Abstract

A holographic interferometer senses vapor-induced optical path length changes in polymer or other chemically sensitive films. The interferometer is inherently sensitive to changes in chemical vapor content, self-compensates for drifts, and accommodates a large array of sensor elements. A sniff-locked-loop synchronous detection method takes advantage of the interferometer’s rapid response to achieve vapor concentration sensitivity in the parts-per-billion (ppb, parts in ${10}^9$) range. We demonstrate, for example, 40 ppb sensitivity to ethyl alcohol using poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) with a measurement time of 5 s.

© 2005 Optical Society of America

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