UV-Curable Polymer Microhemisphere-Based

Fiber-Optic Fabry–Perot Interferometer

for Simultaneous Measurement of
Refractive Index and Temperature
Volume 6, Number 4, August 2014

X. L. Tan
Y. F. Geng
X. J. Li
Y. L. Deng
Z. Yin
R. Gao

DOI: 10.1109/JPHOT.2014.2332460
1943-0655 Ó 2014 IEEE
IEEE Photonics Journal PMHS-Based Fiber-Optic FP Interferometer

UV-Curable Polymer Microhemisphere-Based

Fiber-Optic Fabry–Perot Interferometer
for Simultaneous Measurement of
Refractive Index and Temperature
X. L. Tan, Y. F. Geng, X. J. Li, Y. L. Deng, Z. Yin, and R. Gao

College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology,
Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

DOI: 10.1109/JPHOT.2014.2332460
1943-0655 Ó 2014 IEEE. Translations and content mining are permitted for academic research only.
Personal use is also permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.

Manuscript received April 24, 2014; revised June 7, 2014; accepted June 16, 2014. Date of publica-
tion June 24, 2014; date of current version July 9, 2014. This work was supported in part by the Na-
tional Science Foundation of China under Grants 61308046 and 61275125, by the Doctoral Fund of
the Ministry of Education of China under Grant 20114408120002, by the China Postdoctoral Science
Foundation funded project, by the High-level Talents Project of Guangdong Province, and by the Ba-
sic Research Program Funds of Shenzhen under Grant JCYJ20120613110057654. Corresponding
author: Y. F. Geng (gengyf@szu.edu.cn).

Abstract: A fiber-optic Fabry–Perot interferometer based on UV-curable polymer micro-

hemisphere is proposed and demonstrated. The polymer microhemisphere is formed by
adhering and solidifying a liquid microdroplet of UV-curable adhesive to the end face of a
cleaved single-mode fiber. The height of polymer microhemisphere could be flexibly con-
trolled by adjusting the diameter of a single-mode fiber. The theoretical and experimental
results demonstrate that the refractive index (RI) and the temperature of external environ-
ment can be simultaneously measured by the fringe contrast variation and the wave-
length shift of reflection spectra separately, alleviating the cross sensitivity effectively.
The obtained temperature and RI sensitivities are about 0.19 nm=
C and 260 dB/RIU in
the RI range of 1.38–1.42.

Index Terms: Fabry–Perot interferometer, temperature sensor, refractive index sensor,

UV-curable adhesive.

1. Introduction
The refractive index (RI) is a fundamental material property, and the detection of minute RI
changes is very important in many fields such as bio-chemistry, medicinal chemistry, photoelec-
tric material science, etc. Various methods for the measurement of RI have been developed in
the past years. Fiber optic RI sensors are of considerable interest due to their advantages of
small size, high sensitivity, immunity to electromagnetic interferences. However, the RI of liquid
has strong dependence on temperature, so simultaneous measurement RI and temperature is
necessary in order to obtain an accurate value of the RI. One typical solution to the cross sensi-
tivity is to combine multiple optical elements to measure the RI and temperature separately,
such as hybrid configuration with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and long period grating (LPG) [1],
Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity with FBG [2], Mach-Zehnder interferometer with FBG [3], dual FP cavi-
ties [4] and FP with an embedded golden thin film [5]. However, such methods have compli-
cated design or high cost, which restrict their practical applications. Also, alternative schemes

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IEEE Photonics Journal PMHS-Based Fiber-Optic FP Interferometer

Fig. 1. Configuration of our FPI sensor head.

based on a single optical element with different sensitivities at different wavelengths are em-
ployed such as slanted multimode FBG [6], high birefringence D-type fiber loop mirror [7], and
taper fiber interferometer [8]. Comparably, such methods have simple configurations but their
sensitivities of RI and temperature are limited.
In this paper, a simple, utlracompact and low cost fiber optic FP interferometer (FPI) enabled
by a UV-curable polymer micro-hemisphere (PMHS) is proposed. The PMHS is formed by ad-
hering and solidifying a liquid microdroplet of UV-curable adhesive to the end face of a cleaved
single mode fiber (SMF). The curvature of PMHS could be flexibly controlled by adjusting the di-
ameter of SMF. The fringe contrast of FPI output spectra significantly depends on the Fresnel
reflection at the interface of PMHS and external enviroment, while the wavelength dips of the
fringe are mainly effected by temperature due to large thermal effect of polymer. Hence, the
RI and the temperature can be simultaneously measured by recording the fringe contrast and
the wavelength dip locations. In experiment, the RI and temperature sensitivities are about
260 dB/RIU in the RI range of 1.38 to 1.42 and 0.19 nm=
C, respectively, to the best of our
knowledge, which are the highest sensitivities of the fiber sensor for simultaneous two param-
eters measurement based on a single optical element.

