High-temperature sensing with tapers made of microstructured optical fiber

We report a simple and compact wavelength-encoded high-temperature sensor. It consists of a microstructured silica fiber taper with collapsed air holes in the waist. The transmission spectra of the taper exhibits a series of interference peaks owing to the beating between several modes of the solid taper waist. The interference peaks shift to longer wavelengths as the temperature increases from 200degC to 1000degC. The sensor exhibits a linear response and can be operated with different wavelengths which makes it attractive for diverse applications