Humidity sensor based on a single-mode hetero-core fiber structure

Using a small-core single-mode fiber (SCSMF), a novel relative humidity (RH) sensor based on an SMF28-SCSMF-SMF28 fiber structure was proposed in this paper. By depositing a humidity sensitive material, such as poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) on the bare SCSMF fiber, the proposed structure can act as an RH sensor with high sensitivity. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed RH sensor with PEO coating can achieve a sensitivity of 430nm per relative humidity unit (RHU) in the RH range from 80% to 83% RH and a sensitivity of 50nm per RHU in the RH range from 83% to 95% RH. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America