2. Operation Principle
Fig. 1 shows the configuration of our FPI. It consists of a leading fiber of SMF and a PMHS at
the end face of SMF. The first Fresnel reflection occurs at the interface of SMF and PMHS due
to their different refractive indics. As the rest light travels freely to the end surface of the PMHS,
the second Fresnel reflection occurs due to the different refractive indics of PMHS and external
environment. After the two reflected lights back into SMF, they interfere with each other due to
their different optical paths, and thus enable an intrinsic FPI. The two reflected light intensities
backed into the SMF are denoted as I1 and I2 , respectively.
As for two-beam light interference, the output intensity of I can be expressed as
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
I ¼ I1 þ I2 þ 2 I1 I2 cos’ (1)
where ’ is the phase difference and can be expressed by ’ ¼ 4np h=, np is the RI of polymer,
h is the height of PMHS, and  is the free-space wavelength. When ’ ¼ ð2m þ 1Þ; m ¼ 0; 1;
2 . . . , the minimum wavelength value of output light intensity is located at
4np h
dip ¼
m ; m ¼ 0; 1; 2; . . . (2)
ð2m þ 1Þ
where m dip is the dip wavelength with a minima light intensity in the interference spectrum. The
intensities of the two interference beams I1 and I2 are I1 ¼ I0 R1 and I2 ¼ I0  ð1  R1 Þ2 R2 , re-
spectively, and R1 and R2 are the reflection coefficients for the first and the second Fresnel re-
flections mentioned above, respectively, given by

ðnGe  np Þ2 ðnp  nÞ2

R1 ¼ 2
; R2 ¼ (3)
ðnGe þ np Þ ðnp þ nÞ2
where nGe and n are the refractive indices of SMF core and external environment, respectively.
 is the coupling loss of the reflective light from PMHS back into SMF, and here, the absorption

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Fig. 2. (a) The fringe contrast versus external refractive index n for np ¼ 1:48, 1.56, and 1.64, re-
spectively (nGe ¼ 1:4502,  ¼ 0:6). (b) The fringe contrast versus external refractive index n for
 ¼ 0:8, 0.6, 0.4, and 0.2, respectively (nGe ¼ 1:4502 and np ¼ 1:56).

loss in PMHS is not considered for the small value of h and low absorption coefficient of NOA61
polymer.
The fringe contrast of the FPI is expressed by
Imax  Imin
V ¼ (4)
Imax þ Imin
where Imax and Imin are the maximum and minimum intensity values of the output intensity,
respectively.
According to (2) and (4), it is easily found that the wavelength dips of the fringe are deter-
mined by the polymer RI and the height of PMHS, while the fringe contrast greatly depends on
the RI of external environment. Fig. 2(a) plots the fringe contrast changing with n for np ¼ 1:48,
1.56, and 1.64 at  ¼ 0:6. It can be seen clearly that the fringe contrast curve is even sym-
metrical with n ¼ np and
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi has two maximum values
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi denoted aspffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi nmax1 and nmax2 , where
nmax1  np ð =R1  1Þ=ð =R1 þ 1Þ and nmax2  np ð =R1 þ 1Þ=ð =R1  1Þ. Discrimination
of the RI range of n 9 np and n G np can be easily realized because a -phase shift between the
two cases due to existence of the half-wave loss, and the dips of the interference spectrum will
convert to the peaks. Here, we only consider the case that n G np . When n approaches nmax1 ,
the fringe contrast increases greatly with n increasing, while it decreases with n > nmax1 and
goes to zero as n closes to np . It is noted that there are two RI values for a given fringe contrast
below np , which can be discriminated by adopting two FPIs with different indices of UV curing
polymer.
Fig. 2(b) shows the variation of fringe contrast with the RI of external environment n for
 ¼ 0:8, 0.6, 0.4, and 0.2, and np is set to be 1.56. With  decreasing, the maximum fringe con-
trast shifts to lower RI, so exact value of  is crucial for the exact RI measurement. In experi-
ment, it can be easily figured out by calibration with Cargille refractive-index-matching oil.

