Microstructured Optical Fiber Sensors

In this paper, a review of microstructured optical fiber (MOF) sensors is given. Various kinds of MOFs are described and their sensing applications are summarized. Two main types of MOF sensors in terms of grating based and interferometry based are reviewed. In particular, several types of microstructured optical fibers designed for sensing applications in our works are demonstrated, including the measurement of physical parameters, e.g., pressure, strain, torsion, temperature, and the detection of biomedical parameters such as refractive index and microfluidic flow rate. The basic design principles of MOF sensors based on fiber Bragg grating and interferometers are given. Comparisons of the performances of the fibers and sensors are also conducted according to the relevant topics.

[1]  Youngjoo Chung,et al.  Twin core photonic crystal fiber for in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensing applications. , 2009, Optics express.

[2]  H. Tam,et al.  High-pressure and high-temperature characteristics of a Fabry-Perot interferometer based on photonic crystal fiber. , 2011, Optics letters.

[3]  H. Tam,et al.  Pressure sensor realized with polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber-based Sagnac interferometer. , 2008, Applied optics.

[4]  Ellis Meng,et al.  Micromachined Thermal Flow Sensors - A Review , 2012, Micromachines.

[5]  C. Lu,et al.  Fusion Splicing Holey Fibers and Single-Mode Fibers: A Simple Method to Reduce Loss and Increase Strength , 2009, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[6]  Jens Kobelke,et al.  Temperature- and strain-independent torsion sensor using a fiber loop mirror based on suspended twin-core fiber. , 2010, Optics letters.

[7]  Frank Vollmer,et al.  Microfluidic flow rate detection based on integrated optical fiber cantilever. , 2007, Lab on a chip.

[8]  David N. Payne,et al.  Neodymium-doped silica single-mode fibre lasers , 1985 .

[9]  T. Erdogan.  Fiber grating spectra , 1997 .

[10]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  High pressure sensor based on photonic crystal fiber for downhole application , 2010 .

[11]  Jens Kobelke,et al.  Strain and temperature characterisation of sensing head based on suspended-core fibre in Sagnac interferometer , 2008 .

[12]  H Thienpont,et al.  Sensing characteristics of the rocking filters in microstructured fibers optimized for hydrostatic pressure measurements. , 2012, Optics express.

[13]  Zhengyong Liu,et al.  Fabrication, Characterization, and Sensing Applications of a High-Birefringence Suspended-Core Fiber , 2014, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[14]  Michael A. Davis,et al.  Fiber grating sensors , 1997 .

[15]  Jan Wojcik,et al.  Sensing characteristics of rocking filter fabricated in microstructured birefringent fiber using fusion arc splicer. , 2008, Optics express.

[16]  Hugo Thienpont,et al.  Highly birefringent microstructured fibers with enhanced sensitivity to hydrostatic pressure. , 2010, Optics express.

[17]  Y. Sasaki,et al.  Low-loss single polarisation fibres with asymmetrical strain birefringence , 1981 .

[18]  T A Birks,et al.  Highly birefringent photonic crystal fibers. , 2000, Optics letters.

[19]  J M Baptista,et al.  Simultaneous measurement of multiparameters using a Sagnac interferometer with polarization maintaining side-hole fiber. , 2008, Applied optics.

[20]  John Canning,et al.  Ultrafast femtosecond-laser-induced fiber Bragg gratings in air-hole microstructured fibers for high-temperature pressure sensing. , 2010, Optics letters.

[21]  Zhengyong Liu,et al.  Ultrahigh birefringence index-guiding photonic crystal fiber , 2013 .

[22]  E. M. dos Santos,et al.  Towards practical liquid and gas sensing with photonic crystal fibres: side access to the fibre microstructure and single-mode liquid-core fibre , 2007 .

[23]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Temperature-insensitive strain sensor with polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber based Sagnac interferometer , 2007 .

