An interferometric humidity sensor based on a thin gelatin film

Gelatin thin films inserted in a Mach – Zehnder interferometer were used to monitor Relative Humidity (RH). When RH varied, gelatin film thickness and refractive index also changed. As a result interference pattern moved horizontally. A fixed detector, with a pinhole in front of it, was placed at the interference pattern. It sampled the pattern when it moved. These intensity values were used to find a calibration plot relating intensity as a function of RH.