3. Device Fabrication and Experimental Setup

The PMHS is fabricated with a commercially available Norland Optical Adhesive 61 (NOA61)
which is a clear, colorless, liquid photopolymer and can be cured by UV light with a wavelength
range of 320 nm to 380 nm. The viscosity of NOA61 is about 300 cps at 25
C, and its refractive
index is about 1.56 at 589.6 nm. The fabrication process of the proposed PMHS is schemati-
cally illustrated in Fig. 3. A SMF with one end cleaved is prepared and immersed into the poly-
mer adhesive with a depth of around two hundred micrometers. After taken out, a liquid
microdroplet with a proximate hemispherical shape is formed at the end face of the SMF due to
surface tension. Then a UV-light lamp is used to solidify the UV-curing liquid microdroplet for
about six minutes. And finally, a PMHS is yielded and a FPI cavity is established. In order to

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Fig. 3. Fabrication process of a PMHS at the end face of SMF tip.

Fig. 4. Microphotographs of fabricated PMHSs with different heights. (top to bottom) Samples F1,
F2, and F3, respectively.

obtain the optimum adhesion, the PMHS is aged for 12 hours at 50
C before it is applied for RI
and temperature measurements [9]. After fully cured, NOA61 is solvent resistance and reaches
its optimum adhesion to SMF.
The surface curvature and the height of such a PMHS can be calculated by [10]
 
1 d2
R¼ h þ
2
(5)
2h 4
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi!
d2 3V þ 2 d 6 =64 þ 9V 2
h ¼  ; ¼ (6)
4 

where h is the height of the micro-hemisphere; d is the diameter of the SMF; V is the volume of
the micro-hemisphere mainly depended on the surface tension coefficient of liquid polymer, that
is, depended on the viscosity of the liquid polymer. Therefore, according to the above Eq. (5),
the height of PMHS is determined by the fiber diameter d and the viscosity of the liquid polymer.
With a chosen Norland Optical Adhesive, the height of the PMHS or the cavity length of the FPI
only depends on the fiber diameter. In our experiment, the SMFs with different diameter are pre-
pared with hydrofluoric acid etching method. Fig. 4 shows three typical PMHS samples of F1,
F2 and F3 with heights of 39.3 m, 22.7 m and 18.7 m, respectively.
The experiment setup of the FPI is shown as Fig. 5, where a amplified spontaneous emis-
sion source (ASE) with an effective wavelength range of 1510 nm to 1590 nm is used as an
incident light, and an optical spectra analyzer (Agilent, 86146B) is to record the reflection
spectra.

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Fig. 5. Experiment setup of FPI interferometer.

Fig. 6. Reflection spectra of the FPIs with different heights of PMHS in the air.

4. Responses to Temperature and RI

The reflection spectra of the three samples in the air are shown in Fig. 6. The fringe contrasts
are about 3.5 dB due to stronger Fresnel reflection at the end face of PMHS than that at the
interface of SMF and PMHS. As expected, the fringe spacing between two wavelength dips
increases with the height decreasing.
The wavelength shift due to temperature perturbation can be expressed as  ¼ m dip ð þ
ÞT , where  is the thermal expansion coefficient and  ¼ ð1=nÞ  @n=@T is the thermo-optic
coefficient. For NOA61,  is about 2:25  104 =
C, which is about four hundred times of
that of silica fiber ð0:55  106 =
CÞ, and  is about 1:17  104 =
C at the temperature
range of 25
C  55
C [9]. The theoretical temperature sensitivity of the FPI is calculated
to be 0.167 nm=
C at 1550 nm.
The temperature sensitivity is also measured in experiment. The three FPI sensor heads are
placed into a tube furnace and heated from room temperature to 55
C with an increment of 5


C in air, and their reflection spectra at different temperatures are recorded. Fig. 7(a) plots the
wavelength dips of three samples varying with temperature. It can be seen that the wavelength
dips shift to longer wavelength with temperature increasing, and by linear fitting, the sensitivities
of the three sensors are 0.19 nm=
C, 0.17 nm=
C, and 0.197 nm=
C, respectively, which are
slightly higher than the theoretical result. Fig. 7(b) is the reflection spectra of the sample F1 at
different temperatures. It shows that no obvious changes of the fringe contrast is observed,
which is same to the other two samples. Moreover, the thermal stability of such a PMHS-based
FPI is also tested as the sample F1 is kept at 25
C. The maximum shift of the wavelength dip
is 50 pm with 30 min monitoring, so the error of the temperature measurement is estimated to
be 0.3
C for the temperature sensitivity of 0.190 nm=
C.
In order to achieve standard and precise RI measurement of our sensor, Cargille optical index
liquid with different refractive indices is used. The sensor heads are immersed into liquid and

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Fig. 7. (a) Wavelengths dips of three samples varying with temperature. (b) Reflection spectra of
sample F1 at different temperatures.

