Ultrasensitive Temperature Sensor Based on Refractive Index Liquid-Sealed Thin-Core Fiber Modal Interferometers

Author

Ben Xu ; Jianqing Li ; Yi Li ; Jianglei Xie ; Xinyong Dong

Author_Institution

Fac. of Inf. Technol., Macau Univ. of Sci. & Technol., Taipa, China

Volume

14

Issue

4

fYear

2014

fDate

Apr-14

Firstpage

1179

Lastpage

1184

Abstract

An ultrasensitive temperature sensor based on a thin-core fiber modal interferometer (TCFMI) is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. After its middle is etched to a thin residual diameter, the TCFMI is sealed in a capillary tube filled with refractive index (RI) liquid. The thermo-optic effect of RI liquid turns the TCFMI into an ultrasensitive temperature sensor with sensitivity up to -22.23 nm/^°C at 3.2 ^°C. The sensitivity is over 1000-fold that of the bare TCFMI in air. This proposed temperature sensor is also simple, cost-effective, and suitable for a variety of applications.

Keywords

etching; fibre optic sensors; light interferometers; pipes; refractive index; temperature sensors; thermo-optical devices; thermo-optical effects; RI liquid; TCFMI; air; capillary tube; etching; refractive index liquid; temperature 3.2 degC; thermo-optic effect; thin core fiber modal interferometer; thin residual diameter; ultrasensitive temperature sensor; Interferometers; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Sensitivity; Temperature measurement; Temperature sensors; Fiber sensors; modal interferometer; temperature; thin-core fiber;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Sensors Journal, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1530-437X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JSEN.2013.2294012

Filename

6680606