High-precision photonic crystal fiber-based pressure sensor with low-temperature sensitivity

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Fiber Optics
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Accurate pressure sensing is crucial for real-time monitoring in various scientific and industrial applications.
• Existing sensors often suffer from temperature cross-sensitivity, limiting their precision.
• Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) offer unique optical properties for novel sensor designs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel high-precision photonic crystal fiber-based pressure sensor.
• To minimize temperature cross-coupling effects in a fiber optic pressure sensor.
• To achieve high pressure sensitivity with low temperature sensitivity.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of the sensor by fusion splicing a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with a hollow core fiber (HCF).
• Immersion of the spliced fiber structure in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to form a sensing membrane.
• Characterization of the sensor's response to pressure and temperature variations.

Main Results:

• The proposed sensor exhibits a high pressure sensitivity of 2.47 nm/kPa.
• The temperature sensitivity was measured to be 0.46 nm/°C, significantly lower than pressure sensitivity (5.37 times lower).
• The PCF structure effectively minimized temperature cross-coupling and allowed control over membrane shape.

Conclusions:

• The developed PCF-based Fabry-Perot (FP) pressure sensor demonstrates high precision and low temperature sensitivity.
• The sensor's design overcomes limitations of traditional sensors by mitigating temperature cross-coupling.
• This novel sensor holds significant potential for real-time pressure monitoring in chemical and biological detection systems.