Sagnac interferometer hydrogen sensor based on panda fiber with Pt-loaded WO_3/SiO_2 coating

A highly sensitive optical fiber Sagnac interferometer hydrogen sensor is proposed and demonstrated. The device is fabricated by inserting a segment of panda fiber coated with Pt-loaded WO3/SiO2 into a Sagnac interferometer loop. When Pt/WO3 film is exposed to hydrogen, the exothermic reaction raises the temperature of the panda fiber, resulting in the resonant wavelength shift of the interferometer, and the resonant dip obtained has a large extinction ratio of ∼25 dB and a narrow linewidth of 2.5 nm. Such a device responds fast to hydrogen, exhibits a high sensitivity of -7.877 nm/% (vol. %) within the range of 0%-1.0% and is robust, low cost, and easy to fabricate.