[24]  D. M. Atkin,et al.  All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding. , 1996, Optics letters.

[25]  Orlando Frazão,et al.  Large range linear torsion sensor based on a suspended-core fiber loop mirror , 2013 .

[26]  E Buckley,et al.  Bragg gratings in air-silica structured fibers. , 2003, Optics letters.

[27]  Tijmen G. Euser,et al.  Flying particle sensors in hollow-core photonic crystal fibre , 2015, Nature Photonics.

[28]  R. Ahrens,et al.  A micro flow sensor from a polymer for gases and liquids , 2009 .

[29]  Knight,et al.  Single-Mode Photonic Band Gap Guidance of Light in Air. , 1999, Science.

[30]  Guillaume Laffont,et al.  Three-hole microstructured optical fiber for efficient fiber Bragg grating refractometer. , 2007, Optics letters.

[31]  Zhengyong Liu,et al.  Integrated microfluidic flowmeter based on a micro-FBG inscribed in Co²⁺-doped optical fiber. , 2014, Optics letters.

[32]  Chi Chiu Chan,et al.  Strain Sensor Realized by Using Low-Birefringence Photonic-Crystal-Fiber-Based Sagnac Loop , 2010, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[33]  Shuisheng Jian,et al.  Highly Sensitive Torsion Sensor Based on Sagnac Interferometer Using Side-Leakage Photonic Crystal Fiber , 2011, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[34]  P. Lu,et al.  Fiber in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer fabricated by femtosecond laser micromachining for refractive index measurement with high sensitivity , 2010 .

[35]  D. Paladino,et al.  Microstructured Fiber Bragg Gratings , 2009, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[36]  Michael Scalora,et al.  Photonic-crystal fiber as a multifunctional optical sensor and sample collector. , 2005, Optics express.

[37]  Georges Humbert,et al.  Characterizations at high temperatures of long-period gratings written in germanium-free air-silica microstructure fiber. , 2004, Optics letters.

[38]  Integrated hollow-core fibers for nonlinear optofluidic applications. , 2013, Optics express.

[39]  Min Zhang,et al.  CO2 laser induced long period gratings in optical microfibers. , 2009, Optics express.

[40]  A. Ping Zhang,et al.  Microfluidic refractive-index sensors based on small-hole microstructured optical fiber Bragg gratings , 2011 .

[41]  K. Poturaj,et al.  Control Over the Pressure Sensitivity of Bragg Grating-Based Sensors in Highly Birefringent Microstructured Optical Fibers , 2012, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[42]  P. Russell,et al.  Endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fiber. , 1997, Optics letters.

[43]  J. Broeng,et al.  Highly birefringent index-guiding photonic crystal fibers , 2001, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[44]  Zhenming Yu,et al.  Bandwidth Improvement Using Adaptive Loading Scheme in Optical Direct-Detection OFDM , 2016, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[45]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Ultrahigh birefringence index-guiding photonic crystal fiber and its application for pressure and temperature discrimination. , 2013, Optics letters.

[46]  Ole Bang,et al.  Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation to 12.5μm in large NA chalcogenide step-index fibres pumped at 4.5μm. , 2014, Optics express.

[47]  P. Sadler,et al.  Microfluidic integration of photonic crystal fibers for online photochemical reaction analysis. , 2012, Optics letters.

[48]  Lin Htein,et al.  Hydrostatic pressure sensor based on fiber Bragg grating written in single-ring suspended fiber , 2016, European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors.

[49]  Po-Ying Li,et al.  A biocompatible Parylene thermal flow sensing array , 2008 .

[50]  Jens Kobelke,et al.  Pressure and temperature characterization of two interferometric configurations based on suspended-core fibers , 2012 .

[51]  A fiberized highly birefringent glass micrometer-size ridge waveguide , 2015 .

[52]  C. Liao,et al.  Optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer cavity fabricated by femtosecond laser micromachining and fusion splicing for refractive index sensing. , 2012, Optics express.

