All-fiber intermodal Mach–Zehnder interferometer based on a long-period fiber grating combined with a fiber bitaper

We report a novel all-fiber narrow-bandwidth intermodal Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) combined with a fiber bitaper, and the MZI has no special limit for the resonant wavelength of the LPFG. Its responses to temperature and axial strain are studied theoretically and experimentally. Experimental results indicate that the temperature sensitivity is 0.0585 nm/°C within the temperature range from 30 °C to 90 °C and the axial strain sensitivity of 0.00013 nm/με can be neglected. Furthermore, as only the common single-mode fiber (SMF) is required during the fabrication process, the proposed device is cost effective and has good practicability in the optical sensing systems.     

All-solid multi-core fiber-based multipath Mach–Zehnder interferometer for temperature sensing

A novel multipath Mach–Zehnder interferometer (m-MZI) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated, which is fabricated by fusion splicing a segment of all-solid multi-core fiber (MCF) between two sections of single mode fiber-28 with a well-controlled lateral offset at the splice points. Beam propagation method-based simulation results demonstrated light passing throw MCF from multiple paths. Experiments with different lengths of MCF were implemented to investigate our proposed m-MZI’s response to temperature and strain. Compared with previously reported optical fiber modal interferometers, higher phase sensitivity can be obtained in our scheme due to the multipath interference configuration embedded in one fiber. A very high temperature sensitivity of 130.6 pm/°C has been achieved, and the maximum strain sensitivity is less than 0.284 pm/με in all experiments. A record low strain-to-temperature cross-sensitivity of 6.2 × 10^?4 °C/με has been realized, and it shows great significance of this in-fiber integrated multipath Mach–Zehnder interferometer in practical temperature sensing applications.     

Ultra-long-period fiber grating cascaded to a knob-taper for simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature

This study presents a simple Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) to obtain the bimodal characteristics that realize simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature through cascading an ultra-long-period fiber grating and a knob-shaped taper. We obtain the multi-dip feature from the MZI, and the Dips 2 and 5 are selected from 11 interference dips. Experimental results indicated that the wavelength sensitivities of Dips 2 and 5 are ??0.54 nm mε^?1 and 0.058 nm °C^?1, and ??0.53 nm mε^?1 and 0.055 nm °C^?1 to strain and temperature, respectively. The depth sensitivities are ??3.3 dB mε^??1, ? 0.015 dB °C^?1 and ?5.8 dB mε^?1, and 0.06 dB °C^?1 for Dips 2 and 5, respectively. It is concluded that the proposed structure is suitable for simultaneous strain and temperature measurements.     

基于多芯光纤级联布喇格光纤光栅的横向压力与温度同时测量

提出并制作了一种基于多芯光纤与单模光纤错位构成的马赫-曾德尔干涉仪,将其与光纤布喇格光栅级联,形成的全光纤传感系统可实现横向压力和温度双参量同时测量.马赫-曾德尔干涉仪是利用多芯光纤和单模光纤的模场不匹配而发生模间干涉,当外界横向压力直接作用在多芯光纤内部光场,干涉仪具有较高的灵敏度.实验结果表明:马赫-曾德尔干涉仪压力灵敏度为28.57nm/(N·mm~(-1)),线性度为0.997,而光纤布喇格光栅在一定范围内对压力变化不敏感;马赫-曾德干涉仪和光纤布喇格光栅对温度变化都具有较高的线性度,温度灵敏度分别为56.1pm/℃和11.3pm/℃.对于分辨率为0.02nm的光谱仪,传感器可实现的压力和温度测量分辨率分别为7.0×10~(-4)N/mm和0.03℃.马赫-曾德尔干涉仪的透射谱和光纤布拉光栅的谐振峰对横向压力和温度的变化有不同的光谱响应,利用光谱仪对传感器的透射谱实时监测,方便地实现了压力与温度双参量的测量.该传感器结构简单,灵敏度高,可用于不同领域的压力传感.     

