Fluoride fiber optic SPR sensor with enhanced performance: Simulation and analysis within the framework of Kubo formulation for graphene

The performance of a fiber optic SPR sensor with ZBLAN fluoride glass core, NaF clad, Ag layer, and graphene monolayer is simulated and analyzed under the synchronized tuning of temperature, near infrared (NIR) wavelength, and graphene's chemical potential. The simulation is carried out by considering the graphene's conductivity variations as per Kubo formulation. For other constituent media, the thermo-optic effect is considered. The simulation results suggest a general outcome that a combination of shorter NIR wavelength, higher temperature, and larger chemical potential can provide considerably enhanced performance. A finer analysis predicts that 1310 nm wavelength, 0.61 eV chemical potential, and 332.4 K temperature can be used as a pragmatic combination in order to achieve significantly enhanced sensing performance. The proposed sensor provides higher figure-of-merit than most recent works reported on SPR-based sensors.