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Multipurpose Polymer Bragg Grating-Based Optomechanical Sensor Pad
Steffen Hessler1, Patrick Bott2, Stefan Kefer3
1Applied Laser and Photonics Group, University of Applied Sciences Aschaffenburg, Wuerzburger Straße 45, 63743 Aschaffenburg, Germany. steffen.hessler@th-ab.de.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|September 25, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed a low-cost, flexible optomechanical sensor pad using epoxy waveguide Bragg gratings on a TPX™ substrate. This versatile sensor pad can be used for acoustic instruments, accelerometers, and biomedical vital sign monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optoelectronics
- Sensor Technology
Background:
- Optomechanical sensors offer versatile applications but often face challenges in manufacturing complexity and cost.
- Flexible substrates are desirable for creating conformable and easy-to-apply sensor pads.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a low-cost, easily manufactured, and multipurpose optomechanical sensor pad.
- To demonstrate the sensing capabilities of flexible epoxy waveguide Bragg gratings on a polyolefin substrate.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of flexible epoxy waveguide Bragg gratings on a low-modulus TPX™ polymethylpentene polyolefin substrate.
- Use of standard UV mask lithography to form rectangular EpoCore negative resist strip waveguides.
- Inscribing Bragg gratings by modifying local refractive indices using KrF excimer laser irradiation with a phase mask.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated flexible epoxy waveguide Bragg gratings on a TPX™ substrate.
- Demonstrated the sensor pad's versatility through applications including an optical pickup for acoustic instruments.
- Validated its use as a broadband optical accelerometer and a biomedical vital sign sensor monitoring respiration and pulse simultaneously.
Conclusions:
- The developed optomechanical sensor pad is easy to manufacture, low-cost, and highly versatile.
- Flexible epoxy waveguide Bragg gratings on TPX™ substrates show significant potential for diverse sensing applications.
- The sensor pad offers a promising platform for advanced optomechanical sensing solutions.
