A hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (PCF) sensor with a dual optofluidic channel based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect is proposed. The sensor characteristic is numerically explored by software integrated with the finite element method (FEM). The numerical results show that, when the analyte refractive index (RI) varies from 1.32 to 1.38, high linearity between resonance wavelength and analyte RI is obtained and the value of adjusted R2 is up to 0.9993. Simultaneously, the proposed sensor has maximum wavelength sensitivity (WS) of 5500 nm/RIU and maximum amplitude sensitivity (AS) of 150 RIU-1, with an RI resolution of 1.82 × 10-5 RIU. Besides, owing to a simple structure and good tolerance of the proposed sensor, it can be easily fabricated by means of existing technology. The proposed sensor suggests promising applications in oil detection, temperature measurement, water quality monitoring, bio-sensing, and food safety.
Keywords: fabrication; fiber sensor; photonic crystal fiber; surface plasmon resonance.