Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode

interference-based fiber optic liquid-

level sensor realized using
illuminating zero-order Bessel–Gauss
beam

Ardhendu Saha
Arijit Datta
Surjit Kaman

Ardhendu Saha, Arijit Datta, Surjit Kaman, “Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic
liquid-level sensor realized using illuminating zero-order Bessel–Gauss beam,” Opt. Eng. 57(3),
036118 (2018), doi: 10.1117/1.OE.57.3.036118.
Optical Engineering 57(3), 036118 (March 2018)

Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber

optic liquid-level sensor realized using illuminating
zero-order Bessel–Gauss beam
Ardhendu Saha,a,* Arijit Datta,a and Surjit Kamanb
a
National Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, Tripura, India
b
CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Advanced Materials and Sensors Division, Chandigarh, India

Abstract. A proposal toward the enhancement in the sensitivity of a multimode interference-based fiber optic
liquid-level sensor is explored analytically using a zero-order Bessel–Gauss (BG) beam as the input source. The
sensor head consists of a suitable length of no-core fiber (NCF) sandwiched between two specialty high-order
mode fibers. The coupling efficiency of various order modes inside the sensor structure is assessed using
guided-mode propagation analysis and the performance of the proposed sensor has been benchmarked against
the conventional sensor using a Gaussian beam. Furthermore, the study has been corroborated using a finite-
difference beam propagation method in Lumerical’s Mode Solutions software to investigate the propagation of
the zero-order BG beam inside the sensor structure. Based on the simulation outcomes, the proposed scheme
yields a maximum absolute sensitivity of up to 3.551 dB∕mm and a sensing resolution of 2.816 × 10−3 mm
through the choice of an appropriate length of NCF at an operating wavelength of 1.55 μm. Owing to this superior
sensing performance, the reported sensing technology expedites an avenue to devise a high-performance fiber
optic-level sensor that finds profound implication in different physical, biological, and chemical sensing purposes.
© 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.57.3.036118]

Keywords: fiber optic sensors; fiber optics; sensors; modes; fiber optic applications.
Paper 171883 received Nov. 24, 2017; accepted for publication Mar. 14, 2018; published online Mar. 30, 2018.

1 Introduction with Bragg grating, where a much higher sensitivity of

In the realm of modern fiber optic sensing technology, the
multimode interference effect has driven the quest in various
fiber optic devices and sensors for measuring various physi-
cal parameters.1–6 Among these parameters, liquid-level
sensing is very imperative in various industrial and process
instrumentation industries, such as fuel storage and various
chemical or biological applications. To date, various fiber
optic liquid-level sensors have been proposed using cladding
less fiber,7 long-period grating,8 fiber Bragg grating,9 tilted
fiber Bragg grating,10,11 etched fiber Bragg grating,12 poly-
mer fiber Bragg grating,13 leaky mode attenuation,14 optical
interferrometry,15 etched D-shaped silica fiber,16 Michelson
interferometer,17 coreless multimode fiber,18 thin core fiber,19
single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) structure,20 sin-
gle-mode-multimode-no-core-single-mode (SMNS) struc-
ture,21 chemical etching process in no-core fiber (NCF),22
tapered structure,23 U-shaped multimode tapered fiber,24
and spiral-like bent structure25 In 2011, Antonio-Lopez
et al.26 demonstrated a modal interference-based fiber
optic liquid-level sensor by means of wavelength interroga-
tion technique. But the sensitivities of all these sensors are
limited due to the smaller modal overlap between the guided
modes and cladding material, which is to be sensed. Thus,
the sensitivity has become a major figure of merit for
any fiber optic-based sensors as high sensitivity is always
desirable. Recently, Oliveira et al.27 have proposed an inten-
sity-modulated highly sensitive liquid-level sensor based on
single-mode-no-core-single-mode (SNS) structure together
*Address all correspondence to: Ardhendu Saha, E-mail: arsagtwave@gmail
.com
0.25 dB∕mm was achieved. All these techniques rely on
the principle of generating higher evanescent field and
thus its sensitivity to environmental changes by means of
any modification or alteration in the waveguide structure.
However, all these aforementioned approaches suffer from
some limitations such as the fabrication complexity and
mechanical insecurity, which create a challenge toward
the sensor design process. So, some alternative realization
along with good mechanical constancy is required to ascer-
tain the enhanced sensitivity of these fiber optic liquid-level
sensors.
Recently, our previous studies have reported the possibil-
ity of addressing such shortcomings using the non-Gaussian
beam such as Bessel–Gauss (BG) beam and optical vortex
beam as the input source to enhance the overall performance
of a fiber optic refractive index sensor without any intricate
fabrication process.28,29 The maximum attained sensitivity
of such a fiber optic refractive index sensor using a zero-
order BG beam was 1804.96 dB∕refractive index unit,
which is 16.80 times higher than the traditional straight sen-
sor using a Gaussian beam when the sensing length is
15 mm.28 In addition to this, the vortex beam-based
refractive index sensor showed a maximum sensitivity of
2392.49 dB∕refractive index unit, which is 7.66-fold supe-
rior to the Gaussian beam-based refractive index sensor
when the sensing length is 44.60 mm.29 Surprisingly, all
these reported sensitivities were far better than the double-
tapered structure.3
In this article, an ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interfer-
ence-based liquid-level sensor is reported and extensively
0091-3286/2018/$25.00 © 2018 SPIE

