Integrated-Optic Oxygen Sensors

Compact optical oxygen sensors with self-calibration capabilities are undergoing development. A sensor of this type features a single-chip, integrated-optic design implemented by photolithographic fabrication of optical waveguides in a photosensitive porous glass. The porosity serves as both a matrix for retention of an oxygen-sensitive fluorescent indicator chemical and a medium for diffusion of oxygen to the chemical from the ambient air to be monitored. Each sensor includes at least one such waveguide exposed to the atmosphere and at least one covered with metal for isolation from the atmosphere. The covered one serves as a reference channel. In operation, the concentration of oxygen is deduced from the intensity and lifetime of the fluorescence in the exposed channel, with the help of calibration data acquired via the reference channel. Because the sensory chemical is placed directly in and throughout the cross section of the light path, approximately 99 percent of the light in the waveguide is available for interaction with the chemical, in contradistinction to only about 1 percent of the light in an optical sensor that utilizes evanescentwave coupling. Hence, a sensor of this type is significantly more sensitive.