Optical sensing of measurands

1. An interferometric sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a dome-shaped measuring material adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in response to a given measurand so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, further comprising a Fabry-Perot interferometer having two reflectors, said two reflectors being arranged in said optical path.

2. An interferometric sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a dome-shaped measuring material adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in response to a given measurand so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, wherein said optical path includes a measuring cavity comprising a distal reflector formed by a peripheral surface of the measuring material.

3. The probe as claimed in claim 2 comprising:

an optical fiber, said measuring material being provided at an end of the optical fiber;

a first boundary between said optical fiber and said measuring material; and

a second boundary formed by a peripheral surface of the measuring material;

wherein said boundaries form respective reflectors of an interferometer.

4. The apparatus for sensing a measurand comprising a probe as claimed in claim 1 and an instrument for determining a measurement of said measurand from light reflected from the reflectors.

5. A method of sensing a measurand comprising providing a probe including a dome-shaped measuring material that changes in volume and/or refractive index in the presence of said measurand, exposing said measuring material to said measurand and measuring interferometrically the resulting change in an optical path length through the probe.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the measurand is a chemical.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5 comprising measuring a reflection spectrum using a scanning filter.

8. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the measuring material comprises a swollen cross-linked polymer.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said swollen cross-linked polymer is an ionic hydrogel.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said polymer comprises polymer chains having cross links and wherein additional cross-links are formed by peptides.

11. An interferometric chemical sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a chemically responsive measuring material adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in the presence of a given chemical so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, wherein said chemically responsive measuring material comprises a swollen cross-linked polymer network, further comprising a Fabry-Perot interferometer having two reflectors, said two reflectors being arranged in said optical path.

12. An interferometric sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a measuring material comprising a swollen cross-linked polymer network adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in response to a given measurand so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, further comprising a Fabry-Perot interferometer having two reflectors, said two reflectors being arranged in said optical path.

13. An interferometric chemical sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a chemically responsive measuring material adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in the presence of a given chemical so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, wherein said chemically responsive measuring material comprises a swollen cross-linked polymer network, wherein said optical path has a fixed physical length.

14. The probe as claimed in claim 13 wherein a portion of measuring material is provided in a cavity having a fixed-length in a direction parallel to the propagation of measuring light, but wherein said measuring material is free to expand in a direction orthogonal to the propagation of the measuring light.

15. The probe as claimed in claim 13 comprising a wave guide having a core, said core including said measuring material.

16. An interferometric chemical sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a chemically responsive measuring material adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in the presence of a given chemical so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, wherein said chemically responsive measuring material comprises a swollen cross-linked polymer network, wherein said optical path includes a measuring cavity comprising a distal reflector formed by a peripheral surface of the measuring material.

17. The probe as claimed in claim 16 comprising:

an optical fiber, said measuring material being provided at an end of the optical fiber;

a first boundary between said optical fiber and said measuring material; and

a second boundary formed by a peripheral surface of the measuring material;

wherein said boundaries form respective reflectors of an interferometer.

18. A sensing apparatus comprising an interferometric chemical sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a chemically responsive measuring material adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in the presence of a given chemical so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, wherein said chemically responsive measuring material comprises a swollen cross-linked polymer network, wherein said optical path forms a or part of a laser cavity.

19. A sensing apparatus comprising an interferometric sensing probe comprising an optical fiber and a measuring material comprising a swollen cross-linked polymer network adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in response to a given measurand so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, wherein said optical path forms a or part of a laser cavity.

20. A method of sensing a chemical comprising providing a probe including a measuring material that changes in volume and/or refractive index in the presence of said chemical, exposing said measuring material to said chemical and measuring interferometrically the resulting change in an optical path length through the probe, wherein said measuring material comprises a swollen cross-linked polymer network.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20 comprising measuring a reflection spectrum using a scanning filter.

22. An apparatus for sensing a measurand comprising an interferometric sensing probe, said probe comprising an optical fiber and a dome-shaped measuring material adapted to exhibit a change in volume and/or refractive index in response to a given measurand so as to produce an interferometrically measurable change in at least one optical path length through the probe, and read out instrumentation for reading out an interferometric measurement of said measurand from said probe.