Optical Engineering 036118-1 March 2018 • Vol. 57(3)

 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .
investigated by exploiting a zero-order BG beam as the input
source in a high-order mode-no-core-higher order mode
(HNH) fiber configuration. The conventional wisdom for
increasing the sensitivity of the fiber optic sensors as men-
tioned above mainly focuses on the physical modification in
the sensor probe. But our proposed sensor directly enhances
the sensitivity in a different way by means of exciting more
numbers of higher order modes (HOM) when the sensor is
shined on by a zero-order BG beam. So, the novelty pre-
sented in our contribution is the fact of getting the best sens-
ing performance in terms of sensitivity and resolution for a
multimode interference-based liquid-level sensor using a
zero-order BG beam instead of any change in the sensor
geometry such as etching, tapering, and bending. As pro-
posed by Durnin et al.,30,31 a Bessel beam or nondiffracting
beam is the propagation-invariant rigorous solution of the
free-space Helmholtz equation. In the past two decades,
the Bessel beam has attracted immense interest in numerous
scientific and technological applications like in optical
tweezing, particle manipulation, and nonlinear optics.32 A
pure Bessel beam is physically not possible to generate as
it requires an infinite amount of energy to generate. A prac-
tical Bessel beam or BG beam is a close approximation of a
pure Bessel beam, where a Gaussian modulation is added to
limit the energy distribution to a certain extent. Due to this
finite energy distribution of the BG beam, it only shows the
nondiffracting nature in free space up to some finite propa-
gation distance. In addition to the various familiar ways for
generating a zero-order BG beam in free space,33–37 there is
also a waveguide-based technique for generation of a zero-
order BG beam to overcome the disadvantage of bulk optical
elements.38–40 Unlike a Gaussian beam, a zero-order BG
beam has its energy evenly distributed among its concentric
rings. This unique property of zero-order BG mode can be
incorporated into a multimode interference-based fiber optic
sensor to achieve better sensitivity. So, the fields are more
concentrated toward the core–cladding interface and thus
a great portion of input power will be coupled to the
HOMs inside the sensor configuration. These HOMs will
create more interaction with the external medium and thus
the transmission loss of the proposed-level sensor increases,
which consequently enhances the sensitivity of the sensor.
So, our present effort mainly concerns the theoretical per-
ception into the guided–mode propagation analysis of a zero-
order BG beam through the HNH waveguide structure,
which gives a direction for designing an ultrahigh-sensitive
liquid-level sensor. In this study, the excitation of the high-
order modes and evolution of multimode interference along
Fig. 1 Working principle of proposed multimode interference-based liquid-level sensor using zero-order
BG beam.
Optical Engineering
the NCF are investigated both theoretically and numerically.
A beam propagation method in commercially available
Lumerical’s Mode Solutions software (version 7.9.1072,
Lumerical Solutions Inc., Canada) has been adopted as
the simulation tool to examine the light propagation inside
the sensor structure. The dependence of transmission loss on
the surrounding liquid levels is explained numerically for
various optimal lengths of NCF and has been compared
with that of a conventional liquid-level sensor using a
Gaussian beam. In addition, the consequence of various
parameters, such as NCF radius, axicon apex angle, cladding
material, and ambient temperature on the sensor response,
has also been expounded. Based on the simulation results,
our proposed sensor has shown to be highly sensitive to
liquid-level variation, which makes it a propitious candidate
in the field of various high-performance fiber optic devices.
Also, the proposed liquid-level sensor shows a great sensi-
tivity and sensing resolution without any complex fabrica-
tion process, such as etching, tapering, or bending, which
facilitates the sensor fabrication process and makes it a
promising and attractive candidate in any chemical and bio-
logical sensing purposes.
2 Proposed Sensing Scheme
The HNH structure that serves as the liquid-level sensing
head is shown in Fig. 1. The sensor probe is formed by
one appropriate length of NCF spliced between two specialty
HOM fibers. Figure 2 shows the schematic arrangement of
the proposed-level sensor, where the sensor probe is fixed
vertically inside the container whose level is to be measured.
First of all, the zero-order BG beam is generated using an
axicon. This axicon-generated BG mode is focused by a
lens and is coupled inside the input HOM fiber. This guided
zero-order BG beam from the input HOM fiber is allowed to
propagate through the NCF section. When the incident zero-
order BG beam is launched into the NCF from the input
HOM fiber, this zero-order BG mode will divide into various
HOMs inside the NCF due to core diameter mismatch of
input HOM fiber and NCF.
The well-known class of the zero-order BG field can be
expressed in terms of a combination of Bessel function of
first kind of order 0 and an exponential equation as
Es ðrÞ ¼ J0 ðkr rÞe−ðr
2 ∕w2 Þ
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e001;326;289 : (1)
The parameter kr or radial wave-vector of the zero-order
BG beam decides the number of annular rings of the zero-
order BG beam and w is the beam waist.28
036118-2 March 2018 • Vol. 57(3)
 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .

Fig. 2 Pictorial representation of the proposed HNH liquid-level sensor using zero-order BG beam.