Fig. 8. (a) Variation of fringe contrast with liquid RI. (b) Variation of reflection spectra with liquid RI
for samples F1.

are kept at room temperature during the entire RI measurement. The variations of fringe contrast
with liquid RI for the three samples are shown in Fig. 8(a). It can be seen that three cases are
nearly the same due to similar behavior of the PMHSs with the external RI changing, and the
small deviation of the maximum values of nmax1 is mainly due to a slight difference of coupling
loss coefficients  in the fabricated PMHSs. The maximum fringe contrasts locate at
nmax1 ¼ 1:43, 1.46, and 1.44 for the three samples, respectively. When n G nmax1 , the fringe con-
trast reduces with RI decreasing, while it is inverse for n 9 nmax1 , which agrees well with the theo-
retical calculation. In the range of 1.38 to 1.42, the average sensitivity of RI is about 260 dB/RIU,
92 dB/RIU and 131.3 dB/RIU by linear fitting. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest RI
sensitivity based on fringe contrast variation. Fig. 8(b) shows the evolution of reflection spectra
with the liquid RI for the sample F1. It can be seen that the fringe contrast varies with liquid RI,
while the wavelength dips locations are almost fixed as the sample is kept at room temperature.
The cross sensitivity of the FPI to temperature and RI also are investigated. Owing to the
thermo-optic effect of the solidified PMHS, the two Fresnel reflections R1 and R2 also change at
the interfaces, which results in the varying of the fringe contrast with temperature fluctuation
and gives a measurement error of RI finally. Fig. 9(a) shows the fringe contrast versus external
RI at different temperature of 25
C, 45
C, and 65
C in theory, respectively. From the theoreti-
cal calculation in the whole RI range of 1.3 to 1.54, the temperature induced measurement error
of the external RI reaches a maximum value of 9:5  105 RIU=
C at n ¼ 1:34 and approaches
zero when n ¼ 1:425. Considering the large measurement range of the RI, such an error is rela-
tively low.

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Fig. 9. (a) Fringe contrast V versus external RI n at different temperatures. (b) Dependence of re-
flection spectra on temperature for the sample F1 with liquid RI of 1.40 at room temperature.

Finally, the simultaneous measurement of temperature and RI is tested. The RI of the chosen
Cargille index-matching oil is 1.40 at 589.6 nm and at room temperature. Its thermo-optic coeffi-
cient is " ¼ 4:12  104 =K, and the relationship between refractive index n and temperature T
is to be n ¼ n0  " ðT  T0 Þ where T0 is the room temperature. The samples are immersed into
a small bottle of the index-matching oil which is placed in a heating oven. Fig. 9(b) shows the
dependence of reflection spectra on temperature for the sample F1. As expected, the wave-
length dips shift to longer wavelength with temperature increasing, while the fringe contrast re-
duces simultaneously for the decreasing of RI. Compared to the RI response curve of the
sample F1 in Fig. 8(a), the temperature induced measurement error of the external RI is
around 7:7  105 RIU=
C in the RI range of 1.38 to 1.42. Meanwhile, the experimental results
further prove that the temperature and RI sensitivities are consistent with the former tests
separately.

5. Conclusion
In conclusion, a novel fiber optic FPI enabled by UV-curable PMHS for simultaneous tempera-
ture and RI measurement is proposed and demonstrated. The PMHS at the end face of fiber is
formed by the surface tension of UV curing adhesive and solidified by UV light. The principle of
our sensor for simultaneous RI and temperature measurement is that: the fringe contrast varia-
tion is caused mainly by the RI changes of the external environment, while the wavelength shift-
ing is for the thermo effect of polymer. In experiment, the refractive index and temperature
sensitivities are about 260 dB/RIU in RI range of 1.38 to 1.42 and 0.19 nm=
C, respectively,
which agrees well with theoretical calculation. To the best of our knowledge, our sensor pre-
sents the highest sensitivity for simultaneous two parameters measurement based on single op-
tical element. Moreover, such sensor is simple, easy-to-fabrication, and low cost, making it a
good candidate in bio/chemical sensing applications.

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