Abstract
Miniature optical fiber-tip sensors based on directly µ-printed polymer suspended-microbeams are presented. With an in-house optical 3D μ-printing technology, SU-8 suspended-microbeams are fabricated in situ to form Fabry–Pérot (FP) micro-interferometers on the end face of standard single-mode optical fiber. Optical reflection spectra of the fabricated FP micro-interferometers are measured and fast Fourier transform is applied to analyze the cavity of micro-interferometers. The applications of the optical fiber-tip sensors for refractive index (RI) sensing and pressure sensing, which showed 917.3 nm/RIU to RI change and 4.29 nm/MPa to pressure change, respectively, are demonstrated in the experiments. The sensors and their optical µ-printing method unveil a new strategy to integrate complicated microcomponents on optical fibers toward ‘lab-on-fiber’ devices and applications.
Highlights
IntroductionWith the development of micro-/nano-technology, optical fiber-tip sensors integrated with functional materials and microscale components have attracted considerable attention [4,5,6]
Optical fiber sensors have received remarkable successes in a wide range of applications—such as inertial navigational systems, environmental and structural monitoring, biochemical sensing, healthcare, food industry, and homeland security—because of their small size, electromagnetic interference (EMI) immunity, high sensitivity, remote sensing, and multiplexing capabilities [1,2,3].Recently, with the development of micro-/nano-technology, optical fiber-tip sensors integrated with functional materials and microscale components have attracted considerable attention [4,5,6]
It is because an optical fiber end-face is an inherently light-coupled substrate [5], which provides an ideal platform for development of compact and highly integrated photonic devices and sensors stepping toward a new horizon of ‘lab-on-fiber’
Summary
With the development of micro-/nano-technology, optical fiber-tip sensors integrated with functional materials and microscale components have attracted considerable attention [4,5,6] It is because an optical fiber end-face is an inherently light-coupled substrate [5], which provides an ideal platform for development of compact and highly integrated photonic devices and sensors stepping toward a new horizon of ‘lab-on-fiber’. One of the widely used structures in optical fiber-tip sensors is Fabry–Pérot (FP) interferometers, which are typically composed of a suspended diaphragm to form an FP cavity on optical fiber ends.
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