Many configurations of fiber optic evanescent wave sensors have recently been explored, with various structural and material modifications applied in attempt to increase their resolution and/or sensitivity. With the aid of long period gratings inscribed within the core of standard single mode fibers, fiber optic evanescent wave sensors with in-fiber interferometric configurations have been realized and have been shown to have excellent resolution due to sharp spectral features. The Michelson interferometer configuration, whereby a single long period grating acts as a beam splitter for the core and cladding modes, is of interest because it operates in reflection mode, which allows for easy signal detection schemes. In this work, it is experimentally demonstrated for the first time that the deposition of a nanoparticle-polymer composite high refractive index overlay film onto the cladding arm surface of such an interferometric sensor greatly increases its sensitivity. Film refractive indices of > 1.7 are achieved and can be further increased to > 2 upon repetition of the nanoparticle synthesis cycle. Sensitivity enhancement factors as large as 16.7 occur in the film index range of 1.9 - 2.1. Experimental data are presented and compared to the theoretical simulation results.
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