Numerical investigation of a real-time temperature sensor based on high-order soliton compression

Abstract

Temperature sensors based on photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have attracted considerable attentions due to their desirable advantages. However, the real-time temperature sensing in the temporal region is rarely studied. Here, an all-fiber real-time high-sensitivity temperature sensor is fabricated based on the high-order soliton compression process. A 1560 nm femtosecond fiber laser is used as the injected pulse source and the alcohol-filled silica PCF is adopted as the temperature sensitive device. Temperature sensing can be realized by detecting the peak values of temporal profiles with an oscilloscope at the change of temperature. The oscilloscope possesses faster response rate than the optical spectrum analyzer and can record the variation of the single pulse. Through numerical simulations, a real-time temperature sensor with the sensitivity of 4.91 W °C−1 is achieved at the fiber length of 21 cm. Our simulated results show that the designed temperature sensors with low cost, compact all-fiber structure and real-time response are competitive for application in temperature measurement devices.