Simultaneous Detection of Temperature, Strain, Refractive Index, and pH Based on a Phase-Shifted Long-Period Fiber Grating

A novel π-phase-shifted (PS) long-period fiber-grating (LPFG) sensor operating near the phase-matching turning point (PMTP) was proposed. The PS-LPFG sensor can simultaneously detect temperature, strain, refractive index (RI), and pH. Due to the introduction of π phase shift, the double resonance peak of the selected cladding mode was divided into four loss peaks, which is convenient for multiparameter measurement. By monitoring the resonant-wavelength shifts of four dips of PS-LPFG, simultaneous detection of temperature, strain, RI, and pH can be achieved. Moreover, using a simple LPFG design on one fiber and a multiparameter matrix algorithm, the crosstalk between multiple signals was eliminated. Graphene oxide/polyvinyl alcohol (GO/PVA) hydrogel was coated onto the grating sensing area to measure the change in pH, and the sensitivity was higher than that of the same type of fiber-grating sensor. Results showed that the maximum sensitivity of temperature, strain, RI, and pH of the fabricated phase-shifted grating sensing structure were 0.2128 nm/°C, 0.1225 nm/μϵ, 718 nm/RIU, and -1.0166 nm/pH, respectively. Overall, the proposed sensor had great potential applications in monitoring marine environments and biochemistry sensing.