Abstract
A compact and robust refractive index (RI) sensor based on a tapered photonic crystal fiber (PCF) Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) was proposed. It consists of a section of tapered PCF which is spliced between two single-mode fibers (SMF). A strong evanescent field was formed near the tapered region and made it susceptible to external RI variations. The interference was utilized between core modes and cladding modes of the PCF. Experimentally, the sensor exhibits highly RI sensitivity which is found to be 51.902nm/RIU within a range from 1.3411 to 1.3737. A resolution of 1.93×10−5RIU was achieved since the OSA has a resolution of 1pm. In addition, a PDMS detection cell is specially designed to increase the stability and robustness of the device. The temperature effect of the sensor is also analyzed. The proposed all-fiber RI sensor based on tapered PCF is attractive due to its compact size, low cost and immunity to electromagnetic interference beyond what conventional refractive index sensors can offer.
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