Light Intensity Sensor Based on an Azo-Infiltrated Microstructured Optical Fiber

The photoisomerization effect of the azo functional material is introduced into a solid-core microstructured optical fiber (MOF) by infiltrating the N-Ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-(4-nitrophenylazo) aniline (Disperse Red 1)-chloroform mixture solution into its cladding air holes. The irradiation laser power density as well as temperature effects on the transmission spectral characteristics of the solution-infiltrated MOF have been investigated. Owing to its highly sensitive light responsivity, ease of manipulation, and compactness, our proposed photosensitization approach for fiber-optic devices would have great promises for various related applications, such as light-intensity measurement and light-driven reconfigurable optical filtering.