Recent developments in fiber optics humidity sensors

A wide range of applications such as health, human comfort, agriculture, food processing and storage, and electronic manufacturing, among others, require fast and accurate measurement of humidity. Sensors based on optical fibers present several advantages over electronic sensors and great research e...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ascorbe Muruzabal, Joaquín, Corres Sanz, Jesús María, Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier, Matías Maestro, Ignacio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Universidad Pública de Navarra
Repositorio:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
OAI Identifier:oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/26173
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2454/26173
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Optical fiber humidity sensors
Fiber Bragg gratings
Long period fiber grating
Photonic crystal fiber
Tapered optical fiber
Modal interferometer
Fabry-Pérot interferometers
Resonators
Lossy mode resonances
Descripción
Sumario:A wide range of applications such as health, human comfort, agriculture, food processing and storage, and electronic manufacturing, among others, require fast and accurate measurement of humidity. Sensors based on optical fibers present several advantages over electronic sensors and great research efforts have been made in recent years in this field. The present paper reports the current trends of optical fiber humidity sensors. The evolution of optical structures developed towards humidity sensing, as well as the novel materials used for this purpose, will be analyzed. Well-known optical structures, such as long-period fiber gratings or fiber Bragg gratings, are still being studied towards an enhancement of their sensitivity. Sensors based on lossy mode resonances constitute a platform that combines high sensitivity with low complexity, both in terms of their fabrication process and the equipment required. Novel structures, such as resonators, are being studied in order to improve the resolution of humidity sensors. Moreover, recent research on polymer optical fibers suggests that the sensitivity of this kind of sensor has not yet reached its limit. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in terms of sensitivity and resolution.