A simple fiber optic humidity sensor based on water-absorption characteristic of CAB

Abstract

A simple fiber-optic relative humidity sensor based on cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) and Fresnel reflection is proposed and investigated theoretically and experimentally. The sensing system is only composed of one light source, three optical couplers, two photo-detectors and two fiber sensing ends. The operation principle is based on relative Fresnel reflection and water-absorption characteristic of the CAB which simultaneously contains hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups. The water absorption process will lead to variation of the CAB’s refractive index or permittivity. It has to be noted that the double-channel system can effectively eliminate the intensity fluctuation of the light source and the influence of the environment. In this paper, the relative humidity environments approximately ranging from 10 % to 100% are generated and measured both in the humidification and dehumidification processes, which shows a good repeatability and reveals a very good fitting feature with a high value of R² above 0.99. It is of reflection type and can be simply extend to be a multi-point-monitoring system. The sensing system is of cost- effective, simple operation and high precision.