Optical Fiber Microcavity Strain Sensors Produced by the Catastrophic Fuse Effect

We present an innovative and cost effective approach to produced sensors based on optical fiber microcavities. The proposed microcavities were manufactured by splicing a standard optical fiber with recycled optical fibers destroyed by the catastrophic fuse effect, yielding strain sensors with sensitivity up to 2.56 pm·με^-1. The feasibility of this solution employing recycled optical fibers was demonstrated, presenting an economical solution for sensing purposes, when compared with cavities produced using complex methods. We also show, for the first time, that the sensitivity of these microcavities Fabry-Perot interferometers sensors depends on the cavity volume.