Influence of design parameters on the performance of a refractive index sensor based on SPR in plastic optical fibers

We proposed a refractive index (RI) sensor employing two twisted tapered plastic optical fibers (POFs). The tapered POFs were fabricated by a heating and drawing method and were twisted around each other to form a coupled structure. The sensor consisted of two input ports, a twisted region, and two output ports. The tapered POF could make the light couple from one POF to the other easily. The twisted tapered POFs could constitute a self-referencing sensor, and by monitoring the changes of the coupling ratio, the variations of the external medium RIs could be measured. The RI sensing performances for the sensors with different fiber diameters and twisted region lengths were studied. The sensitivities of 1700%/RIU and −3496%/RIU in the RI ranges of 1.37–1.41 and 1.41–1.44 were obtained, respectively. The sensor is a low-cost solution for liquid RI measurement, which has the features of simple structure and easy fabrication.

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Refractive index sensor based on SPR in symmetrically etched plastic optical fibers

Sensors and Actuators A Physical ◽

10.1016/j.sna.2016.04.064 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 246 ◽

pp. 163-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Yusser Al-Qazwini ◽

A.S.M. Noor ◽

Zaineb Al-Qazwini ◽

Mohd H. Yaacob ◽

S.W. Harun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Refractive Index ◽

Optical Fibers ◽

Refractive Index Sensor ◽

Plastic Optical Fibers

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Long period gratings imprinted on the commercial plastic optical fibers for refractive index sensing

Advanced Sensor Systems and Applications VIII ◽

10.1117/12.2500242 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jie Zheng ◽

Peng Xue ◽

Fangda Yu ◽

Yinghui Cao

Keyword(s):

Refractive Index ◽

Optical Fibers ◽

Long Period ◽

Refractive Index Sensing ◽

Long Period Gratings ◽

Plastic Optical Fibers

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Locally pressed plastic optical fibers for refractive index sensing

10.1117/12.2267461 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Shumpei Shimada ◽

Heeyoung Lee ◽

Makoto Shizuka ◽

Hiroki Tanaka ◽

Neisei Hayashi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Refractive Index ◽

Optical Fibers ◽

Refractive Index Sensing ◽

Plastic Optical Fibers

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Investigation of refractive index sensors based on side-polished plastic optical fibers

Optical Fiber Technology ◽

10.1016/j.yofte.2017.01.008 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 36 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Chuanxin Teng ◽

Fangda Yu ◽

Ning Jing ◽

Yue Ding ◽

Zhenpeng Si ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Refractive Index ◽

Optical Fibers ◽

Plastic Optical Fibers ◽

Refractive Index Sensors

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Low-Cost Refractive Index Sensor With Optical Fibers Attached to a U-Shaped Glass Tube

IEEE Sensors Letters ◽

10.1109/lsens.2018.2853982 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 1-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dipankar Chetia ◽

Jayanta Madhab Gogoi ◽

Hidam Kumarjit Singh ◽

Tulshi Bezboruah

Keyword(s):

Refractive Index ◽

Optical Fibers ◽

Low Cost ◽

Glass Tube ◽

Refractive Index Sensor ◽

Shaped Glass

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D-Shaped POF Sensors for Refractive Index Sensing—The Importance of Surface Roughness

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s19112476 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (11) ◽

pp. 2476 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Filipa Sequeira ◽

Nunzio Cennamo ◽

Alisa Rudnitskaya ◽

Rogério Nogueira ◽

Luigi Zeni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Roughness ◽

Refractive Index ◽

Optical Fibers ◽

Low Cost ◽

Water Quality Assessment ◽

Refractive Index Sensing ◽

Plastic Optical Fibers ◽

Index Changes ◽

Low Cost Manufacturing ◽

Scattering Losses

In this study the influence of the surface roughness on the transmission capacities of D-shaped plastic optical fibers (POFs) and sensors performance was investigated. Five D-shaped POF sensors were produced and characterized for refractive index sensing between 1.33 and 1.41. The sensors were characterized using a low-cost optical sensing system based on the variation of the transmitted light though the POF with refractive index changes (RI). Higher surface roughness increases the scattering losses through the POF and influences the sensors’ performance; therefore, a balance must be attained. Generally, the best performance was achieved when the sensing region was polished with P600 sandpaper as a final polishing step. Polishing with sandpapers of lower grit size resulted in lower scattering, higher linearity of the sensor response and generally lower performance for RI sensing. A sensor resolution of 10−3–10−4 RIU, dependent on the value of the external refractive index, was obtained through simple and low-cost manufacturing procedures. The obtained results show the importance of surface roughness in the development of POF sensors which can be used in several applications, such as for water quality assessment.

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