We present optimization results on the design of a polymer optical fiber single point sensor suitable for photoluminescence-based sensing. The single point sensing design consists of one or two annular cavities, separated by a small distance, milled...
Advances in medicine and improvements in life quality has led to an increase in the life expectancy of the general population. An ageing world population have placed demands on the use of assistive technology and, in particular, towards novel healthc...
This paper presents a system capable of measuring temperature and relative humidity with polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors. The sensors are based on variations of the Young’s and shear moduli of the POF with variations in temperature and relative h...
Optical fiber sensors (OFSs), which rely on evanescent wave sensing for the early detection of the diffusion of water and hydrochloric acid through glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRPs), have been developed and tested. Epoxy and GFRP specimens, in...
In this study, the short-term creep effect (STCE) on strain transfer from fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strips to fiber Bragg grating-optical fiber (FBG-OF) sensors was investigated. Thirty OF sensors attached to FRP strips were investigated through...
In recent years, soft robotic sensors have rapidly advanced to endow robots with the ability to interact with the external environment. Here, we propose a polymer optical fiber (POF) sensor with sensitive and stable detection performance for strain,...
Temperature measurements are of great importance in many fields of human activities, including industry, technology, and science. For example, obtaining a certain temperature value or a sudden change in it can be the primary control marker of a chemi...
A low-cost intensity-based polymer optical fiber (POF) sensor for fuel level measurements in paramotoring and powered paragliding is presented, exploiting the advantages of the optical fiber sensing technology. Experimental results demonstrate that t...
This paper presents a polymer optical fiber (POF)-based temperature sensor. The operation principle of the sensor is the variation in the POF mechanical properties with the temperature variation. Such mechanical property variation leads to a variatio...
Glass fiber-reinforced polymer- (GFRP-) packaged optical fiber (OF) sensors are considered a promising engineering-suitable sensor for structural health monitoring. To date, some critical characteristics of the GFRP-packaged OF (GFRP-OF) sensors have...
A polymer microtip manufactured at the end of a multi-mode optical fiber by using the photopolymerization process offers good reflective properties, therefore, it is applicable as an optical fiber sensor micro-transducer. The reflective properties of...
Optical fiber sensors incorporating luminescent materials are useful for detecting physical parameters and biochemical species. Fluorescent materials integrated on the tips of optical fibers, for example, provide a means to perform fluorescence therm...
A novel self-referencing fiber optic intensity sensor based on bending losses of a partially polished polymer optical fiber (POF) coupler is presented. The coupling ratio (K) depends on the external liquid in which the sensor is immersed. It is possi...
Human–robot collaboration is a new trend in modern manufacturing. Safety, or human protection, is of great significance due to humans and robots sharing the same workshop space. To achieve effective protection, in this paper, a contact force se...
Two low-cost optical–chemical sensors based on plastic optical fibers (POFs) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are developed and tested for the detection of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), a herbicide of great interest in en...
In this study, a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on modified plastic optical fibers (POFs) was combined with a specific molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), used as a synthetic receptor, for glyphosate (GLY) determination in aqueous solu...
A novel cyclic olefin copolymer (COC)-based polymer optical fiber (POF) with a rectangular porous core is designed for terahertz (THz) sensing by the finite element method. The numerical simulations showed an ultrahigh relative sensitivity of 89.73%...
Shape reconstruction is growing as an important real-time monitoring strategy for applications that require rigorous control. Polymer optical fiber sensors (POF) have mechanical properties that allow the measurement of large curvatures, making them a...
A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) platform, based on a D-shaped plastic optical fiber (POF), combined with a biomimetic receptor, i.e., a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), is proposed to detect furfural (2-furaldheide, 2-FAL) in fermented beverage...
We present an experimental study of a sensitivity-enhanced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor utilizing a cladding etched multimode polymer optical fiber (POF) coated with a layer of gold followed by an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer. Our findings...
Miniature optical fiber-tip sensors based on directly µ-printed polymer suspended-microbeams are presented. With an in-house optical 3D μ-printing technology, SU-8 suspended-microbeams are fabricated in situ to form Fabry–Pérot...
Polymer-based optical sensors represent a transformative advancement in biomedical diagnostics and monitoring due to their unique properties of flexibility, biocompatibility, and selective responsiveness. This review provides a comprehensive overview...
This study presents a comprehensive investigation of turbidity monitoring using two different types of polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors: the reflection–refraction type (RR-POF) and the gap type (Gap-POF). Both sensors were used to visualize...
This paper presents the possibility of applying a soft polymer coating by means of a layer-by-layer (LbL) technique to highly birefringent polymer optical fibers designed for laminating in composite materials. In contrast to optical fibers made of pu...
Bio-mechatronics is an interdisciplinary scientific field that emphasizes the integration of biology and mechatronics to discover innovative solutions for numerous biomedical applications. The broad application spectrum of bio-mechatronics consists o...
