Chemical sensor using polymer coated tapered optical fibers

Abstract

The polymer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which is used as a cladding layer in waveguide-based optical components, is sensitive to the organic compounds. In this work, a compact organic compound optical sensor with a simple fabrication is proposed by using a taped optical fiber with PDMS coating. The sensing mechanism is based on the reaction of sensing material PDMS with chemical molecules to result in the changes of PDMS cladding layer which cause the transmitted optical power of the taped optical fiber.