Thermo-Optical Switching Effect Based on a Tapered Optical Fiber and Higher Alkanes Doped with ZnS:Mn
Citation
Moś, J. E., Stasiewicz, K. A., Matras-Postołek, K., & Jaroszewicz, L. R. (2020). Thermo-Optical Switching Effect Based on a Tapered Optical Fiber and Higher Alkanes Doped with ZnS:Mn. Materials, 13(21), 5044. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13215044
Keywords
- Tapered Optical Fiber (TOF)
- Thermo-Optic Switching
- Alkanes
- ZnS:Mn Nanoparticles
- Phase Change Materials (PCM)
- Refractive Index (RI)
- Optical Fiber Sensor
- Hysteresis
- Nucleating Agents
Brief
This article investigates the thermo-optic switching effect of combining a tapered optical fiber with higher alkanes doped with ZnS:Mn nanoparticles to create a temperature threshold sensor or thermo-optic switcher.
Summary
This article investigated the thermo-optic switching effect resulting from combining a tapered optical fiber (TOF) with alkanes doped with zinc sulfide nanoparticles doped with manganese (ZnS:Mn NP).
- The study focused on controlling optical fiber losses by modifying the TOF cladding with alkanes that exhibit phase changes. Temperature variations cause power transmission changes, creating a switchable sensor that operates in an ON-OFF mode.
- The phase change temperatures and refractive index changes of the alkane directly impacted power switching.
- Doping the alkanes with ZnS:Mn NPs altered the hysteresis observed between ON-OFF modes in pure alkanes. Adding nanoparticles (NPs) reduced the difference between phase changes because of improved thermal conductivity and the introduction of extra nucleating agents.
- The results of this study were presented across a wide optical range of 550–1200 nm. The study examined hexadecane and heptadecane as new cladding materials for TOF. It doped the higher alkanes with ZnS: Mn NPs in alkane volumes of 1 wt.% and 5 wt.%.
- This thermo-optic effect can be used to manufacture thermo-optic switches and temperature threshold sensors.
- This study concluded that:
- Using ZnS:Mn NPs changes material properties, such as heat capacity and thermal conductivity, and introduces new crystallization centers that affect temperature changes in the ON-OFF mode.
- Increasing ZnS:Mn NPs concentration caused decreased differences between ON-OFF modes.
- The combination of TOF and higher alkanes or mixtures of alkanes with NPs can be used for threshold sensors or thermo-optic switches.
The article was published in 2020 in the journal Materials. The authors of the article are Joanna E. Moś, Karol A. Stasiewicz, Katarzyna Matras-Postołek, and Leszek R. Jaroszewicz.