Oligonucleotide-Hybridization Fiber-Optic Biosensor using a Narrow Bandwidth Long Period Grating

Nanometric narrowband Long Period Gratings (LPG) are investigated for the implementation of improved fiber optic biosensors. The reduction of more than one order of magnitude in the linewidth of the LPG with respect standard LPG at 1500 nm, leads to the improvement of the resolution of the sensor. By selecting the proper fabrication parameters (high numerical aperture, relatively high order mode and large length), LPGs with a 3-dB bandwidth of 1.5 nm were fabricated. The sensitivity of the LPG as a refractometer was calculated, and experimentally characterized in detail. In particular, the LP0,17 and LP0,18 resonances were investigated, in order to select the most suitable one for the bioex…