All-fiber photoacoustic gas sensor with graphene nano-mechanical resonator as the acoustic detector

We demonstrate an all-optical-fiber photoacoustic (PA) spectrometric gas sensor with a graphene nano-mechanical resonator as the acoustic detector. The acoustic detection is performed by a miniature ferrule-top nano-mechanical resonator with a ∼100-nm-thick, 2.5-mm-diameter multilayer graphene diaphragm. Experimental investigation showed that the performance of the PA gas sensor can be significantly enhanced by operating at the resonance of the grapheme diaphragm where a lower detection limit of 153 parts-per-billion (ppb) acetylene is achieved. The all-fiber PA sensor which is immune to electromagnetic interference and safe in explosive environments is ideally suited for real-world remote, space-limited applications and for multipoint detection in a multiplexed fiber optic sensor network.