Enhanced refractometer for aqueous solutions based on perfluorinated polymer optical fibres

Abstract

The use of the new CYTOP (Cyclized Transparent Optical Polymer) fibres for the inscription of optical structures and the detection of different parameters has started to gain importance in the past decade. This work presents the design, simulation and manufacture of a CYTOP-based surrounding refractive index sensor for aqueous solutions, given its high sensitivity in the range 1.315 - 1.333 (at 1550 nm wavelength). The structure is based on a bent and polished fibre (in order to increase its sensitivity), the polished area being the surface on which a diffraction grating is inscribed with a femtosecond laser. The interaction of the field propagated by the fibre with the grating causes diffraction of certain orders towards the outside, depending, among other things, on the refractive index of the fluid. In addition to a maximum sensitivity of -208.8 nm/RIU and a remarkable insensitivity to temperature, it offers a spectral fingerprint of each sensed fluid.