High-temperature-sensitive and spectrum-contrast-enhanced sensor using a bullet-shaped fiber cavity filled with PDMS

Low temperature sensitivity and low spectral contrast are serious but common issues for most Fabry Perot (FP) sensors with an air cavity. In this paper, a high-temperature-sensitive and spectrum-contrast-enhanced Fabry Perot interferometer (FPI) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The device is composed of a hollow cylindrical waveguide (HCW) filled with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and a semi-elliptic PDMS end face. The semi-elliptic PDMS end face increases the spectral contrast significantly due to the focusing effect. Experimentally, the spectral contrast is 11.97 dB, which is two times higher than the sensor without semi-elliptic PDMS end face. Ultra-high temperature sensitivity of 3.1501 nm/°C was demonstrated. The proposed sensor exhibits excellent structural stability, high spectral contrast and high temperature sensitivity, showing great potential in biomedicine, industrial manufacturing, agricultural production and other applications.