Yutang Dai

Magnetic field sensor based on fiber Bragg grating with a spiral microgroove ablated by femtosecond laser.

A novel magnetic field sensor based on Terfenol-D coated fiber Bragg grating with spiral microstructure was proposed and demonstrated. Through a specially-designed holder, the spiral microstructure was ablated into the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) cladding by femtosecond laser. Due to the spiral microstructure, the sensitivity of FBG coated with magnetostrictive film was enhanced greatly. When the spiral pitch is 50 μm and microgroove depth is 13.5 μm, the sensitivity of the magnetic field sensor is roughly 5 times higher than that of non-microstructured standard FBG. The response to magnetic field is reversible, and could be applicable for magnetic field detection.

Dielectric multilayer-based fiber optic sensor enabling simultaneous measurement of humidity and temperature.

A multilayer-based fiber optic sensor enabling simultaneous measurement of humidity and temperature is proposed and demonstrated. The sensitive elements were multilayer coatings consisting of nano-porous TiO(2) and SiO(2) films, which were deposited on fiber end-face to form a Fabry-Perot (F-P) filter structure. Relative-humidity (RH) sensing is correlated with the shift of interference fringe due to the change of effective refractive index of porous coatings when exposed to different RH environments. The sensor is sealed in a glass tube in case of temperature measurement. Experimental results show that the average sensitivity are 0.43nm/%RH and 0.63nm/°C respectively when environmental RH changes from 1.8%RH to 74.7%RH and temperature changes from 21.4°C to 38.8°C. The proposed sensors present high repeatability, and especially highly sensitive to lower moisture measure.

Micro-structured femtosecond laser assisted FBG hydrogen sensor.

We discuss hydrogen sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) micro-machined by femtosecond laser to form microgrooves and sputtered with Pd/Ag composite film. The atomic ratio of the two metals is controlled at Pd:Ag = 3:1. At room temperature, the hydrogen sensitivity of the sensor probe micro-machined by 75 mW laser power and sputtered with 520 nm of Pd/Ag film is 16.5 pm/%H. Comparably, the standard FBG hydrogen sensitivity becomes 2.5 pm/%H towards the same 4% hydrogen concentration. At an ambient temperature of 35°C, the processed sensor head has a dramatic rise in hydrogen sensitivity. Besides, the sensor shows good response and repeatability during hydrogen concentration test.

A Low Frequency FBG Accelerometer with Symmetrical Bended Spring Plates

To meet the requirements for low-frequency vibration monitoring, a new type of FBG (fiber Bragg grating) accelerometer with a bended spring plate is proposed. Two symmetrical bended spring plates are used as elastic elements, which drive the FBG to produce axial strains equal in magnitude but opposite in direction when exciting vibrations exist, leading to doubling the wavelength shift of the FBG. The mechanics model and a numerical method are presented in this paper, with which the influence of the structural parameters on the sensitivity and the eigenfrequency are discussed. The test results show that the sensitivity of the accelerometer is more than 1000 pm/g when the frequency is within the 0.7–20 Hz range.

Femtosecond Laser Ablated FBG Multitrenches for Magnetic Field Sensor Application

Three-dimensional multitrench microstructures, femtosecond laser ablated in fiber Bragg grating (FBG) cladding, TbDyFe sputtered is proposed and demonstrated for magnetic field sensing probe. Parameters such as the number of straight microtrenches, translation speed (feed rate), and laser pulse power of laser beam have been systematically varied and optimized. A 5-μm-thick giant Terfenol-D magnetostrictive film is sputtered on to FBG microtrenches, and acts as magnetic sensing transducer. Eight microtrench samples produced the highest central wavelength shift of 120 pm, nearly fivefold more sensitive compared with nonmicrostructured standard FBG. An increase in laser pulse power to 20 mW generated the magnetic sensitivity of 0.58 pm/mT. Interestingly, reduction in translational speed contributed dramatically to the rise in the magnetic sensitivity of the samples. These sensor samples show magnetic response reversibility and have great potential in the magnetic field sensing domain.