Furthermore, the radial wave-vector can be expressed where Em ðrÞ is the electric field distribution of the m’th-
as28,32 guided radial mode. Due to the lack of azimuthal component
in the input zero-order BG beam, the field distribution of
kr ¼ k sin θ;
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e002;63;483 (2) guided modes inside the NCF also lacks an azimuthal con-
stituent and is expressed in terms of only radial components
where k is the free-space wavenumber. The angle θ, which as41,42
the k-vector forms after passing through the axicon, is related
to the opening angle of axicon, axicon apex angle, and    
refractive index of axicon.28 J0 um r
K0 wm r
Assuming that the HOMs and NCF are aligned perfectly, a a
Em ðrÞ ¼ ; r≤a ¼ ; (4)
J 0 ðum Þ K 0 ðwm Þ
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e004;326;439

then only the radially symmetric modes or linearly polarized

(LP0;m ) modes are coupled inside the no-core multimode
fiber. The field excitation coefficient of each radial mode
can be calculated the power coupling efficiency, ηm where um and wm are the normalized transverse wave num-
pffiffiffiffiffifrom
ffi
through cm ¼ ηm . In terms of overlap, integral ηm can bers of core and cladding, respectively,41 and a is the radius
be given as41 of the NCF, respectively. According to Weber’s second
R 2 exponential integral, the power coupling coefficient for
 ∞ 
 0 Es ðrÞEm ðrÞrdr each radial mode for zero-order BG beam excitation is
ηm ¼ R ∞ R∞ ; (3) solved analytically using the overlap integral and is
0 jEs ðrÞj rdr 0 jEm ðrÞ rdrj
2 2
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e003;63;331

expressed as28

h 2 2 22i  
exp − w ðum2aþa
w4
4 2
k r Þ 2 u m k r w2
I 0 2a
ηm ¼ 
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e005;63;274

h  2 2 i  2 2  
2  ; (5)
w2 kr w kr w a2 J 0 ðum Þ
4 exp − I0 4 ½J 0 ðum Þ þ J 1 ðum Þ þ K0 ðwm Þ ½K 1 ðwm Þ þ K 0 ðwm Þ
2 2 2 2
4 2

where J 0 , J 1 , K 0 , K 1 , and I 0 are the Bessel function of first kind same parameters, then the transmission loss of the sensor struc-
of order 0, Bessel function of first kind of order 1, modified ture can be formulated as43
Bessel function of the second kind of order 0, modified
Bessel function of the second kind of order 1, and modified Ls ðzÞ
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e007;326;180

Bessel function of the first kind of order 0, respectively. The  X 

2 
electric field evolution inside the NCF can be represented as  M ð2m þ 1Þð2m − 2Þπ 

¼ 10 log10  cm exp −i
2
z  :
a function of propagating distance z as43 L
m¼1 z
X
M
(7)
Eðr; zÞ ¼
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e006;63;125 cm Em ðrÞ expðiβm zÞ; (6)
m¼1
Due to the fact that the surrounding media acts as the clad-
where βm is the longitudinal propagation constant of LP0;m ding of the NCF, the transmission of the HNH sensor struc-
mode. Considering that the input and output HOM have the ture is highly sensitive to the surrounding refractive index.

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 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .

With the change of the surrounding liquid level, one section
of the NCF is in the air, whereas the remaining part of the
NCF is in the liquid whose level is to be measured (as shown
in Fig. 1). This implies two different NCFs with different
cladding refractive indices, which correspond to two differ-
ent NCFs with different effective core diameters.26 Also,
there will be very small change in the effective refractive
index of the core. So, correspondingly the self-image dis-
tance (Lz ) for the specific NCF is modified with the sur-
rounding liquid level as26
    etry and refractive index profile of the HOM fiber. The cen-
4n1 ðD þ 2z1 Þ2 L1 4n1 ðD þ 2z2 Þ2 L2
Lz ¼ þ ; (8)
λ LT λ LT
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e008;63;642
This HOM fiber is a dual-clad fiber having a core region sim-
ilar to conventional SMF, followed by an inner clad and deep
down doped outer clad and this fiber has high effective
index separation between the modes to avoid intermodal
mixing.44,45 Due to the presence of annular rings in a
zero-order BG beam unlike a Gaussian beam, the conven-
tional SMF is not appropriate to support this zero-order
BG beam. As the zero-order BG beam resembles more
the high-order LP0;m mode of fiber, guiding of the zero-
order BG beam is possible by selecting an appropriate geom-
tral maximum of the zero-order BG beam is supported by the
core region and the annular rings are guided in the inner clad-

ding region of the HOM fiber. Thus, a stable and mode-mix-

where z1 and z2 are the corresponding penetration depths ing free propagation of the zero-order BG beam is achieved
when the cladding materials are liquid and air, respectively. up to a long propagation distance of 5 m, which is enough for
LT is the total length of the NCF, L1 and L2 are the lengths of our sensor design purpose.28
NCF, which is immersed in liquid and air, respectively. n1 Using the virtue of computer-aided simulations being
and D are the refractive index and diameter of NCF, respec- executed for the proposed configuration, Figs. 3(a) and 3(b)
tively, and λ is the wavelength of the laser source. With the show the comparison of power coupling coefficient for both
change in this self-image distance, the modal interference Gaussian beam and zero-order BG beam excitation and the
between the excited HOMs inside the NCF is also influ- insets correspond to the four most dominating modes inside
enced. Unlike a Gaussian beam, as the input zero-order the NCF. For the excitation of the Gaussian beam, a conven-
BG beam has multiple annular rings around its maxima; tional SNS structure has been chosen, where the input field
so the field distribution at the beam’s edge is higher. This from the input SMF can be approximated by an SMF-based
will create more overlap with the HOMs of NCF and thus
the coupling of HOMs is possible for zero-order BG
beam excitation. These high-order modes are more focused
at the core–cladding boundary than the low-order modes and
are more affected by any change in the cladding medium. As
a result, a strong interaction between the mode field and the
surrounding liquid level will be possible and more mode-to-
mode coupling will occur inside the NCF section, which will
increase the coupling or transmission loss of the HNH liquid-
level sensor. This leads to the enhanced sensitivity of the sug-
gested liquid-level sensor over the traditional sensor using a
Gaussian beam. The collected light from the output HOM
fiber is measured using an appropriate optical power
meter and this measured transmission loss can be calibrated
in terms of surrounding liquid levels.

