Optical Detection of Single Nanoparticles with a Sub-wavelength Fiber-Taper

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact fiber-taper sensor capable of detecting individual nanoparticles by monitoring abrupt changes in transmitted light power, validated with polystyrene nanoparticles at 1550 nm.

Contribution

It presents a novel, simple fiber-taper based detection scheme for single nanoparticle resolution, combining compactness and flexibility.

Findings

Successful detection of individual nanoparticles of 120 nm and 175 nm radius.

Sensor operates effectively at 1550 nm wavelength.

Demonstrates potential for compact nanoparticle sensing applications.

Abstract

A nanoparticle detection scheme with single particle resolution is presented. The sensor contains only a taper fiber thus offering the advantages of compactness and installation flexibility. Sensing method is based on monitoring the transmitted light power which shows abrupt jumps with each particle binding to the taper surface. The experimental validation of the sensor is demonstrated with polystyrene nanoparticles of radii 120 nm and 175 nm in the 1550 nm wavelength band.