Recent developments in chemical sensing using infrared glass fibers

Infrared (IR) optical fibers based on chalcogenides have been investigated to optimize their response when they are used as evanescent wave chemical sensors. The fiber sensing part diameter can be reduced by tapering the fiber during the drawing process or by chemical polishing. The resulting fiber allows the achievement of a detection probe that has been tested in several experimental conditions. Among them, it is verified that these chalcogenide-based fibers are not sensitive to microwave irradiations and give on-line IR spectra from which kinetics and reaction mechanisms inside a microwave oven can be determined.