Zeolite thin film-coated long-period fiber grating sensors for detection of chemical vapors with high sensitivity

In this study, a new zeolite thin film-coated long-period fiber grating (LPFG) sensor was developed and evaluated for chemical vapor detection. The sensor was fabricated by growing nanoporous MFI-type zeolite (pore size ~0.55nm) thin film on fiber grating using in situ hydrothermal crystallization method. The hydrothermal synthesis process was controlled by continuously monitoring the LPFG transmission spectrum evolution, which indicated the zeolite film formation and growth process. The zeolite-LPFG sensor was activated by calcination in air to remove the structural directing agent from the zeolite pores and then demonstrated for sensitive detection of chemical vapor in gas phases.

[1]  Jian Zhang,et al.  Zeolite-fiber integrated optical chemical sensors for detection of dissolved organics in water. , 2005, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[2]  Ian Bennion,et al.  Sensitivity characteristics of long-period fiber gratings , 2002 .

[3]  Alain Walcarius,et al.  Zeolite-modified electrodes in electroanalytical chemistry , 1999 .

[4]  Siddharth Ramachandran,et al.  Analysis of optical response of long period fiber gratings to nm-thick thin-film coating. , 2005, Optics express.

[5]  Li Yang,et al.  Long-period grating refractive index sensor with a modified cladding structure for large operational range and high sensitivity. , 2006, Applied optics.

[6]  Tao Wei,et al.  Fabrication of long-period fiber gratings by CO2 laser irradiations for high temperature applications , 2007, SPIE Optics East.

[7]  V. Bhatia.  Applications of long-period gratings to single and multi-parameter sensing. , 1999, Optics express.

[8]  Junhang Dong,et al.  Microporous Silica and Zeolite Membranes for Hydrogen Purification , 2006 .

[9]  Zhengtian Gu,et al.  Optical fiber long-period grating with solgel coating for gas sensor. , 2006, Optics letters.

[10]  Philippe Lalanne,et al.  Optimization of sensitivity in Long Period Fiber Gratings with overlay deposition. , 2005, Optics Express.

[11]  Jian Zhang,et al.  Interferometric Study on the Adsorption-Dependent Refractive Index of Silicalite Thin Films Grown on Optical Fibers , 2006 .

[12]  Stephen W James,et al.  Optical fiber long-period gratings with Langmuir-Blodgett thin-film overlays. , 2002, Optics letters.

[13]  Vikram Bhatia,et al.  Properties and sensing applications of long-period gratings , 1996 .

[14]  Yinian Zhu,et al.  Measurements of refractive index sensitivity using long-period grating refractometer , 2004 .

[15]  Philippe Benech,et al.  Gas separation with a zeolite filter, application to the selectivity enhancement of chemical sensors , 2000 .