3 Results and Discussions

For simulation purpose, the operating wavelength of l the
aser source is considered to be 1.55 micrometer (μm).
The diameter of the core, the inner cladding, and the
outer cladding of the HOM fiber are taken as 8.2, 40, and
125 μm, respectively. The refractive index of the core of
the HOM fiber is similar to the core of a conventional single
mode fiber (SMF), which is 1.4505. The diameter and refrac-
tive index of NCF is considered as 125 μm and 1.4446,
respectively. The value of the beam waist of a focused
zero-order BG beam (w) at the input facet of the input
HOM fiber is taken as 10 μm.
Conventional multimode interference-based fiber optic
liquid-level sensor structure comprises an SNS structure,
where the input and output SMFs are mainly used to
guide the input Gaussian beam up to the NCF and to
guide the output light from the NCF to the detector, respec-
tively. But in our proposed sensor, the SMF is replaced by the Fig. 3 Variation of modal power for various order modes inside
a 125-μm diameter NCF when the input beam is (a) Gaussian
HOM fiber for proper guiding of the zero-order BG beam. As beam and (b) zero-order BG beam having radial wave vector
the name suggests, the HOM fiber is a specialty fiber that k r ¼ 0.7039 μm−1 (for 140-deg axicon apex angle) and beam waist
supports and guides the HOMs (LP0;m modes) of fiber. ðw Þ ¼ 10 μm. Inset: the four most dominant modes inside the NCF.

Optical Engineering 036118-4 March 2018 • Vol. 57(3)

 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .

LP0;6 , which has the power coupling efficiency of 13.15%,

Fig. 4 Amplitude distribution of propagating field for (a) Gaussian
beam and (b) zero-order BG beam simulated in Lumerical’s Mode
Solutions software when the full NCF is immersed in a liquid
whose refractive index is 1.333.
LP0;1 mode.41 A careful inspection of Fig. 3(b) implies that
the zero-order BG beam excites more numbers of high-order
LP0;m modes inside the NCF than the Gaussian beam. In case
of Gaussian beam excitation, the power coupling coefficient
gradually increases up to mode number 4 and then decreases
as mode order increases.
The simulation endeavor of Fig. 3 reveals that the four
most dominant modes are the LP0;3 , LP0;4 , LP0;5 , and
14.76%, 14.48%, and 12.78%, respectively, in case of
Gaussian beam coupling. But for zero-order BG beam exci-
tation, the dominating modes are the LP0;13 , LP0;14 , LP0;15 ,
and LP0;16 , which has the power coupling efficiency of
16.45%, 19.88%, 18.67%, and 13.62%, respectively. So,
high-order modal excitation with high-power coupling effi-
ciency is achieved inside the NCF when the input is a zero-
order BG mode because this injected zero-order BG mode is
more like the high order LP modes of NCF. Thus, the overlap
between the input zero-order BG field and the high-order LP
modes of NCF is increased and allows more power to be
coupled to the high-order LP modes of NCF.28
A finite-difference beam propagation method in commer-
cially available software Lumerical’s Mode Solutions
version 7.9.1072 (Lumerical Solutions Inc., Canada) has
been employed to simulate the propagating field distribution
inside the sensor structure. Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show the
comparison of amplitude distribution of propagating optical
field within the sensor structure and their corresponding
interference pattern for both Gaussian and zero-order BG
beams, respectively. The simulations have been carried
out for a 70-mm-long NCF when it is fully immersed in
liquid having a refractive index of 1.333. A beam propaga-
tion method using an Eigen mode solver has been employed
and boundary condition is taken as the perfectly matched
layer. The mesh size is chosen as 0.05 μm. It is noticeable
that the self-image distance (the distance where all the modes
are in the same phase) is same for both Gaussian and zero-
order BG beams. This is because the self-image distance
only depends on the waveguide parameters and the wave-
length of input light [as mentioned in Eq. (8)] instead of
input beam profile. But the interference patterns are different

Fig. 5 Simulated lateral field profiles within a 70-mm-long NCF at (a) z ¼ 0 mm, (b) z ¼ 10 mm,
(c) z ¼ 30 mm, (d) z ¼ 40 mm, and (e) 59.079 mm (self-image length) when the whole NCF is immersed
in a liquid having refractive index of 1.333.

