Lead (Pb) Detection Analysis Based on Multimode Plastic Optical Fiber Sensor

Heavy metal pollution in drinking water still occurs in several countries. Excessive content of heavy metals, especially lead, in drinking water can seriously impact public health, such as organ damage and even death. On the other hand, testing for lead in drinking water is still conducted on a laboratory basis, which is expensive, lengthy, and ineffective. Therefore, lead detection in water has been improved using multimode plastic optical fiber that is accessible, light, and highly sensitive. The study aims to analyze fiber optic sensor characteristics in detecting the concentration of lead (Pb) in water. The red beam behavior generated the analysis while propagated in optical fiber. The optical fiber cladding had been peeled off and soaked in the lead solution, and the photodiode was detected. It results that the output voltage is in inverse proportion to lead concentration. The sensitivity of optical fiber detection was characterized using straight and bending optical fiber. The study concluded that the bending optical fiber has wider and higher sensitivity, which is 1.34 V and 0.924 V/ppm, respectively. The results indicated that the optical fiber is compatible with lead detection applications to minimize the impact of heavy metal pollution in water.