A Fiber Bending Vector Sensor Based on M–Z Interferometer Exploiting Two Hump-Shaped Tapers

Author

Liyu Zhang ; Weigang Zhang ; Lei Chen ; Tieyi Yan ; Li Wang ; Biao Wang ; Quan Zhou

Author_Institution

Key Lab. of Opt. Inf. Sci. & Technol., Nankai Univ., Tianjin, China

Volume

27

Issue

11

fYear

2015

fDate

June1, 1 2015

Firstpage

1240

Lastpage

1243

Abstract

A novel, compact, and simple in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) formed by cascading two hump-shaped tapers in a segment of single-mode fiber is proposed and fabricated. This optical fiber device has recognizable features for different bend directions while high sensitivities for ambient temperature and axial force. In the range of 0-1.2 m^-1, the sensitivities of the sensor with the length of 13.4 mm are 10.224 and -4.973 nm/m^-1 for opposite bending directions 0° and 180°, respectively. The responses for temperature and force of the MZI are also investigated in experiment. The results show that the shift of the dip wavelength is linearly proportional to the change of temperature or force. The sensitivities of temperature and force are 0.049 nm/°C in the range of 20°C-80°C and -3.643 nm/N in the range of 0-0.98 N.

Keywords

Mach-Zehnder interferometers; fibre optic sensors; force sensors; optical fibre fabrication; temperature sensors; M-Z interferometer; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; ambient temperature sensitivity; axial force sensitivity; fiber bending vector sensor; hump-shaped tapers; single-mode fiber fabrication; temperature 20 degC to 80 degC; Force; Interference; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Sensitivity; Temperature sensors; M-Z interferometer; M-Z interferometer,; bending vector sensor; hump-shaped tapers (HSTs); hump-shaped tapers (HSTs).;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LPT.2015.2415558

Filename

7093144