Single S-tapered fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers

A fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) sensor, novel to our knowledge, based on a single "S"-like fiber taper has been fabricated via applying nonaxial pull in fiber tapering by a fusion splicer. The typical feature size of the structure has a length of 660 μm and the axial offset of 96 μm. This S fiber taper MZI has a refractive index (RI) sensitivity of 1590 nm/refractive index unit in the RI range of 1.409-1.425 and a strain sensitivity of about -60 pm/microstrain, which is 30 times higher than that of the normal two-taper-based MZI sensors.     

Mach-Zehnder all-fiber interferometer using two in-series fattened fiber gratings

We present an all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer consisting of two consecutive fattened sections of dispersion-shifted fiber that act as in-series long period fiber gratings. The proposed Mach-Zehnder interferometer shows a broad fringe pattern ranging from 1000 to 1500 nm and is stable against changes in temperature and strain. By tapering a section of 5mm in length to 50% diameter between the fattened sections we observe an increased sensitivity to temperature changes. The measured temperature and strain sensitivities were in the range of 9–17 pm/°C and 1.44–2.9 pm/μɛ, respectively.     

Fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on microcavities for high-temperature sensing with high sensitivity

A high-temperature sensor based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) in a conventional single-mode optical fiber is proposed and fabricated by concatenating two microcavities separated by a middle section. A femtosecond laser is used to fabricate a microhole on the center of a fiber end. Then a micro-air-cavity is formed by splicing the microholed fiber end with a normal fiber end. The interferometer is applied for high-temperature sensing, in the range of 500-1200?°C, with a sensitivity of 109 pm/°C that, to the best of our knowledge, is highest in silica fiber temperature sensors. Also, the interferometer is insensitive to external refractive index (RI), which is desirable for temperature sensors.     

Temperature characteristics of a core-mode interferometer based on a dual-core photonic crystal fiber

A core-mode Fabry–Perot (FP) interferometer is constructed by using a dual-core photonic crystal fiber (DCPCF). The FP cavity is formed by a single piece of DCPCF, which can also serve as a direct sensing probe without any additional components. We theoretically and experimentally studied its temperature responses in the range of 40–480 °C. The temperature sensitivity is 13 pm/°C which matches the theoretical results. Since the temperature sensitivity of the proposed sensor is independent on cavity length, precise control of the length of FP cavity or photonic crystal fiber is not required. The sensor size can be as short as 100–200 μm, and its fabrication only involves splicing and cleaving, which make the sensor production very cost-effective. The proposed FP interferometric sensor based on a DCPCF can find applications in high-temperature measurement especially those that need accurate point measurement with high sensitivity.     

Temperature-insensitive strain measurement using a birefringent interferometer based on a polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber

We propose a novel and simple scheme for a temperature-insensitive strain measurement by using a birefringent interferometer configured by a polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM-PCF). The wavelength-dependent periodic transmission in a birefringent interferometer can be achieved by using a PM-PCF between two linear polarizers. Since the PM-PCF is composed of a single material, such as silica, the peak wavelength shift with temperature variation can be negligible because of the small amount of the birefringence change of the PM-PCF with temperature change. The measured temperature sensitivity is −0.3 pm/°C. However, the peak wavelength can be changed by strain because the peak wavelength shift is directly proportion to strain change. The strain sensitivity is measured to be 1.3 pm/με in a strain range from 0 to 1600 με. The measurement resolution of the strain is estimated to be 2.1 με. The proposed scheme has advantages of simple structure and low loss without a Sagnac loop, temperature insensitivity, ease installation, and short length of a sensing probe compared with a conventional PMF-based Sagnac loop interferometer.     

