Simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature based on a core-offset Mach–Zehnder interferometer combined with a fiber Bragg grating

•We first demonstrate a sensor based on a normal FBG and a core-offset MZI for simultaneous measurement of the refractive index and temperature.•The new sensor can measure solutions with high stability.•The sensor is simple and easy for fabrication with low-cost.

An all-fiber sensor for simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature in solutions is proposed and demonstrated. The sensing head contains a core-offset Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The interference fringe of the MZI and the Bragg wavelength of the FBG would shift with the variation of the ambient refractive index (RI) and/or temperature. The experimental results show that the RI sensitivity and the temperature sensitivity for the sensor are 13.7592 nm/RI and 0.0462 nm/°C, respectively. Its low fabrication cost, simple configuration and high sensitivity will have attractive potential applications in chemical and biological sensing.