Abstract
A polymer based horizontal single step waveguide for the sensing of alcohol is developed and analyzed. The waveguide is fabricated by 3-dimensional (3D) printing digital light processing (DLP) technology using monocure 3D rapid ultraviolet (UV) clear resin with a refractive index of n = 1.50. The fabricated waveguide is a one-piece tower shaped ridge structure. It is designed to achieve the maximum light confinement at the core by reducing the effective refractive index around the cladding region. With the surface roughness generated from the 3D printing DLP technology, various waveguides with different gap sizes are printed. Comparison is done for the different gap waveguides to achieve the minimum feature gap size utilizing the light re-coupling principle and polymer swelling effect. This effect occurs due to the polymer-alcohol interaction that results in the diffusion of alcohol molecules inside the core of the waveguide, thus changing the waveguide from the leaky type (without alcohol) to the guided type (with alcohol). Using this principle, the analysis of alcohol concentration performing as a larger increase in the transmitted light intensity can be measured. In this work, the sensitivity of the system is also compared and analyzed for different waveguide gap sizes with different concentrations of isopropanol alcohol (IPA). A waveguide gap size of 300 µm gives the highest increase in the transmitted optical power of 65% when tested with 10 µL (500 ppm) concentration of IPA. Compared with all other gaps, it also displays faster response time (t = 5 seconds) for the optical power to change right after depositing IPA in the chamber. The measured limit of detection (LOD) achieved for 300 µm is 0.366 µL. In addition, the fabricated waveguide gap of 300 µm successfully demonstrates the sensing limit of IPA concentration below 400 ppm which is considered as an exposure limit by “National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health”. All the mechanical mount and the alignments are done by 3D printing fused deposition method (FDM).
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
C. Caucheteur, T. Guo, and J. Albert, “Review of plasmonic fiber optic biochemical sensors: Improving the limit of detection,” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2015, 407(14): 3883–3897.
X. D. Wang and O. S. Wolfbeis, “Fiber-optic chemical sensors and biosensors,” Analytical Chemistry, 2016, 88(1): 203–227.
P. J. Rivero, J. Goicoechea, and F. J. Arregui, “Optical fiber sensors based on polymeric sensitive coatings,” Polymers, 2018, 10(3): 280.
D. Jandura, D. Pudis, and A. Kuzma, “Fabrication technology for PDMS ridge waveguide using DLW,” Optik — International Journal for Light and Electron Optics, 2016, 127(5): 2848–2851.
H. Ma, A. K. Y. Jen, and L. R. Dalton, “Polymer-based optical waveguides: Materials, processing, and devices,” Advanced Materials, 2002, 14(19), 1339–1365.
J. Nagata, S. Honma, M. Morisawa, and S. Muto, “Development of polymer optical waveguide-type alcohol sensor,” in Advanced Materials and Devices for Sensing and Imaging III, China, 2007, pp. 682920.
Z. Zhao, X. Liu, X. Xing, Y. Lu, Y. Sun, X. Ou, et al., “The activation effects of low-level isopropyl alcohol exposure on arterial blood pressures are associated with decreased 5-Hydroxyindole acetic acid in urine,” PLoS One, 2016, 11(9): e0162762.
M. E. Nwosu and M. R. Golomb, “Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis associated with isopropanol ingestion in an infant,” Journal of Child Neurology, 2009, 24(3): 349–353.
V. Shukla, M. Bajpai, D. K. Singh, M. Singh, and R. Shukla, “Review of basic chemistry of UV-curing technology,” Pigment & Resin Technology, 2004, 33(5): 272–279.
H. M. Lin, S. Y. Wu, F. C. Chang, and Y. C. Yen, “Photo-polymerization of photocurable resins containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane methacrylate,” Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2011, 131(1–2): 393–399.
R. Bogue, “3D printing: The dawn of a new era in manufacturing,” Assembly Automation, 2013, 33(4): 307–311.
M. Morisawa, Y. Amemiya, H. Kohzu, C. X. Liang, and S. Muto, “Plastic optical fibre sensor for detecting vapour phase alcohol,” Measurement Science and Technology, 2001, 12(7): 877–881.
S. Muto, K. Uchiyama, G. Vishnoi, M. Morisawa, C. Xin Liang, H. Machida, et al., “Plastic optical fiber sensors for detecting leakage of alkane gases and gasoline vapors,” in Photopolymer Device Physics, Chemistry and Applications IV, Canada, 1998, pp. 3417.
K. Swargiary, P. Jarutatsanangkoon, P. Suwanich, R. Jolivot, and W. S. Mohammed, “Single-step 3D-printed integrated optical system and its implementation for a sensing application using digital light processing technology,” Applied Optics, 2020, 59(1): 122–128.
J. Lovo, I. L. de Camargo, C. A. Fortulan, and L. Olmos, “3D DLP additive manufacturing: Printer and validation,” in 24th ABCM International Congress of Mechanical Engineering, Brasil, 2017, pp. 2761.
Isopropyl Alcohol, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed online on July 27, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pel88/67-63.html.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank Photonics Technology Laboratory (PTL) and Opto-Electrochemical Sensing Research Team (OEC) at NECTEC, NSTDA, Thailand for their help in providing access for characterizing the samples and also thank Bangkok University, Thailand, for the BUTA scholarship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Swargiary, K., Jolivot, R. & Mohammed, W.S. Demonstration of a Polymer-Based Single Step Waveguide by 3D Printing Digital Light Processing Technology for Isopropanol Alcohol-Concentration Sensor. Photonic Sens 12, 10–22 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-021-0626-5
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-021-0626-5