Optical applications of dye-doped plastic fibers

Several functional dye-doped plastic fibers have been fabricated and used for optical applications. Laser-dye-doped plastic fibers pumped by a pulsed N₂ laser operate as a compact tunable fiber laser with an intense and narrowed spectrum over a wide wavelength range. A halogen-lamp-illuminated fluorescent plastic fiber can be used for a simple fiber light source. The combination of plastic fiber doped with thymol-blue dye and the fiber light source operates as an optical sensor for toxic gases such as NH₃ and HCl. A humidity sensor using a dye-doped plastic fiber was also fabricated