Fabrication of highly stable microfiber structures via high-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose coating for device...

We demonstrate a cost-effective approach to fabricate stable microfiber structures taking advantage of high-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose (H-HPC) coating. The microfibers are bent, twisted, or coiled to form desired geometries, and then the segments in contact are coated to resist the existing bending or twisting stresses to stabilize the structures. Coated devices including a twisted Sagnac interferometer, a ring resonator, and a Fabry-Perot cavity have been exhibited. Measured result suggests that the coated structures are highly stable over 20 days. The thin, low-index coating material allows for a strong evanescent-field interaction between the mode field and ambient solution. As an example, the coated twisted Sagnac interferometer can act as a refractive-index sensor with a sensitivity as high as 2600 nm/RIU. The present technique is greatly beneficial for long-term working of microfiber devices and sensors and offers a possible approach for the development of integrated microphotonic devices and platforms.