Refractive Index Sensing With Mach–Zehnder Interferometer Based on Concatenating Two Single-Mode Fiber Tapers

Author

Tian, Zhaobing ; Yam, Scott S -H ; Barnes, Jack ; Bock, Wojtek ; Greig, Patricia ; Fraser, James M. ; Loock, Hans-Peter ; Oleschuk, Richard D.

Author_Institution

Queen´´s Univ., Kingston

Volume

20

Issue

8

fYear

2008

fDate

4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

626

Lastpage

628

Abstract

A novel refractive index (RI) sensor based on a fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer was realized by concatenating two single-mode fiber tapers separated by a middle section. The proposed device had a minimum insertion loss of 3 dB and maximum interferometric extinction ratio over 20 dB. The resolution (0.171 nm) of the two-taper sensor to its surrounding RI change (0.01) was found to be comparable to that (0.252 nm) of similar structures made from an identical long-period gratings pair, and its ease of fabrication makes it a low-cost alternative to existing sensing applications.

Keywords

Mach-Zehnder interferometers; diffraction gratings; fibre optic sensors; refractive index; fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer; long-period gratings pair; refractive index sensing; refractive index sensor; single-mode fiber tapers; two-taper sensor; Bragg gratings; Fiber gratings; Insertion loss; Optical device fabrication; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Optical interferometry; Optical sensors; Refractive index; Fiber tapers; Mach–Zehnder (MZ) interferometer; long-period grating (LPG); refractive index (RI) sensor;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LPT.2008.919507

Filename

4475238