title: Optical refractometer based on an asymmetrical twin-core fiber Michelson interferometer.
abstract: We report and demonstrate an optical refractometer based on a compact fiber Michelson interferometer. The Michelson interferometer is composed of an asymmetrical twin-core fiber containing a central core and a side core. By chemically etching a segment of the twin-core fiber until the side core is exposed, the effective index of the side core in the etched region is sensitive to the environmental refractive index, which leads to a shift of the transmission spectrum of the Michelson interferometer. The experimental results show that such a device has a refractive index resolution of more than 800 nm/refractive index unit in the range of 1.34-1.37.
authors.affiliation: Photonics Research Center, School of Science, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yanhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guangping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yuzhuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Fengjun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Libo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D007368:Interferometry / Q000379:methods*; D008027:Light; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods*