Polymer Materials for U-Shaped Optic Fiber Sensors: A Review
Patryk Sokołowski,
Jacek Łubiński,
Paweł Wierzba,
Jakub Czubek,
Piotr Miluski,
Filip Janiak,
Shanyue Guan,
Małgorzata Szczerska
Affiliations
Patryk Sokołowski
Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Jacek Łubiński
Department of Machine Design and Vehicles, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Ship Technology, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Paweł Wierzba
Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Jakub Czubek
Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Piotr Miluski
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45D Street, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland
Filip Janiak
Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Shanyue Guan
Technical institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 29 Zhongguangcun East Road, Beijing 100190, China
Małgorzata Szczerska
Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Fiber optic sensors have gained popularity over the last few decades. This is due to their numerous advantages, such as good metrological parameters, biocompatibility and resistance to magnetic and electric fields and environmental pollution. However, those built from glass fiber have one main disadvantage—they are fragile, meaning they can be easily damaged, even by the presence of vibration. Due to the great progress made by material research recently, it is possible to build such a sensor with polymer fibers instead. Although those fibers have worse transmission parameters compared to telecommunication fibers, they provide the possibility to realize flexible fiber optic sensors. Taking into consideration other advantages of such fibers, including biocompatibility, electromagnetic resistance and even, biodegradation characteristics, as well as there being a variety of materials we can use, it can be seen that those materials are beneficial to produce fiber optic sensors. This paper aims to provide researchers with guidelines on the factors to consider when choosing a material for bent fiber optic sensors, depending on the application.
