High sensitivity of taper-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer embedded in a thinned optical fiber for refractive index sensing

J. Yang, L. Jiang, S. Wang, B. Li, M. Wang, H. Xiao, Y. Lu, H. Tsai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

98 Scopus citations

Abstract

A taper-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) embedded in a thinned optical fiber is demonstrated as a highly sensitive refractive index (RI) sensor. A RI sensitivity of 2210:84nm=RIU (refractive index unit) is obtained at the external RI of 1.40, which is ten times higher than that of normal taper- and longperiod fiber grating (LPFG)-based sensors. The sensitivity can be further improved by decreasing the diameter of the thinned fiber and increasing the interferometer length of the MZI. The proposed MZIs have lower temperature sensitivities compared with normal fiber sensors, which is a desirable merit for RI sensors to reduce the cross sensitivity caused by thermal drift.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5503-5507
Number of pages5
JournalApplied optics
Volume50
Issue number28
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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