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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 bioexperiments. The surface of the LPG
was functionalized and the detection of the hybridization of DNA
is demonstrated. When the biosensor was immersed in a 2 μM
solution of the complementary DNA strand, the resonances of the
LPG shifted in wavelength. When measuring the response of the
sensor in terms of variation of its transmittance as the resonance
shifted in wavelength, the sensitivity was ~10%/μM for both
resonances. The detection limit was estimated in 10 nM
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