• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.23-39
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• 2013

In this article, a smart multifunctional optical system-on-a-chip (SOC) sensor platform is presented and its application for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor interrogation in optical sensor networks is investigated. The smart SOC sensor platform consists of a superluminescent diode as a broadband source, a tunable microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based Fabry-P$\acute{e}$rot filter, photodetectors, and an integrated microcontroller for data acquisition, processing, and communication. Integrated with a wireless sensor network (WSN) module in a compact package, a smart optical sensor node is developed. The smart multifunctional sensor platform has the capability of interrogating different types of optical fiber sensors, including Fabry-P$\acute{e}$rot sensors and Bragg grating sensors. As a case study, the smart optical sensor platform is demonstrated to interrogate multiplexed FBG strain sensors. A time domain signal processing method is used to obtain the Bragg wavelength shift of two FBG strain sensors through sweeping the MEMS tunable Fabry-P$\acute{e}$rot filter. A tuning range of 46 nm and a tuning speed of 10 Hz are achieved. The smart optical sensor platform will open doors to many applications that require high performance optical WSNs.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.395-407
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• 2021

The effect of the specifications of a silicon-on-insulator vertical slot optical waveguide on the sensitivity of homogeneous and surface sensing configurations for TE and TM polarization, respectively, was systematically analyzed using numerical software. The specifications were optimized based on the confinement factor and transmission power of the TE-guided mode distributed in the slot. The waveguide sensitivities of homogeneous and surface sensing were calculated according to the specifications of the optimized slot optical waveguide.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.35-39
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• 2013

In this paper, we developed an optical sheet for LED lighting with integrated $CO_2$ gas and temperature sensor which can monitor at the indoor environment. The optical sheet for LED lighting is fabricated through PMMA(Polymethyl methacrylate) injection process using mold. This research enables to fabricate the reflective sheet, light-guide plate and the prism sheet in a optical sheet. The fabricated sheet demonstrates higher intensity of optical efficiency compared with single-sided sheets. The $CO_2$ sensor was fabricated using NDIR(NON-Dispersive Infrared) method and it has $0.0235mV/V{\cdot}PPM$ sensitivity. The temperature sensor was fabricated using RTD(Resistance temperature detector) method and it has $0.563{\Omega}/^{\circ}C $sensitivity.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.353-359
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• 2022

This study investigated via computational analysis the application utility of series-cascaded ring resonators based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) slot optical waveguides in integrated optical biochemical sensors. The radii of the two rings in the series-cascaded ring resonators were 59.4 ㎛ and 77.6 ㎛ respectively, and the coupling distance was 0.5 ㎛. The series-cascaded ring resonators were computationally analyzed using FIMMProp and PICWave numerical software. The free spectral range (FSR), full width at half maximum (FWHM), sensitivity, and quality-factor (Q-factor) of the series-cascaded ring resonators were 12.2 nm, 0.134 nm, 4100 nm/RIU, and 11580, respectively, and the measurement range was calculated to be slightly smaller than 3×10^-3 RIU. Although the measurement range was smaller than that of the single ring resonator, upon considering other characteristic parameters, the series-cascaded ring resonators are found to be more effective as integrated sensors than single ring resonators.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.131-138
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• 2021

The optimization of the specifications of vertical silicon on insulator (SOI) slot optical waveguides suitable for integrated-optical biochemical sensors was performed through computational analysis of the confinement factor of the guided mode distributed in the slot in addition to analytical examination of the TE mode. The optimized specifications were confirmed based on sensitivity in terms of the change in the refractive index of the biochemical analyte. When the slot width, rail width, and height were set to 120 nm, 200 nm, and 320 nm, respectively, the confinement factor was evaluated to be about 56% and the sensitivity was at least 0.9 [RIU/nm].

