A fiber-optic sensor based on surface-plasmon resonance for the determination of the refractive index is used for measuring the degree of salinity of water. The transducing element consists of a multilayer structure deposited on a side-polished monomode optical fiber. Measuring the attenuation of the power transmitted by the fiber shows that a linear relation with the refractive index of the outer medium of the structure is obtained. The system is characterized by use of a varying refractive index obtained with a mixture of water and ethylene glycol. Experimental results show that the sensor can be used as a salinity-degree measurement device with environmental applications.

A new algorithm for phase unwrapping of phase maps with noise or logical inconsistencies is proposed. It is based on the use of an adaptive threshold and the second difference of the locally unwrapped phase as a selection criterion for the pixels to be processed