A ratiometric fluorescent fiber sensor based on integrated silica and tellurite glass for real-time human thermal monitoring

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a portable fiber sensor with integrated tellurite and silica for dynamic human thermal monitoring, where Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped tellurite glass is employed to generate upconversion fluorescence emission related to thermally coupled energy levels via near-infrared excitation for ratiometric thermometry. The molten tellurite glass is extracted into a silica tube using the negative pressure approach, allowing for intimate adhesion between different glass materials with considerable softening temperature differences. With a fast instantaneous response of 0.4–0.6 s and an absolute error of −0.45–0.36 K, the sensor can accurately and timely capture small temperature fluctuations. The sensor is placed in the mouth or attached to the hand skin to measure the body temperature continually. It is also positioned in the mouth exhalation and nose breathing environments to monitor thermal activities in real-time, offering a new, highly reliable method for human health monitoring.