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.270-274
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• 2020

In this study, a read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) that can be applied to a colorimetry-based optical sensor for analyzing total phosphorus and total nitrogen was developed and characterized. The proposed ROIC minimizes the effect on temperature fluctuation, improves sensitivity, and extends the dynamic range by utilizing a dual optical path and feedback control circuit. Using a dual optical path makes it possible to calibrate the output signal of the optical sensor automatically, along with the temperature fluctuation. The calibrated voltage is fed back into the measurement stage; thus, the output current of the measurement is adaptively controlled. As a result, the sensitivity and dynamic range of the proposed ROIC are improved. Finally, a total-phosphorus analysis was conducted by utilizing the ROIC. The ROIC was found to operate stably over a wide temperature range.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.200-206
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• 2023

Near-infrared (NIR) sensing technology using CMOS image sensors is used in many applications, including automobiles, biological inspection, surveillance, and mobile devices. An intuitive way to improve NIR sensitivity is to thicken the light absorption layer (silicon). However, thickened silicon lacks NIR sensitivity and has other disadvantages, such as diminished optical performance (e.g. crosstalk) and difficulty in processing. In this paper, a pixel structure for NIR sensing using a stacked CMOS image sensor is introduced. There are two photodetection layers, a conventional layer and a bottom photodiode, in the stacked CMOS image sensor. The bottom photodiode is used as the NIR absorption layer. Therefore, the suggested pixel structure does not change the thickness of the conventional photodiode. To verify the suggested pixel structure, sensitivity was simulated using an optical simulator. As a result, the sensitivity was improved by a maximum of 130% and 160% at wavelengths of 850 nm and 940 nm, respectively, with a pixel size of 1.2 ㎛. Therefore, the proposed pixel structure is useful for NIR sensing without thickening the silicon.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.485-495
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• 2023

The pixel size in high-resolution complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors continues to shrink due to chip size limitations. However, the pixel pitch's miniaturization causes deterioration of optical performance. As one solution, a quad color filter (CF) array with pixel binning has been developed to enhance sensitivity. For high sensitivity, the microlens structure also needs to be optimized as the CF arrays change. In this paper, the covered microlens, which consist of four microlenses covered by one large microlens, are proposed for the quad CF array in the backside illumination pixel structure. To evaluate the optical performance, the suggested microlens structure was simulated from 0.5 ㎛ to 1.0 ㎛ pixels at the center and edge of the sensors. Moreover, all pixel structures were compared with and without in-pixel deep trench isolation (DTI), which works to distribute incident light uniformly into each photodiode. The suggested structure was evaluated with an optical simulation using the finite-difference time-domain method for numerical analysis of the optical characteristics. Compared to the conventional microlens, the suggested microlens show 29.1% and 33.9% maximum enhancement of sensitivity at the center and edge of the sensor, respectively. Therefore, the covered microlens demonstrated the highly sensitive image sensor with a quad CF array.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.224-228
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• 2008

A highly sensitive integrated photonic temperature sensor was proposed and developed incorporating a polymeric microring resonator. The change in the ambient temperature was estimated by observing the shift in the resonant wavelength of the resonator induced via the thermooptic effect. For the purpose of enhancing its sensitivity, the sensor was built by implementing a polymeric resonator exhibiting a high thermooptic coefficient on a silicon substrate with a small coefficient of thermal expansion. For the range of from $20^{\circ}C$ to $30^{\circ}C$ near the room temperature, the fabricated sensor yielded a sensitivity of as high as 165 ${\pm}/^{\circ}C$ and a resolution of better than $0.1^{\circ}C$. And its performance was found to be hardly affected by the variation in the refractive index of the target analyte, which was applied to the surface of the sensor. It is hence expected that the sensor could be integrated with other refractormetric optical sensors, thereby compensating for the fatal error caused by the change in the ambient temperature.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.73-77
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• 2010

One of the important trends for condition monitoring in the 21st century is the development of smart sensors that will permit the cost-effective continuous monitoring of key machine equipments. In this study, an integrated in-line oil monitoring sensor assigned for continuous in situ monitoring multiple parameters of oil performance is presented. The sensor estimates oil deterioration based on the information about chemical degradation, total contamination, water content of oil and oil temperature. The oil oxidation is estimated by "chromatic ratio", total contamination is measured by the changes in optical density of oil in three optical wave-bands ('Red', 'Green' and 'Blue') and water content is evaluated as relative saturation of oil by water. In order to evaluate the sensor's effectiveness, the sensor was applied to several used oil samples in steel making industry and the results were compared with those measured by standard test methods.