Fabrication and Comparison of Thermochromic Material-Based Fiber-Optic Sensors for Monitoring the Temperature of Water

Abstract

In this study, we explored the feasibility of developing two types of fiber-optic temperature sensors that can measure the temperature of water. One uses a thermochromic material such as Lophine, whose optical absorbance changes according to the thermal variation. The other uses a thermochromic pigment that gradually loses its own color through heat absorption. We measured the change in the intensity of the reflected light, which was due to the variation of the optical property of Lophine and pigments, with thermal variation. The relationship between the temperature of water and the output signal of the fiber-optic sensors was also determined. The fiber-optic temperature sensor using Lophine provided a relatively broad range of temperature measurement with low sensitivity, whereas the fiber-optic temperature sensor using a thermochromic pigment offered a high sensitivity in a narrow range of temperature measurement. (C) 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics