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Low Cost Refractive Index Sensor Based on Optical Lensed Fiber
Author(s) -
Lin YuCheng,
Liu ChienFu
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
microwave and optical technology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.304
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1098-2760
pISSN - 0895-2477
DOI - 10.1002/mop.27689
Subject(s) - refractive index , fiber optic sensor , optical fiber , optics , materials science , sensitivity (control systems) , refractometer , lens (geology) , graded index fiber , fiber , optical power , reflection (computer programming) , optoelectronics , microwave , coupling (piping) , physics , electronic engineering , engineering , computer science , laser , composite material , programming language , quantum mechanics , metallurgy
A refractive index (RI) sensor based on back reflection of an optical lensed fiber is demonstrated. The sensing device is fabricated by splicing a tiny gradient index fiber (GIF) on the tip of a single mode fiber. Symmetry mirror modeling and fiber coupling efficiency are utilized to estimate the dependence of reflection power on lens pitch. As for sensing test experiments, we measured the reflection power of RI sensor with different concentrations of glycerol solution from 0 to 100% in steps of 20% increasing. The results are consistent with theoretical curve. In terms of the experimental data, important characteristics including resolution and sensitivity are obtained. The RI sensor exhibits high sensitivity −884.62 dB for high RI sensed solution. As the high index GIF spliced on tip of the sensor, it helps to extend the sensing range from 1.45 to 1.472. Due to properties of easy fabrication and low material cost, we believe the RI sensor has potential in mass production and wide application. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:1744–1746, 2013