Microstructured FBG hydrogen sensor based on Pt-loaded WO_3

Hydrogen gas sensing properties of Pt-WO3 films on spiral microstructured fiber Bragg grating (FBG) has been demonstrated. Pt-WO3 film was prepared by hydrothermal method. The spiral microsturctured FBG was fabricated using femtosecond laser. Spiral microstructure FBG hydrogen sensor can detect hydrogen concentration from 0.02% H2 to 4% H2 at room temperature, and the response time is shortened from a few minutes to 10~30 s. Double spiral microstructure at pitch 60 μm and sputtered with 2 μm Pt-WO3 film recorded hydrogen sensitivity of 522 pm/%(v/v) H2 responding to hydrogen gas in air. This translated to approximately 2~4 times higher than the unprocessed standard FBG. The humidity has little effect on the sensing property. The sensor has fast response time, good stability, large detection range and has the good prospect of practical application for hydrogen leak detection.

Ultra-high sensitive optical fiber hydrogen sensor using self-referenced demodulation method and WO 3 -Pd 2 Pt-Pt composite film

A novel fiber optic hydrogen concentration detection platform with significantly enhanced performance is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. The hydrogen sensing probe was prepared by depositing WO3-Pd2Pt-Pt composite film on the fiber tip of two Bragg gratings paired with high-low reflectivity. At a room temperature of 25°C, the hydrogen sensor has a significant response towards 10 ppm hydrogen in nitrogen atmosphere, and may detect tens of ppb hydrogen changes when the hydrogen concentration is between 10~60 ppm. Besides, the proposed system shows quick response when the hydrogen concentration is above 40 ppm. Moreover, the hydrogen sensor shows good repeatability during the hydrogen response. This work proposes a new concept to develop hydrogen sensing technology with ultra-high sensitivity, which can significantly promote its potential application in various fields, especially for ultra-low hydrogen detection in oxygen-free environment.

Fabricating phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating by simple postprocessing using femtosecond laser

Abstract. Fabricating of phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PSFBG) by a femtosecond (fs) laser postprocessing of standard single mode fiber Bragg grating (FBG) without phase mask is demonstrated. A central region of grating is irradiated by an fs laser assisted with a rotating jig, which produces a π phase shift at the central region of the grating and forms a π phase-shifted FBG. The procedure is simple, fast, and has good reproductivity. The bandwidth of transmission peak of PSFBG grows with an increasing amount of laser energy or length of irradiation and decreasing of translation speed; the transmission loss decreases with increasing irradiation length. Additionally, the repeatability of fs postprocessing and temperature stability of PSFBG were investigated.

Optic fiber hydrogen sensor based on high-low reflectivity Bragg gratings and WO3-Pd-Pt multilayer films

A novel optic fiber hydrogen sensor is proposed in this paper. Two Bragg gratings with different reflectivity were written in single mode fiber with phase mask method by 248 nm excimer laser. The end-face of singe mode fiber was deposited with WO3-Pd-Pt multilayer films as sensing element. The peak intensity of low reflectivity FBG is employed for hydrogen characterization, while that of high reflectivity FBG is used as reference. The experimental results show the hydrogen sensor still has good repeatability when the optic intensity in the fiber is only 1/3 of its initial value. The hydrogen sensor has great potential in measurement of hydrogen concentration.

Ultra-highly sensitive gas pressure sensor based on dual side-hole fiber interferometers with Vernier effect

We have presented and demonstrated a fiber optic gas pressure sensor with ultra-high sensitivity based on Vernier effect. The sensor is composed of two integrated parallel Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) which are fabricated by fusion splicing a short section of dual side-hole fiber (DSHF) in between two short pieces of multimode fibers (MMFs). Femtosecond laser is applied for cutting off part of the MMF and drilling openings on one air hole of the DSHF to achieve magnified gas pressure measurement by Vernier effect. Experimental results show that the gas pressure sensitivity can be enhanced to about -60 nm/MPa in the range of 0-0.8 MPa. In addition, the structure possesses a low temperature cross-sensitivity of about 0.55 KPa/°C. This presented sensor has practically value in gas pressure detection, environmental monitoring and other industrial applications.