Graphene-Assisted Microfiber for Optical-Power-Based Temperature Sensor

Combined the large evanescent field of microfiber with the high thermal conductivity of graphene, a sensitive all-fiber temperature sensor based on graphene-assisted micro-fiber is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Microfiber can be easily attached with graphene due to the electrostatic force, resulting in an effective interaction between graphene and the evanescent field of microfiber. The change of the ambient temperature has a great influence on the conductivity of graphene, leading to the variation of the effective refractive index of microfiber. Consequently, the optical power transmission will be changed. The temperature sensitivity of 0.1018 dB/°C in the heating process and 0.1052 dB/°C in the cooling process as well as a high resolution of 0.0098 °C is obtained in the experiment. The scheme may have great potential in sensing fields owing to the advantages of high sensitivity, compact size, and low cost.