Temperature-calibrated f iber-optic refractometer based on a compact FBG-SMS structure

Abstract

A novel all-fiber temperature-calibrated refractometer based on a compact fiber Bragg grating (FBG) single-multi-single (SMS) structure is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor head is composed of a FBG combined with a SMS structure, in which the middle multimode fiber (MMF) section is etched by a time-controlled hydrofluoric. The transmission dip of SMS is extremely sensitive to ambient refractive index (RI) variation, whereas the upstream FBG provides the necessary temperature information for RI calibration. All aforementioned functions are performed via a compact FBG-SMS structure not longer than 25 mm. The proposed sensing device provides a linear RI sensitivity over water or waterbased solutions (RI values near 1.33 at optical wavelengths for most biological and many environmental applications), and has temperature-calibration capability. Hence, the said refractometer is a good candidate for sensing in chemical and biological applications. © 2012 Chinese Optics Letters.