Abstract
The increasing importance of hydrogen as an energy carrier and industrial material calls for hydrogen sensors with higher sensitivity, better selectivity, faster response, and wider dynamic range. Here, we report a nanofiber (NF) sensor that satisfies these requirements with a single sensing element. The sensor is based on stimulated Raman scattering spectroscopy, but the tightly confined evanescent field associated with the NF enhances the Raman gain per unit length by a factor of 30 to 102 over the state-of-the-art hollow-core photonic crystal fibers and more than 104 over free-space beams. The NF has excellent mode quality, which ensures mode-noise-free measurement and maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio. An experiment with a 700-nm-diameter, 48-mm-long silica NF operating in the telecom wavelength band demonstrates hydrogen detection from a few parts per million to 100% with a response time less than 10 s. The sensor would be useful for a range of applications, including detection of hydrogen leakage as well as monitoring of battery charging, fuel cells, and electric power transformer health conditions.
Highlights
Hydrogen is an important source of energy and a widely used industrial material
Most optical fiber-based hydrogen sensors rely on the reaction of hydrogen molecules with thin metallic or metaloxide films coated on the tip or surface of the fibers, and the reaction-induced change in reflectance, absorbance, or optical path length is measured [3]
The technique has the merits of high selectivity, fast response, large dynamic range, and superior signal-to-noise ratio, enabling the best overall performance of fiber-optic hydrogen sensors to our knowledge
Summary
Hydrogen is an important source of energy and a widely used industrial material. It has unique properties such as low ignition energy, high combustion heat, fast flame velocity, and wide explosion range [1]. Most optical fiber-based hydrogen sensors rely on the reaction of hydrogen molecules with thin metallic or metaloxide films coated on the tip or surface of the fibers, and the reaction-induced change in reflectance, absorbance, or optical path length is measured [3]. These thin-film-based sensors have problems in achieving a fast response and large dynamic range as well as in temperature stability and cross-sensitivity to other gases such as H2S, O2, and CO [3]. The technique has the merits of high selectivity, fast response, large dynamic range, and superior signal-to-noise ratio, enabling the best overall performance of fiber-optic hydrogen sensors to our knowledge
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