Highly sensitive nonlinear temperature sensor based on soliton self-frequency shift technique in a microstructured optical fiber

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. A. Physical. Vol. 334; p. 113333
• Main Authors: Chen, Xiaoyu, Yan, Xin, Zhang, Xuenan, Wang, Fang, Suzuki, Takenobu, Ohishi, Yasutake, Cheng, Tonglei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01.02.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: 3-dB bandwidth; Environmental monitoring; Environmental testing; Fiber optics; Frequency shift; Microstructured optical fiber; Optical fibers; Pumps; Quality control; Sensitivity; Sensitivity analysis; Sensors; Solitary waves; Soliton self-frequency shift; Temperature; Temperature sensor; Temperature sensors; Temperature sensor; Microstructured optical fiber; Soliton self-frequency shift; 3-dB bandwidth
• ISSN: 0924-4247; 1873-3069
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sna.2021.113333

•A nonlinear temperature sensor was proposed drawing on soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS).•This work applied nonlinear technology to the field of sensing.•This work overcomes the complex structure and low mechanical strength of traditional optical fiber sensors. [Display omitted] A novel fiber-optic soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) temperature sensor fabricated using an in-house-made microstructured optical fiber was proposed. Based on this sensor, SSFS-based sensing was systematically investigated with the variation of average pump power and pump wavelength. By detecting the central wavelength shift of the 3-dB bandwidth of the soliton with the change in temperature, the sensing performance of the proposed sensor was evaluated experimentally and theoretically, subject to the average pump power and pump wavelength. At the generation of the fundamental soliton, when the pump wavelength was fixed, the higher the average pump power, the higher the temperature sensitivity. When the average pump power was fixed, the longer the pump wavelength, the higher the temperature sensitivity. The maximum temperature sensitivity of the proposed sensor was 1.759 nm/℃ at an average pump power of 300 mW and pump wavelength of 1600 nm. This temperature sensor exhibited excellent properties, such as high sensitivity, a simple structure, an easy fabrication process, good mechanical strength, and low cost, rendering it highly applicable in fields such as food quality control, environmental monitoring, and biomedical testing.