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 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .
due to two different input beams and their corresponding
modal power distribution inside the NCF section.
To present deep vision into the BG beam propagation, we
have investigated the field evolution along various propaga-
tion distances along the NCF. Based on computer-aided sim-
ulation, the lateral field profiles are calculated using Eq. (6)
at various propagation distances of z ¼ 0, z ¼ 10 mm,
z ¼ 30 mm, z ¼ 40 mm, and z ¼ 59.079 mm, which are
plotted from Figs. 5(a)–5(e), and it is clear from Fig. 5(e)
that the field distribution at z ¼ Lz or 59.079 mm (self-
image length) is similar to the input field at z ¼ 0 when
the whole NCF is immersed in a liquid with a cladding
refractive index of 1.333. So, the exact input BG field is
replicated at self-image distance inside the NCF.
Based on Eqs. (7) and (8), Figs. 6(a) and 6(b) show the
simulated transmission loss for both zero-order BG and
Gaussian beams, respectively, with an NCF length of
70 mm when the whole NCF is immersed in a liquid with
a cladding refractive index of 1.333. The results are obtained
from the theoretical model as well as from the Lumerical
Mode Solutions model. Observations discerned from the
graphical representations of Fig. 6 reveal that both
approaches are in very good agreement. In comparison
with Figs. 6(a) and 6(b), it is perceptible that a relatively
large variation of up to −165.05 dB in the transmission
loss spectrum is achieved for zero-order BG mode excitation
due to the presence of more HOMs [as shown in Fig. 3(b)]. In
Fig. 6 Simulated transmission loss for (a) zero-order BG and
(b) Gaussian beams within the sensor structure when the whole
NCF is immersed in a liquid with refractive index of 1.333.
Optical Engineering
contrast, a relatively small change in the transmission loss of
up to −46.20 dB is observed for the case of Gaussian beam
excitation due to the coupling of low-order modes [as shown
in Fig. 3(a)]. These simulation results are inconsistent with
our theoretical conception as discussed in Sec. 2.
In our proposed sensing technique, instead of measuring
the shift in the self-image position using the wavelength
interrogation method, the variation in the transmission
loss due to the change in the surrounding liquid level is cal-
culated for various optimal lengths of NCF. The NCF lengths
are selected in such a way that there are one-to-one relation-
ships between the liquid levels and the transmission loss. To
show the enhanced sensitivity of the proposed sensor using a
zero-order BG beam, the change in the transmission loss for
both zero-order BG and Gaussian beams for various opti-
mum lengths of NCF at a specific wavelength of 1.55 μm
is calculated under different liquid levels. For the zero-
order BG beam, the excited high-order LP0;m modes inside
the NCF will interact more with the cladding material due to
their high-energy distribution at the core–cladding interface.
Thus, there will be relatively more variation in the transmis-
sion loss of the HNH sensor structure, which corresponds to
enhanced sensitivity and sensing resolution of the proposed
liquid-level sensor. In view of the simulation endeavors
encapsulated in Figs. 7(a)–7(c), it is revealed that there
are relatively large and linear variation of the transmission
loss with surrounding liquid levels for the NCF lengths in
the regime of 15, 29, and 59 mm. For the purpose of quan-
titative comparison, the dependence of transmission loss for
various liquid levels having a refractive index of 1.333 with
three different NCF lengths of 14.80, 29.30, and 59 mm are
shown in Figs. 7(a)–7(c), respectively. In view of Fig. 7(a),
the transmission loss of the proposed zero-order BG beam-
based level sensor with an NCF length of 14.80 mm varies
from −89.17 to −53.46 dB over the liquid-level range of
(0 to 14.80) mm, whereas a relatively small variation in
transmission loss from −22.18 to −13.05 dB is achieved
over the same liquid-level range for Gaussian beam-based
level sensor.
Similarly, another simulation has been carried out with a
29.30-mm-long NCF to validate the enhanced sensitivity of
the proposed liquid-level sensor and is outlined in Fig. 7(b),
where the transmission loss of the zero-order BG beam-
based HNH liquid-level sensor shows a discrimination
range from −163.94 to −61.81 dB over the liquid-level
range of (0 to 29.30) mm. But for the same span of liquid
level, a lower variation in transmission loss from −16.23
to −6.52 dB is achieved for the Gaussian beam-based con-
ventional-level sensor.
Likewise in contrast to the behavior of Fig. 7(c), the trans-
mission loss for the sensor having an NCF length of 59 mm
varies from −93.21 to −10.08 dB, which is very high with
respect to the conventional one using a Gaussian beam.
Therefore, it is observed that with the same change in the
liquid level, there will be more variation in the transmission
loss for the zero-order BG beam-based liquid-level sensor.
This is because the transmission loss of spectrum for the
zero-order BG beam is affected more considerably as they
are originated from high-order modes. All these sensor
responses are well fitted by linear functions and from the
results of curve-fitted functions, both the sensitivity of the
proposed liquid-level sensor and the Gaussian beam-based
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 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .

