High-Sensitivity Temperature Sensor Based on a Selectively-Polymer-Filled Two-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber In-Line Interferometer

A highly sensitive temperature sensor based on an all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer using a selectively polymer-filled two-core photonic crystal fiber is experimentally demonstrated. The sensor fiber was made by the manual gluing and subsequent infiltration of polymer; the cladding air holes surrounding one core were selectively filled with a polymer material with a high thermo-optic (TO) coefficient while leaving those of the other core unfilled, and this led to the large TO mismatch between two cores. It was found from measurements that a very high temperature sensitivity of 1.595 nm/°C could be achieved, which was more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of the sensor fiber before the selective filling process.

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

[2]  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.

[3]  Shin-Tson Wu,et al.  Electrically tunable liquid-crystal photonic crystal fiber , 2004 .

[4]  T. Ahn,et al.  Optical properties of the fiber-optic temperature sensor based on the side-hole fiber filled with indium. , 2013, Applied optics.

[5]  Xiwen Sun,et al.  Wavelength-selective coupling of dual-core photonic crystal fiber with a hybrid light-guiding mechanism. , 2007, Optics letters.

[6]  J. Fleming.  Dispersion in GeO2-SiO2 glasses. , 1984, Applied optics.

[7]  Shecheng Gao,et al.  Fiber in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on near-elliptical core photonic crystal fiber for temperature and strain sensing. , 2013, Optics letters.

[8]  J. Fleming,et al.  Dispersion in GeO 2 –SiO 2 glasses , 1984 .

[9]  Xiaoling Tan,et al.  Compact and Ultrasensitive Temperature Sensor With a Fully Liquid-Filled Photonic Crystal Fiber Mach–Zehnder Interferometer , 2014, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[10]  Youngjoo Chung,et al.  High temperature fiber sensor with high sensitivity based on core diameter mismatch. , 2008, Optics express.

[11]  Bo Liu,et al.  Thermally tunable dual-core photonic bandgap fiber based on the infusion of a temperature-responsive liquid. , 2008, Optics express.

[12]  Min Gu,et al.  Microfluidic tunable photonic band-gap device , 2004 .

[13]  Peng Zu,et al.  Temperature Sensing Based on Ethanol-Filled Photonic Crystal Fiber Modal Interferometer , 2012, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[14]  Tingting Han,et al.  Intermodal interferometer based on a fluid-filled two-mode photonic crystal fiber for sensing applications. , 2013, Applied optics.

[15]  Determination of thermo-optic coefficient of a UV curable polymer using prism coupling technique , 2004, 2004 IEEE International Conference on Semiconductor Electronics.

[16]  Jun Long Lim,et al.  Fabrication and Characterization of a Highly Temperature Sensitive Device Based on Nematic Liquid Crystal-Filled Photonic Crystal Fiber , 2012, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[17]  Yan-qing Lu,et al.  Temperature sensor based on an isopropanol-sealed photonic crystal fiber in-line interferometer with enhanced refractive index sensitivity. , 2012, Optics letters.

[18]  J. Villatoro,et al.  Thermally stabilized PCF-based sensor for temperature measurements up to 1000 degrees C. , 2009, Optics express.

[19]  Zhiyi Zhang,et al.  Thermo-optic coefficients of polymers for optical waveguide applications , 2006 .