Twist Sensitivity of Cladding-Mode Resonances and Its Cross-Sensitivity to Strain and Temperature in a Mechanically Induced Long-Period Fiber Grating

Abstract

Twist sensitivity of cladding-mode resonances in a mechanically induced long-period fiber grating formed over a single-mode fiber is experimentally demonstrated and theoretically analyzed. Of the two usual cladding-mode resonances corresponding to LP₁₁ and LP₁₂, higher-order mode LP₁₂ is more sensitive to twist in comparison with the lower-order mode LP₁₁. The extent of down-shifting of resonant wavelengths depends on twist-induced circular birefringence and the modal field distribution of the cladding-modes inside the fiber. When the fiber is severely twisted to 3.5 rad/cm, a shift sensitivity is observed of 1 nm/(rad/cm) for the LP₁₁ mode and 4.23 nm/(rad/cm) for the LP₁₂ mode. The fiber breaks when the twist rate exceeds 3.5 rad/cm. In comparison with LP₁₂, the LP₁₁ resonance is almost independent of the axial strain variation with an ultra-low sensitivity of 0.18 pm/με, and it is also almost insensitive to the temperature variation with a coefficient of 35 pm/°C. Forming the LP₁₁ resonance far away from its cut-off wavelength, a widely tunable band-pass filter is also demonstrated with a very high twist sensitivity of 8.75 nm/(rad/cm) and negligible cross-sensitivity to strain and temperature. The experimental and theoretical results are very useful in selecting sensitive and stable cladding-mode resonances in the design of new mechanically induced long-period fiber gratings based torsion sensors and tunable band-pass filters.     

A simple humidity sensor utilizing air-gap as sensing part of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer

A simple high-resolution refractive index (RI) and phase sensor has been demonstrated and the results numerically verified. A free space gap is employed in one arm of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) to serve as the sensing mechanism with a physical spacing of 1.4 mm. The propagation constant of transmitted light in the MZI’s gap changes due to the small variation in the ambient RI that will further shift the optical phase of the signal. A free space optical delay line is embedded within the MZI’s other arm to set the phase reference point and compensate for variations in the optical phase difference. The ambient RI is computed by measuring the phase shift in the transmission spectrum A high-resolution sensing of 0.8 pm/%RH corresponds to phase change of 0.012°/%RH has been achieved in 1520 nm.     

Simultaneous measurement of curvature and temperature based on PCF-based interferometer and fiber Bragg grating

A sensor head consisting of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for simultaneous measurement of curvature and temperature. The MZI fabricated by splicing a short length of PCF between two single-mode fibers with the air-hole structure that completely collapsed near the splicing points, is sensitive to fiber bending and surrounding temperature, while the FBG is only sensitive to the later. Simultaneous measurement of curvature and temperature is therefore obtained. Sensitivities of 4.06 nm/m^− 1 and 6.30 pm/°C are achieved experimentally for curvature and temperature, respectively. And the corresponding resolutions are 5.2 × 10^− 4 m^− 1 and 1.25 °C for curvature and temperature, respectively, based on the wavelength measurement resolution of 10 pm.     

Simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature with a long-period fiber grating inscribed Sagnac interferometer

A Sagnac interferometer with a long-period fiber grating (LPG) inscribed in the polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature. Due to the different responses of the LPG and the Sagnac interferometer to strain and temperature, simultaneous measurement can be achieved by monitoring the wavelength shifts and the intensity changes of a resonance dip of the sensor setup. The experimental results show that the achieved sensitivities to strain and temperature are 6.4 × 10^− 3 dB/με and 0.65 nm/°C, respectively.     

基于马赫-曾德干涉的全光纤双参量传感器

提出一种基于S形-错位结构的全光纤马赫-曾德干涉仪（MZI）双参量传感器。该传感结构是采用单模光纤在光纤熔接机中通过简单的放电和熔接等步骤制备而成。顺时针扭转时, 传感器的传输光谱向短波长方向偏移; 逆时针扭转, 向长波长方向偏移。对传感器的实验研究结果表明,该传感器在光纤横截面上顺时针和逆时针两个旋转方向上的扭曲传感灵敏度分别为?223 pm/(rad·cm?1), 140 pm/(rad·cm?1),且可实现扭转方向的判别,在一定应变范围内的应变灵敏度为0.145×106 dB/ε(这里ε为应变),且温度交叉灵敏度极小,可忽略不计。因此,这种基于单模光纤的纤芯-包层MZI双参量传感器具有传感灵敏度高,体积小巧,工艺简单,成本低廉且可判别扭转方向的优点,有望成为众多双参量测量操作中良好的候选仪器之一。     