Fig. 7 Comparison of liquid-level sensor response for both zero-order BG and Gaussian beams with
different liquid levels when the NCF length is (a) 14.80 mm, (b) 29.30 mm, and (c) 59 mm.

level sensor are summarized in Table 1. Also, as the accuracy
of a commercially available power meter is nearly 0.01 dB,
so the estimated level sensing resolution of the proposed sen-
sor can be calculated from the obtained sensitivity as
0.01
Resolution ¼
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e009;63;306
Sensitivity
The obtained sensitivities have been recapitulated in
Table 2. Thus, the sensitivity of the proposed liquid-level
sensor using a zero-order BG beam is enhanced by a factor
of 3.827, 10.993, and 9.741 over the sensor using Gaussian
beam for NCF lengths of 14.80, 29.30, and 59 mm, respec-
tively. Also the sensing resolution is improved by a magni-
tude of approximately one order in all three cases.
Additionally, this is the highest sensitivity and sensing
resolution achieved so far for any transmission loss-based
mm: (9) multimode interference liquid-level sensor reported to
date. In Table 3, we have compared the performance of vari-
ous existing fiber optic liquid-level sensors having different
Table 2 Comparative analysis of level sensing resolution.

Table 1 Comparative analysis of sensitivity. Estimated sensing resolution of

liquid-level sensor (mm)

Estimated absolute sensitivity of Length Conventional Proposed scheme Estimated

liquid-level sensor (dB/mm) of NCF (using Gaussian (using zero-order improvement
(mm) beam) BG beam) in resolution
Length Conventional Proposed scheme
of NCF (Using Gaussian (using zero-order Improvement in 14.80 1.582 × 10−2 4.133 × 10−3 One order of
(mm) beam) BG beam) sensitivity magnitude

14.80 0.632 2.419 3.827 times 29.30 3.095 × 10−2 2.816 × 10−3 One order of
magnitude
29.30 0.323 3.551 10.993 times
59 6.802 × 10−2 6.983 × 10−3 One order of
59 0.147 1.432 9.741 times magnitude

Optical Engineering 036118-7 March 2018 • Vol. 57(3)

 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .

structures. As shown in Table 3, the highest sensitivity

among these liquid-level sensors can be achieved up to
3.551 dB∕mm and a sensing resolution as high as
2.816 × 10−3 mm using our proposed technology. This
allows our proposed sensor to be a superior platform in vari-
ous high-performance liquid-level sensing applications.
To explicate the impact of NCF radius on the sensor char-
acteristics, we have performed the simulation with two dis-
tinct NCF radii of 62.5 and 92.5 μm. Our sensing technology
relies on the principle of interaction between guided modes
with the cladding material and this interaction will be high
for a sensor with a smaller NCF radius due to a higher evan-
escent field.2,4,6,28,29 Thus, a substantial power of the guided
modes will interact with the surrounding medium. Therefore,
mode-to-mode coupling increases inside the sensor structure,
which corresponds to the enhanced sensitivity of the sensor
for the sensor having a smaller NCF radius.
By comparing the sensitivities of the suggested zero-order
BG beam-based liquid-level sensor with different NCF radii,
Fig. 8 shows the correspondent evolution of the transmission
loss with liquid level when the NCF length is 14.80 mm and
it is seen that the variation of transmission loss for the HNH-
level sensor using the zero-order BG beam alters from
−89.17 to −53.46 dB and from −35.30 to −12.95 dB
over the liquid-level range of (0 to 14.8) mm for NCF radius
of 62.5 and 92.5 μm, respectively.
These responses are well approximated using linear
regression models. From the linear fitted functions, an abso-
lute-level sensitivity of 2.419 dB∕mm is attained for the sen-
sor having an NCF radius of 62.5 μm, whereas a much lower
absolute sensitivity of 1.529 dB∕mm is achieved for an NCF
radius of 92.5 μm. So, a 1.58 times better sensitivity is
obtained for sensor with a smaller NCF radius of 62.5 μm.
Considering an optical power meter with a resolution of
0.01 dB, it is found that the system resolutions are 4.133 ×
Table 3 Performance analysis of various transmission loss based
fiber optic liquid-level sensor developed till date.
Maximum Maximum
absolute sensing
level sensitivity resolution
Method (dB/mm) (mm)
Tilted fiber Bragg grating 0.6 4 10
(FBG)
0.456  0.009 — 11
Using single leaky mode 0.57 — 14
attenuation
Etched D-shaped silica — 1
fiber
Coreless multimode fiber 0.461 — 18
SMS structure 1.03 — 20
SMNS structure 0.109 — 21
Multimode interference 0.25 8 × 10−2
and FBG
Using zero-order BG 3.551 2.816 × 10−3
beam
Fig. 8 Effect of NCF radius on the sensor characteristics when the
NCF length is 14.80 mm.
10−3 mm and 6.540 × 10−3 mm over the liquid-level range
of (0 to 14.8) mm when the NCF radii are 62.5 and 92.5 μm,
respectively. So, the numerical assessment implies the pos-
sibility of obtaining more sensitive devices by gently reduc-
ing its radius.
Next, the influential role of the axicon apex angle of the
proposed configuration has been discussed and graphically
represented in Figs. 9(a) and 9(b). To investigate the role
of axicon apex angle on the sensitivity of the proposed
HNH liquid-level sensor, a simulation has been carried
out for different axicon apex angles with an NCF length
of 14.80 mm.
The zero-order BG beam is analogous to a set of plane
waves propagating in a conical nature and the number of
annular rings is decided by the radial wave-vector (kr ).
Again, the amplitude of this radial wave-vector of axicon-
generated zero-order BG beam depends on the axicon
apex angle as a smaller apex angle signifies a larger opening
angle and thus forming more numbers of concentric rings on
the zero-order BG beam.32 Thus, more power of input light
will be coupled to the high-order radial modes inside the
NCF for the sensor with a lower axicon apex angle.28
Figure 9(a) shows the modal characteristics inside the
Ref. NCF for three different axicon apex angles and it is observed
that the modal distribution spectra shift to the HOM number,
which corresponds to the excitation of more high-order
LP0;m modes inside the NCF with the decrease of axicon
apex angle. Also, the dominating modes (which has the high-
est coupling coefficient) are the LP0;8 , LP0;14 , and LP0;16 ,
when the proposed sensor is shined on by the zero-order
16 BG beam generated from axicon having apex angle of
160 deg, 140 deg, and 130 deg, respectively.
Based on this modal analysis, Fig. 9(b) shows the varia-
tion in the level sensor response for a zero-order BG beam
generated from different axicon apex angles and it is man-
ifested that there is a relatively larger variation in the trans-
mission loss spectrum for the sensor having 130-deg apex
27 angle than the sensor response for axicon apex angle
between 140 deg and 160 deg. The transmission loss for
the proposed liquid-level sensor with an NCF length of
Our 14.80-mm varies from −97.63 to −55.15 dB, −89.17 to
proposed
work
−53.46 dB, and −67.96 to −48.88 dB for axicon apex
angles of 130 deg, 140 deg, and 160 deg, respectively.

