Interrogating FBG based temperature sensors — Practical issues

Temperature and strain sensors based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) are the most common optical sensors today. The properties of these sensors are well known, however interrogation techniques are still not standardized. The interrogator units typically have a high price, limiting the usage of such optical sensors. By carefully studying the properties of several interrogation techniques and developing an optimized version we will demonstrate that it is possible to significantly reduce the price of interrogation units. For this reason, presented are measurements of both temperature and strain sensitivity performed in various conditions that will be used in development of cost-optimized interrogator.