EVANESCENT FIELD FIBEROPTIC CHLORINE SENSOR

An evanescent field fibre-optic sensor for detecting chlorine in water is proposed and studied experimentally. The technique is based upon evanescent field absorption through the colour development of reacting diethyl phenylene diamine with chlorine, which forms an azo compound. Sensor systems with single and multi-fibre sensing elements were designed, constructed and evaluated for linearity of response, sensitivity, and reproducibility of results. The experimental results establish the feasibility of detecting low concentration chlorine in water using the proposed method. The results for an improved design are indicative of reasonably good reproducibility and linearity of the sensor response.