[53]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Side-Hole Photonic Crystal Fiber With Ultrahigh Polarimetric Pressure Sensitivity , 2011, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[54]  J. A. Alvarez-Chavez,et al.  High-power and tunable operation of erbium-ytterbium Co-doped cladding-pumped fiber lasers , 2003 .

[55]  S. Feng,et al.  In-fiber modal interferometer based on dual-concentric-core photonic crystal fiber and its strain, temperature and refractive index characteristics , 2011 .

[56]  Ming-Jun Li,et al.  Highly birefringent hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber , 2005, OFC/NFOEC Technical Digest. Optical Fiber Communication Conference, 2005..

[57]  J.L. Santos,et al.  Fiber-Optic Interferometric Torsion Sensor Based on a Two-LP-Mode Operation in Birefringent Fiber , 2009, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[58]  Youngjoo Chung,et al.  Temperature-Insensitive Torsion Sensor With Enhanced Sensitivity by Use of a Highly Birefringent Photonic Crystal Fiber , 2010, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[59]  Liang Chen,et al.  Recent Progress in Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors , 2012, Sensors.

[60]  Peng Zu,et al.  A Temperature-Insensitive Twist Sensor by Using Low-Birefringence Photonic-Crystal-Fiber-Based Sagnac Interferometer , 2011, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[61]  H. Tam,et al.  SUPER-LATTICE STRUCTURE PHOTONIC CRYSTAL FIBER , 2010 .

[62]  Peter Wasserscheid,et al.  Photonic Crystal Fibres for Chemical Sensing and Photochemistry , 2014 .

[63]  Chao Lu,et al.  A Highly Sensitive and Low-Cost Sagnac Loop Based Pressure Sensor , 2013, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[64]  David N. Payne,et al.  Fabrication of polarisation-maintaining fibres using gas-phase etching , 1982 .

[65]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Bragg Gratings in Pure-Silica Polarization-Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fiber , 2008 .

[66]  Yongmin Jung,et al.  Ultrahigh birefringence of elliptic core fibers with irregular air holes , 2007 .

[67]  Potential for simultaneous strain and temperature sensing based on Brillouin scattering in an all-solid photonic bandgap fiber. , 2013, Optics letters.

[68]  D N Wang,et al.  Fiber in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer constructed by selective infiltration of two air holes in photonic crystal fiber. , 2011, Optics letters.

[69]  B. Samson,et al.  Tm-Doped Fiber Lasers: Fundamentals and Power Scaling , 2009, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[70]  Kunimasa Saitoh,et al.  Polarization characteristics of photonic crystal fibers selectively filled with metal wires into cladding air holes. , 2011, Optics express.

[71]  L. Reekie,et al.  Optical in-fibre grating high pressure sensor , 1993 .

[72]  K. Hill,et al.  Fiber Bragg grating technology fundamentals and overview , 1997 .

[73]  Georges Humbert,et al.  Hollow core photonic crystal fibers for beam delivery. , 2004, Optics express.

[74]  Sailing He,et al.  Microfluidic flowmeter based on micro "hot-wire" sandwiched Fabry-Perot interferometer. , 2015, Optics express.

[75]  W. Urbańczyk,et al.  Nonlinear frequency conversion in a birefringent microstructured fiber tuned by externally applied hydrostatic pressure. , 2013, Optics letters.

[76]  Fei Yu,et al.  Negative Curvature Hollow-Core Optical Fiber , 2016, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[77]  J. Jensen,et al.  Photonic crystal fiber based evanescent-wave sensor for detection of biomolecules in aqueous solutions , 2003, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2003. CLEO '03..

[78]  D N Payne,et al.  Birefringence and polarization mode-dispersion in spun single-mode fibers. , 1981, Applied Optics.

