A self-assembled fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer based on liquid crystals

Abstract

In this work, we fabricated a self-assembled fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on liquid crystals (LCs), which offers a new method for LC/fiber sensing. The LC acts not only as a generator of MZI due to its inherent optical anisotropy and optical rotation but also as a sensing functional material. Compared with traditional fiber MZI techniques, the most remarkable advantage of the LC-based fiber MZI is its high sensitivity and versatility without the need for any special fiber configurations. Herein, the novel LC-based fiber MZI is first demonstrated as a volatile organic compound (VOC) vapor sensor. The LC-based fiber MZI possesses features including easy fabrication, low cost, versatility, and super-sensitivity, showing potential applications in gas monitoring, liquid detection and biosensing.