Utilising a loop structure to allow a microfiber coupler with larger taper diameters to be used for sensing

Fangfang Wei; Gerald Farrell; Qiang Wu; Yuliya Semenova

doi:10.1117/12.2236636

30 May 2016 Utilising a loop structure to allow a microfiber coupler with larger taper diameters to be used for sensing

Fangfang Wei, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova

Proceedings Volume 9916, Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors; 991608 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2236636
Event: Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors (EWOFS'2016), 2016, Limerick, Ireland

Abstract

This paper examines a technique that utilizes a Sagnac loop with a microfiber coupler (MFC) as a coupler which allows the MFC to operate effectively as a sensor but with larger than normal tapered fiber diameters. The proposed structure is found to be suitable for temperature and refractive index (RI) sensing. It is shown that a variation in the surrounding of the MFC RI results in a shift of the output spectrum, while a temperature variation leads to changes in the intensity of the interference dips. A decrease in the waist diameter of the MFC results in an increase in the sensitivity to temperature. For MFC structures based on a 5.6 μm and a 3 μm fiber waist diameter, the minimum transmission power level of a selected spectral dip decreases by 1.7 dB and 5.03 dB respectively, as the temperature changes from 18 °C to 44 °C. A change in the surrounding RI from 1.334 to 1.395 results in the spectral redshift of 8 nm using a 5.6 μm fiber waist diameter. By functionalizing the surface of the MFC with various materials, the structure could potentially be used for sensing of other parameters.

Citation Download Citation

Fangfang Wei, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, and Yuliya Semenova "Utilising a loop structure to allow a microfiber coupler with larger taper diameters to be used for sensing ", Proc. SPIE 9916, Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors, 991608 (30 May 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2236636

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