[79]  M. Delgado-Pinar,et al.  Ultrahigh birefringent nonlinear microstructured fiber , 2004, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[80]  S. Kawanishi,et al.  Optical properties of a low-loss polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber. , 2001, Optics express.

[81]  Jens Kobelke,et al.  Suspended-core fiber Bragg grating sensor for directional-dependent transverse stress monitoring. , 2011, Optics letters.

[82]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Fiber Bragg Grating Anemometer With Reduced Pump Power-Dependency , 2013, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[83]  Zhengyong Liu,et al.  Superlattice Microstructured Optical Fiber , 2014, Materials.

[84]  H. Tam,et al.  All-optical fiber anemometer based on laser heated fiber Bragg gratings. , 2011, Optics express.

[85]  M. Pang,et al.  Birefringence responses of hybrid photonic crystal fiber to strain and temperature , 2012, Other Conferences.

[86]  K. Kao,et al.  Dielectric-fibre surface waveguides for optical frequencies , 1986 .

[87]  John M. Fini,et al.  Microstructure fibres for optical sensing in gases and liquids , 2004 .

[88]  Xudong Fan,et al.  On the performance quantification of resonant refractive index sensors. , 2008, Optics express.

[89]  Marcos A. R. Franco,et al.  Hybrid photonic crystal fiber sensing of high hydrostatic pressure , 2011, International Conference on Optical Fibre Sensors.

[90]  E. Desurvire,et al.  High-gain erbium-doped traveling-wave fiber amplifier. , 1997, Optics letters.

[91]  Young-Geun Han,et al.  Temperature-insensitive strain measurement using a birefringent interferometer based on a polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber , 2009 .

[92]  Takenobu Suzuki,et al.  A suspended core nanofiber with unprecedented large diameter ratio of holey region to core. , 2010, Optics express.

[93]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  In-line open-cavity Fabry-Pérot interferometer formed by C-shaped fiber fortemperature-insensitive refractive index sensing. , 2014, Optics express.

[94]  Benjamin J. Eggleton,et al.  Ultra-sensitive photonic crystal fiber refractive index sensor , 2009 .

[95]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Polarization-maintaining photonic-crystal-fiber-based all-optical polarimetric torsion sensor , 2010 .

[96]  Tuan Guo,et al.  Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors , 2018 .

[97]  E. M. Vogel,et al.  Tellurite glass: a new candidate for fiber devices , 1994 .

[98]  C. Davis,et al.  Exposed-core microstructured optical fibers for real-time fluorescence sensing. , 2009, Optics express.

[99]  W. Jin,et al.  Ultra-sensitive all-fibre photothermal spectroscopy with large dynamic range , 2015, Nature Communications.

[100]  Stephen C Warren-Smith,et al.  Suspended nanowires: fabrication, design and characterization of fibers with nanoscale cores. , 2009, Optics express.

[101]  Libo Yuan,et al.  Optical refractometer based on an asymmetrical twin-core fiber Michelson interferometer. , 2011, Optics letters.

[102]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  In-line microfluidic refractometer based on C-shaped fiber assisted photonic crystal fiber Sagnac interferometer. , 2013, Optics letters.

[103]  David J. Richardson,et al.  Towards high-capacity fibre-optic communications at the speed of light in vacuum , 2013, Nature Photonics.

[104]  C. Rauh,et al.  Numerical Solution and Experimental Validation of the Drawing Process of Six-Hole Optical Fibers Including the Effects of Inner Pressure and Surface Tension , 2012, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[105]  Giancarlo Chesini,et al.  Ultrahigh-birefringent squeezed lattice photonic crystal fiber with rotated elliptical air holes. , 2010, Optics letters.

[106]  Chuang Wu,et al.  Characterization of Pressure Response of Bragg Gratings in Grapefruit Microstructured Fibers , 2010, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[107]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Intermodal coupling of supermodes in a twin-core photonic crystal fiber and its application as a pressure sensor. , 2012, Optics express.