High relative humidity measurements using gelatin coated long-period grating sensors

A long-period grating (LPG) coated with gelatin was developed as a high relative humidity (RH) sensor. The resonance dip or coupling strength of the LPG spectrum varies with RH. Experimental investigations on the sensor yield a sensitivity of 0.833%RH/dB with an accuracy of ±0.25%RH, and a resolution of ±0.00833%RH. The LPG RH sensor also offers repeatability, hysteresis and stability errors of less than ±0.877, ±0.203 and ±0.04%RH, respectively. In addition to the characterization of the LPG RH sensor, further studies were conducted to determine the effect of grating periodicities on the sensitivity of the sensor. Results show that higher order cladding modes from smaller grating periods enable the sensor to achieve higher sensitivity to humidity. This method is proposed to be more cost effective as compared to more complex spectroscopic methods based on wavelength detection. This sensor can also help to solve problems in measuring high humidity with existing relative humidity measurement systems.