Diaphragm-free gas-pressure sensor probe based on hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber

A diaphragm-free probe-type gas-pressure sensor is proposed and experimentally demonstrated based on a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBF) with a quartz capillary. The section of the HC-PBF acts as a Fabry-Perot cavity, and the quartz capillary acts as a microfluidic channel for a gas inlet. An inner diameter of the quartz capillary (∼2 μm) smaller than the HC-PBF (∼10.9 μm) ensures a mirror reflection and a microfluidic channel simultaneously. The sensor probe has a minimal size (∼125 μm) and can function at gas pressures as high as 8 MPa. A higher pressure test is limited by our gas-pressure generation devices. Excellent stability of the sensor is observed in a long timescale, and repeatability of the sensor is confirmed by tests of six different samples. Compared with conventional optical fiber gas-pressure sensors, the proposed sensor involves a simple fabrication process and can acquire probe measurements with high sensitivity (∼4.17 nm/MPa), excellent linearity (0.9999), fast response, and no hysteresis. The proposed sensor can also function at temperatures as high as 800°C, which is beneficial for high pressure measurements in extreme conditions. Moreover, the fast response of the sensor is attractive for dynamic pressure measurements, which needs further study and characterization.