Title :
Design of Humidity Sensors Based on Tapered Optical Fibers
Author :
Corres, Jesus M. ; Arregui, Francisco J. ; Matias, Ignacio R.
Author_Institution :
Dept. de Ingenieria Electrica y Electronica, Univ. Publica de Navarra
Abstract :
In this paper, the response of a tapered optical fiber humidity sensor is optimized, attending to the thickness of the sensitive coating, the dimensions of the taper, the light source, and the utilization of sensitive materials with different refractive indexes. The main novelty of this study is that the thickness of the sensitive layer is on the order of magnitude of the light wavelength used to excite the sensor. It is shown here that an estimation of the sensor sensitivity can be deducted from the transmitted optical power curve obtained during the layer-by-layer construction process. Theoretical and experimental results are presented
Keywords :
fibre optic sensors; humidity sensors; optical design techniques; optical fibre cladding; refractive index; humidity sensor design; refractive index; sensitive coating thickness; tapered optical fibers; Coatings; Humidity; Light sources; Optical design; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Optical materials; Optical refraction; Optical sensors; Refractive index; Electrostatic self-assembly (ESA); fiber optic sensors; humidity sensors; tapered optical fibers;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JLT.2006.883668
