Specialty optical fibers for advanced sensing applications

Optical fiber technology has changed the world by enabling extraordinary growth in world-wide communications and sensing. The rapid development and wide deployment of optical fiber sensors are driven by their excellent sensing performance with outstanding flexibility, functionality, and versatility. Notably, the research on specialty optical fibers is playing a critical role in enabling and proliferating the optical fiber sensing applications. This paper overviews recent developments in specialty optical fibers and their sensing applications. The specialty optical fibers are reviewed based on their innovations in special structures, special materials, and technologies to realize lab in/on a fiber. An overview of sensing applications in various fields is presented. The prospects and emerging research areas of specialty optical fibers are also discussed.