Dual-core photonic crystal fiber temperature and humidity sensor based on PDMS and PVA

Abstract

Temperature and humidity sensors are applied in environmental monitoring, agriculture, food industry, and biochemical detection. To enhance their sensitivity and efficiency, this work presents a temperature and humidity sensor that uses surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and photonic crystal fiber (PCF). The sensor comprises a hexagonal pattern of holes and two planes. On one side of the plane, a gold film coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is used for temperature measurement, while on the other side, a gold film with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is used for humidity measurement. The finite element method is used to analyze the sensor's sensing characteristics, revealing that its temperature sensitivity ranges from 20℃ to 90℃ at 3.82 nm/℃, while its humidity sensitivity ranges from 20–98% at 5.013 nm/%RH. Overall, this sensor can operate effectively in both temperature and humidity environments, simultaneously measuring both parameters.