All-Fiber Dual-Parameter Sensor Based on Cascaded Long Period Fiber Grating Pair Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser and CO2 Laser

An all-fiber dual-parameter sensor based on cascaded long period grating pair fabricated by femtosecond laser and CO₂ laser has been proposed and realized both theoretically and experimentally. The resonant wavelengths of LPFGs are 1557.80 nm and 1590.88 nm. In the strain range of 0–400 με, strain sensitivities are ?7.2 pm/με for C-LPFG and ?1.6 pm/με for F-LPFG. In the temperature range of 30–70°C, temperature sensitivities are ?41.1 pm/°C for C-LPFG and ?21.2 pm/°C for F-LPFG. By analyzing the resonant wavelength characterization, the proposed sensor can be efficiently used for dual-parameters measurement with promising application prospect and great research reference value.     

Optical fiber strain and temperature sensor based on an in-line Mach–Zehnder interferometer using thin-core fiber

We propose and demonstrate a fiber in-line Mach–Zehnder interferometer using thin-core fibers. This in-line interferometer is composed of a short section of thin-core fiber inserted between two single mode fibers (SMF), and demonstrated as a strain and temperature sensor in this study. A strain sensitivity of ?1.83 pm/με with a measurement range of 0?2000 με, and the temperature sensitivity of ?72.89 pm/°C with a temperature variation of 50 °C are achieved. We also discussed that the influence of strain and temperature change on the relative power ratios among the excited cladding modes in thin-core fibers.     

High sensitivity Mach–Zehnder interferometer sensors based on concatenated ultra-abrupt tapers on thinned fibers

This study proposes a simple, cost-effective method to fabricate fiber-based Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) sensors by concatenating two ultra-abrupt fiber tapers together using a fusion splicer. By concatenating, the taper diameter and length ratio is 1:1 that is much greater than that (1:10) by stretching. The refractive index sensitivity is comparable to the MZI sensors based on long-period fiber grating pairs or stretched fiber taper pairs. The MZI fiber claddings are etched to improve the sensitivity of refractive index measurements. The sensitivity is 664.57 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) for the refractive index ranging from 1.3348 to 1.3558, which is 2–6 times greater than those measured by long period fiber gratings (LPFGs) after sensitivity enhancement.     

Highly sensitive bend sensor based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer using photonic crystal fiber

Optical fiber bend sensor with photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is demonstrated experimentally. The results show that the PCF-based MZI is sensitive to bending with a sensitivity of 3.046 nm/m⁻¹ and is independent on temperature with a sensitivity of 0.0019 nm/°C, making it the best candidate for temperature insensitive bend sensors. To that end, another kind of bend sensor with higher sensitivity of 5.129 nm/m⁻¹ is proposed, which is constructed by combining an LPFG and an MZI with zero offset at the second splice mentioned above.     

一种具有高二阶非线性椭圆芯中空光纤

提出并制造一种新颖的椭圆芯中空光纤,采用热极化方法使其具有高二阶非线性,可用作相位调制器。该光纤在300℃温度、大于1×108 V/m强电场和9cm有效电极长度条件下热极化30min后,产生大的线性电光相移。基于双椭圆芯中空光纤构建一种纤内马赫-曾德尔干涉仪,通过观察干涉条纹的移动来评估相移,最终得到1.16pm/V的高二阶非线性系数和0.52pm/V的线性电光系数。该技术具有简单、灵活的特点,可以用来制作高电光系数器件,降低制作成本,并能进一步提高全光纤器件的集成度。