Etched FBG written in multimode fibers: sensing characteristics and applications in the liquid fuels sector

Abstract

In this work, a refractometric fiber sensor for the liquid fuels sector is described. The use of etched FBGs produced in multimode fibers is proposed to overcome the drawbacks associated with sensing high refractive index samples employing fiber transducers. The transducer sensitivity can be tailored by adjusting the final diameter of the etched Bragg grating. Due to a trade-off between the signal-to-noise ratio and the sensitivity, operational parameters of the sensor must be designed to match the expected refractive index dynamic range for specific applications. Metrological properties of the sensor are determined, resulting in resolution from 5.6 % v/v to 0.4 % v/v for refractive indexes ranging from 1.4562 to 1.4729. Specific applications regarding the quality assessment of biodiesel and conformity analysis of diesel-biodiesel blends are discussed.

Index Terms
Optical fiber transducer; chemical sensor; refractometric sensor; biodiesel analysis