An optical fiber sensor for the detection of germicidal UV irradiation using narrowband luminescent coatings

A narrowband luminescent coating for germicidal 254-nm ultraviolet optical fiber sensors has been developed. A mixture of phosphor and epoxy is used for this coating. The luminescent-clad sensing principle uses a fiber, which has had its cladding and jacket both removed, and a photoluminescent coati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE sensors journal 2004-10, Vol.4 (5), p.619-626
Main Authors: McSherry, M., Fitzpatrick, C., Lewis, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cladding
Coatings
Couplings
Electromagnetic wave absorption
Fibers
Lamps
Narrowband
Optical control
Optical fiber sensors
Optical fiber testing
Optical fibers
Phosphors
Photodiodes
Sensors
Ultraviolet radiation
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Summary:A narrowband luminescent coating for germicidal 254-nm ultraviolet optical fiber sensors has been developed. A mixture of phosphor and epoxy is used for this coating. The luminescent-clad sensing principle uses a fiber, which has had its cladding and jacket both removed, and a photoluminescent coating replacing the cladding. As the coating luminesces, part of the emission is coupled to the fiber core through evanescent wave coupling. The combined absorption spectrum of the phosphor and the transmission spectrum of the epoxy result in a narrow sensitivity band of wavelengths being detected, centered around 254 nm. The absorption of the 254-nm radiation incident on the coating is emitted as visible light in the optical fiber sensor. This paper describes the development and testing of this narrowband coating using a spectrophotometer to examine its responsivity, and a luminescent-coated optical fiber sensor is compared with a UV photodiode when illuminated by a UV lamp. This optical fiber sensor monitors the output of UV lamps for stabilization and control purposes.
ISSN:1530-437X
1558-1748
DOI:10.1109/JSEN.2004.833504