In this work, we demonstrate a highly-sensitive vector magnetometer based on a few-mode-fiber-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor functionalized by magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in liquid. To fabricate the sensor, a few-mode fiber is side-polished and coated with a gold film, forming an SPR sensor that is highly sensitive to the surrounding refractive index. The vector magnetometer operates based on the mechanism whereby the intensity and orientation of an external magnetic field alters the anisotropic aggregation of the MNPs and thus the refractive index around the fiber SPR device. This, in turn, shifts the resonance wavelength of the surface plasmon. Experimental results show the proposed sensor is very sensitive to magnetic-field intensity and orientation (0.692 nm/Oe and -11.917 nm/°, respectively). These remarkable sensitivities to both magnetic-field intensity and orientation mean that the proposed sensor can be used in applications to detect weak magnetic-field vectors.
Keywords: few-mode fiber; magnetic nanoparticles; magnetic vector; surface plasmonic resonance.