Effect of the Geometries of Ge-Sb-Se Chalcogenide Glass Tapered Fiber on the Sensitivity of Evanescent Wave Sensors

A geometrical optimization study of Ge-Sb-Se chalcogenide glass tapered fiber sensors for concentration sensing of methanol is presented. The effects of the geometrical parameters such as taper waist diameter and transition region lengths on the evanescent wave penetration depth are discussed based on the ray-tracing theory. Numerical analysis results demonstrate that the performance of the tapered fiber sensor can be enhanced by decreasing the transition length of the down-taper combined with increasing the transition length of the up-taper. A homemade tapering platform enables controlling the taper waist diameter and transition region length of the tapered fiber accurately. An experimental study using tapered fiber sensors with different transition region lengths is carried out to detect the concentration of methanol aqueous solution. The highest sensitivity of 0.0120 a.u./% is obtained from the tapered fiber with a down-taper transition length of 5.4 mm and an up-taper transition length of 7.9 mm, which agrees with the trend presented by the simulation results. The effects of symmetric and asymmetric tapered fiber structure on the sensing characteristics are also investigated.