Relative humidity (RH) monitorization is of extreme importance on scientific and industrial applications, and optical fiber sensors (OFS) may provide adequate solutions. Typically, these kinds of sensors depend on the usage of humidity responsive pol...
The control of tendon-driven actuators is mainly affected by the tendon behavior under stress or strain. The measurement of these parameters on artificial tendons brings benefits on the control and novel approaches for soft robotics actuators. This p...
We present an all-polymer optical fiber sensor for the sensing of dissolved oxygen by phase-fluorometry. The sensing matrix is applied as a film on the fiber end-surface, and consists of poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA), the oxygen quenchable luminopho...
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) can be combined with optical fibers (OFs) to create various sensor configurations, yielding low-cost and highly sensitive extrinsic and intrinsic sensors. In this work, an MIP-based extrinsic optical fiber sensor...
This work bridges the gap between the remote interrogation of multiple optical sensors and the advantages of using inherently biocompatible low-cost polymer optical fiber (POF)-based photonic sensing. A novel hybrid sensor network combining both sili...
This paper presents the results of a study on the possibility of detecting organosulfur and organophosphorus compounds by means of polymer-assisted optical fiber technology. The detection of the aforementioned compounds can be realized by fabricating...
Relative humidity monitorization is of extreme importance on scientific and industrial applications, and fiber optics-based sensors may provide solutions where other types of sensors have limitations. In this work, fiber optics’ sensors were fa...
Optical–chemical sensors based on optical fibers can be made in reflection or transmission schemes. In the reflection scheme, the sensing area is typically present at the end of the fiber, and the light source and the detector are placed on the...
This paper presents a review of the development of optical fibers made of multiple materials, particularly including silica glass, soft glass, polymers, hydrogels, biomaterials, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and Polyperfluoro-Butenylvinyleth (CYTOP)....
Polymer-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors can be used to realize simple, small-size, disposable, and low-cost biosensors for application in several fields, e.g., healthcare. The performance of SPR sensors based on optical waveguides can b...
A portable sensor system for the simultaneous detection of multiple environmentally relevant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in real seawater based on Fourier transform infrared fiber-optic evanescent wave spectroscopy (FT-IR-FEWS) was developed. A...
An optical–chemical sensor based on two modified plastic optical fibers (POFs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is realized and tested for the detection of 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL). The 2-FAL measurement is a scientific topic of great int...
We report on a simple chemical etching method that enables nonlinear tapering of Polymer Optical Fiber (POF) tips to manufacture Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) fiber tips. We show that, counter-intuitively, nonlinear tapering can be achieved b...
Advances in robotic systems for rehabilitation purposes have led to the development of specialized robot-assisted rehabilitation clinics. In addition, advantageous features of polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors such as light weight, multiplexing cap...
Currently, optical fibers play a leading role in telecommunications, serve as special transmission components for industrial applications, and form the basis of highly sensitive sensor elements. One of the most commonly used modifications is the redu...
In this work, a novel optical fiber sensor system for ultra-low perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) detection in aqueous solutions is proposed. It is based on the connection, in series, of two different plastic optical fiber (POF) platforms: the first is a...
A novel Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) able to bind perfluorinated compounds, combined with a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) optical fiber platform, is presented. The new MIP receptor has been deposited on a D-shaped plastic optical fiber (POF)...
This study describes the fabrication of an electrospun, U-shaped optical fiber sensor for temperature measurements. The sensor is based on single mode fibers and was fabricated into a U-shaped optical fiber sensor through flame heating. This study ap...
We present a very simple approach for the detection of the Perfluorinated Alkylated Substances (PFAs) in water solution. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are the most extensively investigated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoro...
Adhesively bonded pipe-to-socket joints are used in numerous industrial applications. One example is in the transport of media, e.g., in the gas industry or in structural joints for such sectors as construction, wind energy, and the vehicle industry....
In this work an innovative, miniaturized and low cost optical chemical sensor (POF-MIP platform), based on a molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) and surface plasmon resonance in a plastic optical fiber (POF), is presented and preliminarily tested for m...
The design and development of a plastic optical fiber (POF) macrobend temperature sensor is presented. The sensor has a linear response versus temperature at a fixed bend radius, with a sensitivity of...
The present study proposes the application of a recently developed optical–chemical sensor system to glyphosate detection. The device probes the refractive index variation in a chip based on a plastic optical fiber (POF) in which three orthogon...
This paper presents the development and sensor applications of 3D-printed polymer optical fibers (POFs) using commercially available filaments. The well-known intensity variation sensor was developed using this fiber for temperature and curvature sen...
To date, a method of attaching a FRP (fiber-reinforced polymer) to concrete members with epoxy has been widely applied to increase the strength of the member. However, there are cases in which the adhesion of the epoxy deteriorates over time and the...
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