A triple-cladding quartz specialty fiber (TCQSF) temperature sensor based on cladding mode resonance is made. The sensor is fabricated by just splicing a short, few-centimeter-long segment of TCQSF between two standard single-mode fibers (SMFs), so the sensor structure is simple. In order to explain its sensing principle in detail, we assume that the TCQSF is equivalent to three coaxial waveguides based on coupling mode theory. Utilizing the scalar method and the relationship between Bessel function and mode field distribution of step-index circular symmetry waveguide, the mode field distribution of these waveguides and their characteristic equation can be easily obtained. Then the dispersion curves of each mode which is transmitted in the three waveguides can be calculated. The intersection between the fundamental core mode LP01(rod) in the rod waveguide and the cladding mode LP01(tube) in the tube waveguide I indicates that the two modes have the same propagation constant, and satisfy the phase-matching condition when the wavelength is 1563.7 nm which is known the resonant wavelength. And only when the sensor length is equal to the beatlength, can the light be coupled completely from the core to the fluorine-doped silica cladding. Thus, the cladding mode resonance phenomenon occurs and a band-stop filter spectrum will be obtained. Then the sensor is applied to the simulation calculation of the temperature sensing characteristics. With increasing temperature, both the refractive index of each layer and the sizes of the axial and radial fibers will change, which will finally lead to a big difference on the dispersion curves of LP01(rod) and LP01(tube). Therefore, the resonant wavelength shift of the sensor can be obtained by just calculating the dispersion curves of these two modes at different temperatures, and the scope of curvature sensitivity is 70.76-97.36 pm/℃. Finally, a straight forward experiment is performed to prove the temperature sensing properties. Experimental results show that the sensor has a sensitivity in temperature of 73.74 pm/℃ at 35 ℃-95 ℃, which is completely consistent with the theoreticaly calculatied results. Thus, the proposed sensor has the advantages of simple structure, easy fabrication, highly sensitivity, controlled cladding mode excitation, and so on. It can be used in industrial production, biomedical and other temperature sensing areas.