Optical Engineering 036118-8 March 2018 • Vol. 57(3)

 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .
Fig. 9 (a) Variation of modal power inside the NCF for various Axicon
apex angles and (b) Variation of sensor response for different axicon
apex angles when the NCF length is 14.80 mm.
From the results of linear fitted functions, a level sensitivity
of about 2.877 dB∕mm is attained when the sensor structure
is shined on by a zero-order BG beam generated from 130-
deg axicon apex angle, which corresponds to a level sensing
resolution of 3.475 × 10−3 mm. Similarly, a sensitivity of
about 2.419 and 1.284 dB∕mm is achieved when the pro-
posed sensor is excited by the zero-order BG mode generated
from axicon having apex angle of 140 deg and 160 deg,
respectively. Also, the level sensing resolution is estimated
as 4.133 × 10−3 mm and 7.788 × 10−3 mm when the sensor
is illuminated by a zero-order BG beam having axicon apex
angle of 140 deg and 160 deg, respectively.
Next, we turn our attention to the liquid-level sensor char-
acteristics for liquids with different refractive indices.
Careful inspection of Fig. 10 reveals that the liquid-level sen-
sor having an NCF length of 14.80 mm exhibits a similar
trend in the characteristic curve with different cladding
refractive indices, but the variation of the transmission
loss increases with an increase in the cladding refractive
index. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that
the core–cladding refractive index difference of NCF
decreases with an increase in the cladding refractive index
and thus the NCF more likely behaves as a weakly guiding
waveguide. Therefore, a large amount of fractional power of
guided modes will leak into the cladding region, which max-
imizes the transmission loss of the HNH-level sensor. So, a
Optical Engineering
Fig. 10 Sensor response for different cladding refractive indices.
higher liquid-level sensitivity is achieved for the case
of ncl ¼ 1.38.
From the results of linear fitted functions, it is observed that
a maximum level sensitivity of 3.855 dB∕mm is achieved for
ncl ¼ 1.38. In contrast, comparatively low sensitivities of
3.160 and 2.419 dB∕mm are attained for ncl ¼ 1.36 and
ncl ¼ 1.333, respectively. Also, the sensing resolution has
been estimated by considering the accuracy of a commercially
available power meter as 0.01 dB and it is found that
the liquid-level sensing resolutions of the system are
2.594 × 10−3 mm, 3.164 × 10−3 mm, and 4.133 × 10−3 mm
when the cladding refractive indices are 1.38, 1.36, and 1.333,
respectively.
To elucidate the uncertainty on the liquid-level detection
when surrounding temperature is considered, simulations
have been executed with water as the cladding material at
various operating temperatures. The water and air have the
thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) of −1 × 10−4 K−1 46 and
1 × 10−6 K−1 ,46,47 respectively. So, with an increase in the
surrounding temperature, the refractive index of water will
decrease due to its negative TOC.
Also, there will be some modification in the core refrac-
tive index of NCF with the temperature as fused silica has a
thermo-optic co-efficient of 1.1 × 10−5 K−1 .47 Due to the
temperature variation, there will be some variation in the
NCF dimension due to the thermal expansion effect and
fused silica has a very small linear thermal expansion coef-
ficient (α) of nearly 1 × 10−7 K−1.46 The changes in the NCF
radius ðaÞ and length ðlÞ with temperature are obtained from
Δa ¼ αaΔT and Δl ¼ αlΔT, respectively, where α is the
thermal expansion coefficient for fused silica. As this ther-
mal expansion coefficient value is very small in comparison
to the TOC, any change in the sensor response mainly takes
place due to the thermo-optic effect.
In contrast to the performance of a liquid-level sensor
with temperature, Fig. 11 shows that there is a shift in the
transmission loss spectrum when the temperature changes
from 300 to 340 K. This is because the liquid section in
the cladding has a stronger thermal sensitivity due to its
higher value of TOC than air. A linear regression model
is applied to the simulation data points, which correspond
to sensitivities of 2.419, 2.396, 2.368, 2.352, and
2.333 dB∕mm at a wavelength of 1.55 μm when the clad-
ding temperatures are 300, 311, 325, 333, and 340 K, respec-
tively. So, the deviation in the slope of the transmission
spectrum of the proposed liquid-level sensor is 0.086 dB
036118-9 March 2018 • Vol. 57(3)
 Saha, Datta, and Kaman: Ultrahigh-sensitive multimode interference-based fiber optic. . .
Fig. 11 Variation of transmission loss of the liquid-level sensor with
temperature when the cladding material is water and NCF length is
14.80 mm.
Fig. 12 Variation of transmission loss of the liquid-level sensor with
temperature when the cladding material is ethanol and NCF length is
14.80 mm.
when the ambient temperature changes from 300 to 340 K
and the cladding material is water.
Another case has been considered when the cladding
material is ethanol whose RI is 1.3522 at a wavelength of
1.55 μm.48 The TOC of ethanol is −4 × 10−4 K−1 .49 So,
with an increase in the ambient temperature, the refractive
index of ethanol will also decrease like water due to the neg-
