Person:
Díaz Herrera, Natalia

First Name

Natalia

Last Name

Díaz Herrera

Affiliation

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Faculty / Institute

Óptica y Optometría

Department

Óptica

Area

Optica

Identifiers

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Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 33

Ellipsometric characterization of Bi and Al2O3 coatings for plasmon excitation in an optical fiber sensor
(AVS Science and Technology Society; American Vacuum Society, 2019-11-01) Rodriguez Schwendtner, Eva María; Álvarez Herrero, Alberto; Mariscal Jiménez, Antonio; Serna Galán, Rosalía; González Cano, Agustín; Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; Díaz Herrera, Natalia
The authors present the results of the ellipsometric characterization of thin layers of bismuth and aluminum oxide deposited over the waist of a tapered optical fiber by pulsed laser deposition. The characteristics of the deposits are studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry. From the effective thicknesses determined by the ellipsometric characterization, it is shown by simulations that surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) can occur in the fiber device, and it is demonstrated experimentally. These results show the feasibility of employing bismuth as a plasmonic material in SPR fiber sensors based on doubly-deposited uniform-waist tapered optical fibers, which show excellent performance and versatility.
Surface plasmon resonance in the visible region in sensors based on tapered optical fibers
(Elsevier Science S A, 2014-01) Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; Díaz Herrera, Natalia; González Cano, Agustín; Esteban Martínez, Óscar
Doubly deposited uniform-waist tapered optical fibers (DLUWTs) have shown their versatility and good performance as basis for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors for a variety of wavelength ranges. In this work we experimentally show how these devices can be employed to extend the technology of SPR fiber sensors to the visible region, down to about 530 nm, with remarkable results in terms of sensitivity, plasmon definition and the availability of multiple plasmon resonances for each configuration. In this way, DLUWTs can be used to cover a range of more than 1000 nm for aqueous media only by changing the thickness of the deposits. Also, it is shown how these results can be used with the so-called absorption method to make selective the response of the sensors and a study is made on the influence of the taper waist in the performance of the devices. The number of SPR fiber sensors working in the visible region, of great interest in biological research, that have been depicted in the literature is very small, and the sensors that we present here notably improve their performance.
Fibre-optic SPR sensor with a FBG interrogation scheme for readout enhancement
(Elsevier Science S A, 2010-01-29) Díaz Herrera, Natalia; Viegas, Diana Catarino das Neves; Jorge, Pedro A. S.; Araújo, Francisco Manuel Moita; Santos, Jose Luis; Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; González Cano, Agustín
In this work a new configuration of a refractometric sensor for aqueous solutions based on the combination of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with fibre Bragg gratings (FBG) is presented. Two FBGs are selected having reflection maxima in each side of the plasmon resonance peak. These FBGs enable a different processing scheme for the information provided by the SPR transducer. This improved interrogation method increases the sensitivity and resolution of the sensor compared with those obtained with the usual method of tracking the spectral transmittance minimum and makes the system performance independent of optical source power fluctuations. The experimental results obtained with a double-layer uniform-waist tapered fibre show the feasibility of this approach and its applicability in SPR-based biosensors that must face very exigent measuring conditions.
Sensing properties of asymmetric double-layer-covered tapered fibers
(The Optical Society Of America, 2004-03-10) Bueno Guillén, Francisco Javier; Esteban Martínez, Óscar; Díaz Herrera, Natalia; Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; González Cano, Agustín
A novel, to our knowledge, device based on a tapered optical fiber with a double-layer deposition including a metallic media is presented, and its properties are studied. The main novelty of the device consists of the introduction of a dielectric layer, whereas the systems depicted in the literature are simply metal-coated tapered fibers. The presence of the dielectric layer permits one to tune the response of the device to the refractive index of the surrounding medium. We have proved the suitability of this scheme for refractive-index sensing by depicting two measurement modes, namely, total power attenuation and spectral transmittance.
Absorption as a selective mechanism in surface plasmon resonance fiber optic sensors
(Optical Society of America, 2006-11-01) Esteban Martínez, Óscar; González Cano, Agustín; Díaz Herrera, Natalia; Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz
A new concept of surface plasmon resonance fiber optic sensor is presented. By tuning the plasmon resonance to a wavelength for which the outer medium is absorptive, a significant variation of the spectral transmittance of the device is produced as a function of the concentration of the analyte. With this mechanism, selectivity can be achieved without the need of any functionalization of the surfaces or the use of recognizing elements, which is a very interesting feature for any kind of chemical sensor or biosensor. Doubly deposited uniform-waist tapered fibers are well suited for the development of these new sensors. Multiple surface plasmon resonance, obtainable in those structures, can be used for the development of microspectrometers based on this principle.
