Highly sensitive gas-pressure sensor based on paralleled optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers

Guo Yun; Wu Yuchun; Wang Jiahao; Zhang Yingfang; Wang Dongning; Xu Ben

doi:10.12086/oee.2022.210420

Article navigation > Opto-Electronic Engineering > 2022 Vol. 49 > No. 8 > 210420

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Guo Y, Wu Y C, Wang J H, et al. Highly sensitive gas-pressure sensor based on paralleled optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2022, 49(8): 210420. doi: 10.12086/oee.2022.210420

Citation:

Guo Y, Wu Y C, Wang J H, et al. Highly sensitive gas-pressure sensor based on paralleled optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2022, 49(8): 210420. doi: 10.12086/oee.2022.210420

Highly sensitive gas-pressure sensor based on paralleled optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers

1.
College of Optical and Electronic Technology, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
2.
Faulty of Information Technology, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China

Fund Project: Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY19F050010) and the Open Project of the Key Laboratory of Micro Opto-Electro Mechanical System Technology, Tianjin University, Ministry of Education (MOMST 2016-1).

More Information

Corresponding author: xuben@cjlu.edu.cn

Received Date 02 January 2022

Revised Date 13 March 2022

Available Online 21 June 2022

Published Date 25 August 2022

Abstract

Abstract

A highly sensitive optical fiber sensor based on the Vernier effect is demonstrated for gas pressure sensing. It consists of two paralleled Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs), which are both produced by splicing a single-mode fiber to a short segment of capillary tube, acting as sensing cavity and reference cavity, respectively. The lateral wall of the sensing FPI is drilled with a micro-channel allowing gas to flow in. Due to the small optical path difference between the two FPI, the Vernier effect is caused in the reflected spectrum of the sensor. Thus, the gas-pressure sensitivity is significantly enhanced, achieving up to ~64 pm/kPa which is ~16 times higher than that of a single FPI. Additionally, experimental results show that the sensor is insensitive to the surrounding temperature, which reduces the influence of ambient temperature on the measurement of gas pressure. The advantages of robust structure and high sensitivity of gas pressure indicate that the demonstrated sensor has a promising potential in industrial production, gas detection, and other fields.
- optical fiber sensor /
- Fabry–Perot interferometer /
- vernier effect /
- gas pressure

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References

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Overview

Overview

Precise measurement of the gas pressure is important in a variety of fields, including environmental monitoring, energy management, and vehicle manufacturing. The measuring range is severely limited due to the electronic gas pressure sensor's susceptibility to temperature and electromagnetic interference. Optical fiber pressure sensors have demonstrated significant potential in practical applications due to their unique qualities of compact size, anti-electromagnetic interference, corrosion resistance, and robust resistance, attracting a lot of interest from researchers. Various fiber sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), long-period gratings (LPGs), and interferometers for gas pressure sensing have been presented in recent years. They all have distinct sensing benefits, among those, high sensitivity has always been one of the goals that researchers pursue.

Vernier effect is known for the first time because it was applied to Vernier calipers, consists of two independent scales with slightly different periods so that the overlap of both achieves the high measurement accuracy. Similarly, this effect can also be employed in the field of optical fiber sensing. Normally two interferometers with slightly different free spectral ranges are arranged in series (or cascaded structures), one as a sensor while the other as a stable reference. By tracking the response of the spectral envelope of the two interferometers, the sensitivity can be amplified by several orders of magnitude, realizing high-precision measurements. This sensitivity amplification mechanism has been successfully applied in temperature, pressure, refractive index, and curvature.

In this paper, a highly sensitive optical fiber sensor based on the Vernier effect is demonstrated for gas pressure sensing. It consists of two paralleled Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs), which are both produced by splicing a single-mode fiber to a short segment of capillary tube, acting as sensing cavity and reference cavity, respectively. The lateral wall of the sensing FPI is drilled with a micro-channel allowing gas to flow in. Due to the small optical path difference between the two FPI, the Vernier effect is caused in the reflected spectrum of the sensor. Thus, the gas-pressure sensitivity is significantly enhanced, achieving up to ~64 pm/kPa which is ~16 times higher than that of a single FPI. Additionally, experimental results show that the sensor is insensitive to the surrounding temperature, which reduces the influence of ambient temperature on the measurement of gas pressure. The advantages of robust structure and high sensitivity of gas pressure indicate that the demonstrated sensor has a promising potential in industrial production, gas detection, and other fields.