ative TOC. Figure 12 maps the variation in the transmission
spectrum of HNH liquid-level sensor structure with ambient
temperature when the cladding material is ethanol. And it is
observed that the transmission loss spectrum increases with
an increase in the temperature. These responses are best fit-
ted by linear fitted functions that confirm level sensitivities of
2.939, 2.824, 2.687, 2.613, and 2.550 dB∕mm when the
cladding temperatures are 300, 311, 325, 333, and 340 K,
respectively. So, the deviation in the thermal sensitivity of
the liquid-level sensor is 0.389 dB when the ambient temper-
ature changes from 300 to 340 K and the cladding material is
ethanol. This thermally induced uncertainty in the transmis-
sion spectrum of HNH liquid-level sensor using ethanol as
the cladding liquid is about 4.52 times higher than that of the
water. This happens because ethanol undergoes more change
in its refractive index due to its higher TOC than the water.
In view of this temperature uncertainty on the liquid-level
sensing when change in ambient temperature is considered, it
Optical Engineering 036118-10
is clear that a constant temperature-controlled condition
should be preserved to guarantee exact and accurate
measurement.
4 Conclusions
The present study has successfully attempted a new and dif-
ferent approach to enhance the sensitivity of a multimode
interference-based fiber optic liquid-level sensor using a
zero-order BG beam as the input field. A comprehensive
theoretical analysis and simulation of the transmission spec-
trum of sensor structure were performed based on the
coupled-mode theory and beam propagation method.
Using the transmission loss demodulation technique, the
suggested configuration ensures sensitivities of 2.419,
3.551, and 1.432 dB∕mm for NCF lengths of 14.80,
29.30, and 59 mm, respectively. These achieved-level sensi-
tivities are enhanced by factors of 3.827, 10.993, and 9.741
for NCF lengths of 14.80, 29.30, and 59 mm, respectively,
over the traditional multimode interference-based level sen-
sor using a Gaussian beam. Also the level sensing resolutions
have been improved approximately by a magnitude of one
order. Furthermore, the effect of NCF radius, axicon apex
angle, and refractive index of surrounding liquid on the per-
formance of the proposed sensor have been researched rig-
orously. Also the influential role of temperature on the
suggested sensor configuration has been investigated care-
fully. The striking feature of the proposed liquid-level sensor
is that the sensitivity has been improved by only changing
the input beam from a Gaussian beam to a zero-order BG
beam instead of any change in the waveguide dimension,
such as etching, tapering, and bending,. This kind of sensor
occupies a unique position due to its relatively simple fab-
rication process with better sensitivity to the surrounding
liquid level. Thus, our proposed sensing technology allows
more freedom to the sensor design process by reducing the
fabrication complexity. Therefore on account of remarkable
properties of a zero-order BG beam like the potential of
HOM coupling with relatively high coupling efficiency
inside the sensor structure, the proposed high-sensitive opti-
cal fiber sensor configuration is very much evocative and
appealing in different kinds of liquid-level sensing and meas-
urement systems including various petroleum and chemical
industries, biological purposes, aerospace application, steam
and feed water system or any water treatment systems.
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Ardhendu Saha received his PhD in the field of solid state lasers and
nonlinear optics from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in
2007. Currently, he is serving as an associate professor in the elec-
trical engineering department at National Institute of Technology,
Agartala, India. His research interests mainly focus in the areas of
solid-state lasers and nonlinear-optics, optoelectronics instrumenta-
tion, fiber optic sensors, integrated photonic devices, fiber optics com-
munication, etc.
Arijit Datta received his BTech degree in applied electronics and
instrumentation engineering from West Bengal University of
Technology, Kolkata, India, in 2011 and his MTech degree in instru-
mentation engineering from National Institute of Technology Agartala,
India, in 2013, respectively. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD at the
Department of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology
Agartala, India. His research interest includes fiber optic sensors, mul-
timode interference-based guided wave devices, and integrated opti-
cal devices.
Surjit Kaman received his BE degree in electrical engineering from
Assam Engineering College, Guwahati, and his MTech degree in
instrumentation engineering from National Institute of Technology,
Agartala, India, in 2012 and 2015, respectively. Currently, he is work-
ing as a scientist at CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation
in Department of Advanced Materials and Sensors. His research
interest includes optoelectronics instrumentation, fiber optic sensors,
and condition monitoring of power apparatus.
March 2018 • Vol. 57(3)