On the interpretation of responses from hydrogel based distributed microbend fibre optic sensors

This contribution discuses the physicochemical aspects associated with the response of hydrogel based distributed fibre optic microbend sensors to different humidity conditions. We explain that the swelling of the hydrogel which leads to the observed change in the OTDR signal should be attributed to a change in the water potential of the hydrogel being at an equilibrium with the water potential of its immediate physicochemical environment. Since the water potential in the hydrogel matrix is the result of several equilibration processes from multiple species that are interacting in the immediate environment surrounding the sensor, the observed fibre deformation should be attributed to all of the components of the chemical potential. The work draws attention to the necessity to fully characterize the hydrogel system used in each sensing application. The analysis is of relevance to all types of fibre optic biosensors that utilize hydrogels in the measurement process.