Title :
Sol-Gel-Based Integrated Optical Microring Resonator Humidity Sensor
Author :
Bhola, Bipin ; Nosovitskiy, Pavel ; Mahalingam, Hari ; Steier, William H.
Author_Institution :
Ming Hsieh Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
fDate :
7/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A novel humidity sensor based on sol-gel clad polymer microring resonator is presented. This sensor is based on the principle of change in refractive index of sol-gel on exposure to moisture. This change causes a shift in the resonant wavelength of the microring resonator. The performance of this sensor is analyzed and different ways of tailoring the sensor response are suggested. This sensor has a sensitivity of 16 pm/% relative humidity (RH) and a dynamic range up to 72% RH. The response time of this sensor can be tailored to be less than 200 ms, which could be utilized for monitoring human breathing condition in medical applications.
Keywords :
biomedical equipment; humidity sensors; integrated optics; micro-optomechanical devices; micromechanical resonators; microsensors; optical polymers; optical resonators; optical sensors; refractive index; sol-gel processing; human breathing condition monitoring; humidity sensor; medical applications; microsensor; polymer microring resonator; refractive index; relative humidity; sol-gel-based integrated optical microring resonator; Biomedical optical imaging; Humidity; Integrated optics; Moisture; Optical polymers; Optical refraction; Optical resonators; Optical sensors; Optical variables control; Refractive index; Humidity; microresonators; microsensors;
Journal_Title :
Sensors Journal, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/JSEN.2009.2020113
