Fiber optic pH sensor with self-assembled polymer multilayer nanocoatings

A fiber-optic pH sensor based on a tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) with electrostatic self-assembly multilayer sensing film is presented. The pH sensitive polymeric film, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was deposited on the circumference of the TFBG with the layer-by-layer (LbL) electrostatic self-assembly technique. The PDDA/PAA film exhibits a reduction in refractive index by swelling in different pH solutions. This effect results in wavelength shifts and transmission changes in the spectrum of the TFBG. The peak amplitude of the dominant spectral fringes over a certain window of the transmission spectrum, obtained by FFT analysis, has a near-linear pH sensitivity of 117 arbitrary unit (a.u.)/pH unit and an accuracy of ±1 a.u. (in the range of pH 4.66 to pH 6.02). The thickness and surface morphology of the sensing multilayer film were characterized to investigate their effects on the sensor's performance. The dynamic response of the sensor also has been studied (10 s rise time and 18 s fall time for a sensor with six bilayers of PDDA/PAA).