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Magnetic field sensing using magnetic-fluid-filled optofluidic ring resonator

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Abstract

A magnetic field sensor based on the silica optofluidic ring resonator is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for the first time. Magnetic fluid is filled in the core of the microcapillary to experience the strength change of the applied magnetic field. When the whispering gallery modes circulate in the wall of the microcapillary, it can experience the increasing refractive index of magnetic fluid with the increase in the magnetic field strength, leading to the redshift of the resonant wavelength. The maximum sensitivity of 75.7 pm/mT and figure of merit of 105 T−1 are realized, respectively, corresponding to a large dynamic magnetic field range from 15 to 125 mT. By optimizing the concentration of the kerosene-based magnetic fluid, the detection limit of 2.2 mT and the measurement resolution of 0.9 mT are achieved, respectively. This work provides a novel magnetic field sensing scheme with high performance using the optofluidic ring resonator and further broadens its applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFB0402503), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 11774110 and No. 61307075), the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20120142120067), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (HUST: 2014TS019), and the Director Fund of Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Song Zhu, Lei Shi, Ningyu Liu, Xinbiao Xu & Xinliang Zhang

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  1. Song Zhu
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  2. Lei Shi
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  3. Ningyu Liu
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  4. Xinbiao Xu
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  5. Xinliang Zhang
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Correspondence to Lei Shi.

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Zhu, S., Shi, L., Liu, N. et al. Magnetic field sensing using magnetic-fluid-filled optofluidic ring resonator. Microfluid Nanofluid 21, 156 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-017-1994-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-017-1994-4

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