Development of a chalcogenide glass fiber device for in situ pollutant detection

AbstractInfraredopticalfibersbasedonchalcogenidesareinvestigatedtooptimizetheirresponseandtheyareusedforinsitudetection of pollutant in groundwater. The pilot scale measurements proved that a Te 2 As 3 Se 5 (TAS) glass fiber permitsaccess to the absorption line positions of classic pollutants like tetrachloroethylene or dichlorobenzene. Moreover, ithas been shown that the original design of the fiber enables detection of weak concentrations of pollutants down to1 ppm. For experiments in real world conditions, optical fibers must be durable under various natural workingconditions in ground water. The preliminary mechanical tests demonstrate that efforts have to be done while drawingthe fiber to improve their resistance. Nevertheless, at this time, a polymer coated TAS glass fiber is already a useful toolto collect some infrared spectra in landfill. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS:61.43.Fs; 42.81.)i; 62.20.)x; 89.60.+x 1. IntroductionA new generation of optical fibers has beendeveloped based on the large transparency domainof an original family of IR chalcogenide glassestransmitting from 2 to 14 lm. These fibers canbe used as chemical sensors in many fields of ap-plication: biology, medicine, food, environment