Sensitivity-Enhanced Fiber-Optic Strain Sensor Based on Interference of Higher Order Modes in Circular Fibers

Author

Li, Enbang

Author_Institution

Tianjin Univ., Tianjin

Volume

19

Issue

16

fYear

2007

Firstpage

1266

Lastpage

1268

Abstract

A sensitivity-enhanced fiber-optic strain sensor based on interference of higher order modes in circular optical fibers is reported. It has been demonstrated that by utilizing the interference of the higher order modes excited in a segment of multimode fiber (MMF), a strain sensor with an enhanced strain sensitivity which is almost twice that of the popularly used fiber-Bragg-grating-based strain sensors can be constructed. The features of the proposed strain sensor include an extremely simple structure, easy fabrication, and low cost. The modal interference in a circular step-index MMF is analyzed and then the sensing principle, fabrication process, and strain measurements are described.

Keywords

Bragg gratings; fibre optic sensors; strain measurement; strain sensors; circular optical fibers; fiber-Bragg-grating-based strain sensors; higher order modes interference; multimode fiber; sensitivity-enhanced fiber-optic strain sensor; strain measurements; Biosensors; Capacitive sensors; Interference; Optical device fabrication; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber polarization; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Temperature sensors; Modal interference; optical fiber devices; optical fibers; optical waveguides; strain sensor;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LPT.2007.902271

Filename

4280876