Design and analysis of a highly sensitive SPR based PCF biosensor with double step dual peak shift sensitivity

This paper introduces a comprehensive study of a quad-cluster multi-functional Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) sensor where gold and Aluminum doped with zinc oxide (AZO) were used as plasmonic materials. A maximum Amplitude Sensitivity (AS) of 5336 RIU(−1) and Wavelength Sensitivity (WS) of 40,500 nm/RIU in y pol was obtained incorporating Gold as plasmonic material. When AZO was included as the plasmonic material, AS of 3763 RIU(−1) & WS of 9100 nm/RIU for y polarization were determined. The RI detecting range was increased from 1.32 to 1.43 to 1.19–1.42 after using AZO instead of Au that opens up a new horizon for detection. A novel detection technique, ‘Double Step Dual Peak Shift Sensitivity (DS-DPSS)’ was proposed in sensing temperature where highest sensitivity of 1.05 nm/(°)C having resolution of 0.095 °C for x pol. was achieved. Due to its diverse functionality, the suggested sensor represents a significant advancement in the detection of numerous analytes in biochemical applications.