Selectivity of SPR fiber sensors in absorptive media: An experimental evaluation
(Elsevier Science S A, 2011-12-15) Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; Díaz Herrera, Natalia; González Cano, Agustín; Esteban Martínez, Óscar; Leite, Ivo
Conventional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) fiber sensors show selective behavior when resonance wavelengths are tuned to absorption peaks of the surrounding medium, as it is experimentally shown and evaluated in this paper by using a doubly-deposited uniform-waist tapered optical fiber (DLUWT) and a dye as a test material. This behavior is clearly distinguishable from the usual response to nonabsorbing media and can be used to develop a new concept of SPR transducers. At the same time, the obtained results, which are in accordance with the theoretical predictions permit to increase the basic knowledge on surface plasma waves excitation in optical fibers.
Refractive index sensing of aqueous media based on plasmonic resonance in tapered optical fibres operating in the 1.5 μm region
(Elsevier Sci. Ltd., 2010-04-08) Díaz Herrera, Natalia; González Cano, Agustín; Viegas, Diana Catarino das Neves; Santos, José Luis; Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz
Experimental results are shown demonstrating that multiple surface plasma waves can be excited in optical fibres at the 1.5 μm optical communications region for the range of refractive indices of aqueous media using doubly deposited tapered fibre structures, well known to exhibit small or zero sensitivity to polarization. Well-defined plasmon dips were obtained with high sensitivity to the surrounding refractive index. This characteristic, together with the substantial flexibility for local and distributed measurement associated with optical fibre sensing supported by the C-Band technology, indicate that these devices can be very advantageously used for chemical, biological and environmental sensing.
Deposition of Graphene Oxide on an SPR Fiber Refractometer for Sensor Applications
(MDPI, 2023-04-19) Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; Díaz Herrera, Natalia; González Cano, Agustín
Graphene-based materials have been increasingly incorporated to optical fiber plasmonic sensors due to the peculiar physical and chemical properties of these materials (hardness and flexibility, high electrical and thermal conductivity, and very good adsorption for many substances, etc.). In this paper, we theoretically and experimentally showed how the addition of graphene oxide (GO) to optical fiber refractometers permits the development of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors with very good characteristics. We used doubly deposited uniform-waist tapered optical fibers (DLUWTs) as supporting structures because of their already proven good performance. The presence of GO as an effective third layer is useful to tune the wavelength of the resonances. In addition, the sensitivity was improved. We depict the procedures for the production of the devices and characterize the GO+DLUWTs produced in this way. We also showed how the experimental results are in agreement with the theoretical predictions and used these to estimate the thickness of deposited GO. Finally, we compared the performance of our sensors with other ones that have been recently reported, showing that our results are among the best reported. Using GO as the medium in contact with the analyte, in addition to the good overall performance of devices, permit consideration of this option as an interesting possibility for the future development of SPR-based fiber sensors.
Plasmonic sensors based on doubly-deposited tapered optical fibers
(MDPI, 2014) González Cano, Agustín; Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; Esteban, Óscar; Díaz Herrera, Natalia
A review of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) transducers based on tapered fibers that have been developed in the last years is presented. The devices have proved their good performance (specifically, in terms of sensitivity) and their versatility and they are a very good option to be considered as basis for any kind of chemical and biological sensor. The technology has now reached its maturity and here we summarize some of the characteristics of the devices produced.
A Polarization-Independent SPR Fiber Sensor
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2010-03) Navarrete Fernández, María Cruz; Díaz Herrera, Natalia; González Cano, Agustín; Esteban Martínez, Óscar
The resonance of surface plasma waves in metallic layers is a strongly polarization-dependent phenomenon by the very nature of the physical effect responsible of that resonance. This implies the necessity of polarization-controlling elements to be added to any operative surface-plasmon-resonance-based sensor. A fully symmetrical, circular-section double deposition of a metallic and a dielectric layer on a uniform-waist tapered optical fiber (SymDL-UWT) permits us to completely eliminate the dependence on polarization of the plasmon excitation, with the corresponding operative advantages and basic theoretical consequences. We depict the fabrication process of these transducers, which is based on the use of a simple and efficient rotating element developed by us, and show the characteristics of the produced devices. No such device has been depicted up to date. As our experimental results show, this kind of devices can be considered a very good option for the development of simple, compact, and efficient chemical and biological sensors.