0000000000223058
AUTHOR
Marco V. Hernandez-arriaga
High Sensitivity Refractive Index Sensor Based on Highly Overcoupled Tapered Fiber Optic Couplers
In this paper, a simple and compact fiber-optic sensor based on an overcoupled tapered fiber coupler is studied. The coupler is fabricated to be operated well beyond the initial coupling cycles, where the rapid exchange of energy between outputs ports enable the fabrication of a highly sensitive device. The suitability and sensitivity of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by measuring refractive index (RI) variations of sugar concentrations in water. The device presents a linear response in terms of power transmission or wavelength shift versus RI changes. The best achieved sensitivity is 0.442 units of normalized transmission per unit of sugar concentration, with a noise detection limit o…
Experimental Investigation of Fused Biconical Fiber Couplers for Measuring Refractive Index Changes in Aqueous Solutions
A detailed experimental study of a simple and compact fiber optic sensor based on a fused biconical fiber coupler is presented, in which the sensitivity is improved by operating the coupler beyond the first coupling cycle. The sensor is demonstrated to perform high sensitivity measurements of refractive index changes by means of variation of sugar concentration in water. The device is operated to achieve a linear transmission response, allowing a linear relation between the sugar concentration and the output signal. The initial sensitivity was measured as 0.03 units of normalized transmission per unit of sugar concentration (g/100 mL), with a noise detection limit of a sugar concentration o…