title: Optical sensors based on plastic fibers.
abstract: The recent advances of polymer technology allowed the introduction of plastic optical fiber in sensor design. The advantages of optical metrology with plastic optical fiber have attracted the attention of the scientific community, as they allow the development of low-cost or cost competitive systems compared with conventional technologies. In this paper, the current state of the art of plastic optical fiber technology will be reviewed, namely its main characteristics and sensing advantages. Several measurement techniques will be described, with a strong focus on interrogation approaches based on intensity variation in transmission and reflection. The potential applications involving structural health monitoring, medicine, environment and the biological and chemical area are also presented.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações-Pólo de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. lucia.bilro@ua.pt
authors.forename: Lúcia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bilro
authors.forename: Nélia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alberto
authors.forename: João L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Rogério
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nogueira
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation; D055100:Optical Fibers; D010969:Plastics; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D011108:Polymers
keywords: biological and chemical area; environment; medicine; plastic optical fiber (POF); sensors; structural health monitoring