High-Sensitivity Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Curvature Fiber Sensor Based on Thin-Core Fiber

Author

Haiwei Fu ; Na Zhao ; Min Shao ; Huidong Li ; Hong Gao ; Qinpeng Liu ; Zhen Yong ; Yinggang Liu ; Xueguang Qiao

Author_Institution

Shaanxi Key Lab. of Opt. Inf. Technol., Xi´an Shiyou Univ., Xi´an, China

Volume

15

Issue

1

fYear

2015

fDate

Jan. 2015

Firstpage

520

Lastpage

525

Abstract

A simple and compact thin-core fiber (TCF)-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed for curvature measurement. The sensor head is composed by a short section of TCF embedded between two single-mode fibers. The MZI works on the basis of interference between the core mode and cladding mode in TCF. The transmission spectrum of the sensor is analyzed by the fast Fourier transform, which indicates that the interference mainly occurs between LP₀₁ and LP₀₁₈ modes propagating in TCF. The experimental results show that the dip wavelengths in transmission spectrum decrease linearly as the curvature increase with a sensitivity of -13.53 nm/m^-1. The high curvature sensitivity makes this sensor a candidate for curvature discrimination and measurement in the field of structural deformation, intelligent artificial limb, and mechanical engineering.

Keywords

Mach-Zehnder interferometers; curvature measurement; deformation; fast Fourier transforms; fibre optic sensors; light interference; optical fibre cladding; spectral analysis; LP₀₁₈ mode propagation; LP₀₁ mode propagation; MZI; Mach-Zehnder interferometric curvature fiber sensor; TCF; cladding mode; core mode; curvature measurement; fast Fourier transform; intelligent artificial limb; interference; mechanical engineering; sensor transmission spectrum analysis; single mode fiber; structural deformation; thin core fiber; Intelligent sensors; Interference; Optical fiber couplers; Optical fiber sensors; Sensitivity; Bending measurement; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; curvature sensor; thin-core fiber;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Sensors Journal, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1530-437X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JSEN.2014.2347285

Filename

6878449