Hollow-core negative curvature fibers for application in optical gas sensors

Abstract

We demonstrate the potential of applying hollow core and negative curvature optical fibers (HC-NCF) as efficient sensors to monitor the concentration of three high-toxicity gases: methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen monoxide (NO). Numerical simulations demonstrate that the insertion of holes in such fibers guarantees the entry of these gases into their hollow core and allows strong interaction of these gases with the low-loss mode propagating in the HC-NCF. This interaction between light and gas in spectral regions with high gas absorption allows one to monitor reduced concentrations of these gases present in the environment simply by monitoring the optical power at the fiber output. The results show a linear behavior of propagation losses as a function of concentrations of 0% to 100% of CO and NO gas, and for concentrations of 0% to 5% of CH4 gas. This linearity between the propagation losses and the variation of the concentrations of gases in the environment can promote its application in healthcare and environment, to monitor low concentrations of gases ensuring high speed and accuracy.