin continuous film of Ag, in place of a small unclad section of the fibre core. We compare the operation of this device to a sensor employing an individual multilayer based sensing stack (Ag/Ta2O5/Pd) by measuring the normalised output power through the fibre, and the sensor sensitivity. A much smaller modulation layer thickness is required in the NC structure in order to achieve the same spectral shift of the resonance location as compared to the IM based structure, thus indicating a faster response time. In both sensor types, sensitivity increased to a maximum with increasing modulation material thickness, beyond which it began to fall off. The NC based structure operated with overall higher sensitivity than the IM structure.
Hydrogen sensing technology by definition necessitates high accuracy, rapid response time, and durability. Thin film Pd has demonstrated excellent use in this field owing to large sensitivity and fast detection time. Interaction with hydrogen causes a crystallographic phase transition of the Pd lattice resulting in expansion. Subsequently repeated hydrogen loading cycles increases mechanical stress on the Pd lattice and thus leads to delamination of the hydrogen sensitive layer. By alloying Pd with Y, it is possible to mitigate the unwanted phase transition thereby significantly improving durability. We present the first optical fibre surface plasmon resonance (OFSPR) hydrogen sensor based on a multilayer Ag/SiO2/PdY deposited on the unclad core of a silica optical fibre. In this submission, we investigated the spectral influence of fibre numerical aperture in addition to Ag and SiO2 thickness within the multilayer. Sensor sensitivity and figure of merit were found to reach a maximum when a fixed Ag thickness was paired with a set of corresponding SiO2 thicknesses. We demonstrate that changing the thickness of one of these layers alters the optimal thickness of the other. We present a figure by which an array of optimal sensing structures can be determined. The largest sensor figure of merit in this study was found to be 0.062732, and was produced using Ag = 50nm, and SiO2 = 70nm. This sensor operates with sensitivity of 17.57nm to 4% hydrogen, detection accuracy of 0.014282nm-1, and operated at a spectral centre of 524.09nm.
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