title: Distributed fiber optical sensing of oxygen with optical time domain reflectometry.
abstract: In many biological and environmental applications spatially resolved sensing of molecular oxygen is desirable. A powerful tool for distributed measurements is optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) which is often used in the field of telecommunications. We combine this technique with a novel optical oxygen sensor dye, triangular-[4] phenylene (TP), immobilized in a polymer matrix. The TP luminescence decay time is 86 ns. The short decay time of the sensor dye is suitable to achieve a spatial resolution of some meters. In this paper we present the development and characterization of a reflectometer in the UV range of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as optical oxygen sensing with different fiber arrangements.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany. susanne.eich@uni-potsdam.de
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eich
authors.forename: Elmar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schmälzlin
authors.forename: Hans-Gerd
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Löhmannsröben
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D011108:Polymers; D010100:Oxygen