Single-arm double-mode double-order planar waveguide interferometric sensor

A sensor is described for which interference measurements of the phase dela y between two propagating modes of different orders in a slab thin-film wav eguide are used as the sensing technique. The basic building block of the s ensor is a polymer film doped with an indicator dye such as Bromocresol Pur ple. The modes of two orders such as TM, and TM, are simultaneously excited in the Light-guiding film with a focusing optics and a prism coupler. The modes are decoupled from the film and recombined to produce an interference pattern in the face of an output optical fiber. The sensitivity of the sen sor to the ambient temperature change is 1.5 degreesC, and the sensitivity to NH3 is 200 parts in 10(6) for one full oscillation of the signal. (C) 20 01 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 130.6010, 130.2790, 130.3120, 120 .3180.