High-sensitivity, evanescent field refractometric sensor based on a tapered, multimode fiber interference

Refractive index sensitivity enhancement of optical fiber cladding mode by depositing nanofilm via ALD technology

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology is introduced to enhance the sensitivity of optical fiber cladding mode to surrounding refractive index (SRI) variation. The highly uniform Al2O nanofilm was deposited around the double cladding fiber (DCF) which presents cladding mode resonant feature. With the high refractive index coating, the cladding mode resonant spectrum was tuned. And the sensitivity enhancement for SRI sensor was demonstrated. Through adjusting the deposition cycles, a maximum sensitivity of 723 nm/RIU was demonstrated in the DCF with 2500 deposition cycles at the SRI of 1.34. Based on the analysis of cladding modes reorganization, the cladding modes transition of the coated DCF was investigated theoretically. With the high performance nanofilm coating, the proposed SRI sensor is expected to have wide applications in chemical sensors and biosensors.

Spatial Frequency Multiplexing of Fiber-Optic Interferometric Refractive Index Sensors Based on Graded-Index Multimode Fibers

Fiber-optic interferometric sensors based on graded-index multimode fibers have very high refractive-index sensitivity, as we previously demonstrated. In this paper, spatial-frequency multiplexing of this type of fiber-optic refractive index sensors is investigated. It is estimated that multiplexing of more than 10 such sensors is possible. In the multiplexing scheme, one of the sensors is used to investigate the refractive index and temperature responses. The fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the combined reflective spectra is analyzed. The intensity of the FFT spectra is linearly related with the refractive index and is not sensitive to the temperature.

Multimode interference tapered fiber refractive index sensors

Real-time monitoring of the fabrication process of tapering down a multimode-interference-based fiber structure is presented. The device is composed of a pure silica multimode fiber (MMF) with an initial 125 μm diameter spliced between two single-mode fibers. The process allows a thin MMF with adjustable parameters to obtain a high signal transmittance, arising from constructive interference among the guided modes at the output end of the MMF. Tapered structures with waist diameters as low as 55 μm were easily fabricated without the limitation of fragile splices or difficulty in controlling lateral fiber alignments. The sensing device is shown to be sensitive to the external environment, and a maximum sensitivity of 2946 nm/refractive index unit in the refractive index range of 1.42-1.43 was attained.

Microfiber-based Bragg gratings for sensing applications: a review

Microfiber-based Bragg gratings (MFBGs) are an emerging concept in ultra-small optical fiber sensors. They have attracted great attention among researchers in the fiber sensing area because of their large evanescent field and compactness. In this review, the basic techniques for the fabrication of MFBGs are introduced first. Then, the sensing properties and applications of MFBGs are discussed, including measurement of refractive index (RI), temperature, and strain/force. Finally a summary of selected MFBG sensing elements from previous literature are tabulated.

Fiber optic-based refractive index sensing at INESC Porto

A review of refractive index measurement based on different types of optical fiber sensor configurations and techniques is presented. It addresses the main developments in the area, with particular focus on results obtained at INESC Porto, Portugal. The optical fiber sensing structures studied include those based on Bragg and long period gratings, on micro-interferometers, on plasmonic effects in fibers and on multimode interference in a large spectrum of standard and microstructured optical fibers.

Ultrahigh-sensitivity temperature fiber sensor based on multimode interference

The proposed sensing device relies on the self-imaging effect that occurs in a pure silica multimode fiber (coreless MMF) section of a single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS)-based fiber structure. The influence of the coreless-MMF diameter on the external refractive index (RI) variation permitted the sensing head with the lowest MMF diameter (i.e., 55 μm) to exhibit the maximum sensitivity (2800  nm/RIU). This approach also implied an ultrahigh sensitivity of this fiber device to temperature variations in the liquid RI of 1.43: a maximum sensitivity of -1880  pm/°C was indeed attained. Therefore, the results produced were over 100-fold those of the typical value of approximately 13  pm/°C achieved in air using a similar device. Numerical analysis of an evanescent wave absorption sensor was performed, in order to extend the range of liquids with a detectable RI to above 1.43. The suggested model is an SMS fiber device where a polymer coating, with an RI as low as 1.3, is deposited over the coreless MMF; numerical results are presented pertaining to several polymer thicknesses in terms of external RI variation.