Fiber-optic evanescent field absorption sensor: A theoretical evaluation

A comparative study of the fiber-optic evanescent field absorption sensors based on parabolic, linear, and exponential-linear taper profiles has been carried out. The expressions for the effective evanescent absorption coefficient of the fluid have been derived for a diffuse source as well as a collimated source-microscope objective combination. It has been shown that the sensitivity of the sensor depends on the taper profile and the type of the source used in addition to the numerical aperture of the fiber and the refractive index of the fluid. For a given taper profile, the sensitivity is more in the case of the collimated source-microscope objective combination as compared to the diffuse source illumination. Further, the sensor with the exponential-linear taper profile is more sensitive than those having parabolic and linear profiles in the case of both sources.