Lab on fiber using self assembly technique: a preliminary study

In this work, we report the preliminary results on the fabrication of metallo-dielectric nanostructures on the optical fiber tip by using a simple and low cost self-assembly approach. The fabrication process relies on the breath figure technique here adapted to operate on unconventional substrates as the case of single mode optical fibers. The experimental results demonstrate the successful creation of a honeycomb pattern on the optical fiber tip and the feasibility of the proposed approach in the roadmap of "Lab on fiber" technology development. Further work is currently running aimed to the assessment the presented fabrication procedures in order to attain advanced optical fiber sensing probes with high fabrication throughput by exploiting a low cost technology.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.