A U-shaped double-side polished plastic optical fiber (POF) is demonstrated as a liquid refractive index (RI) sensor. The refractive index of glycerinum solutions is identified by the intensity detection on the bending and evanescent wave loss change. Heat treatment and mechanical polishing are adopted to form the symmetrical side-polished POF probe. The processing parameters are experimentally optimized on the power transmittance. The sensitivity of 1541%/RIU (Refractive Index Unit) can be obtained with a resolution of 5.35 × 10-4 in the scope of 1.33-1.39. The favorable temperature characteristic is proved to offer stable RI sensing from 20 to 50 °C. This simple POF sensor has potentials in low-cost visible light intensity RI detection.
Keywords: U-shaped; plastic optical fiber; sensor; side polish.