Experimental Demonstration to Enhance the Curvature Sensitivity of a Fiber Mach–Zehnder Interferometer Based on a Waist-Enlarged Technique Using Polymer
Laura G. Martinez-Ramirez,
Iván Hernández-Romano,
Cipriano Guzmán-Cano,
Sigifredo Marrujo-García,
Arturo A. Fernandez-Jaramillo,
Julian M. Estudillo-Ayala,
Roberto Rojas-Laguna,
Juan M. Sierra-Hernandez
Affiliations
Laura G. Martinez-Ramirez
Electronics Department, DICIS, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca 36885, Mexico
Iván Hernández-Romano
CONAHCYT-Electronics Department, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca 36885, Mexico
Cipriano Guzmán-Cano
Electronics Department, DICIS, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca 36885, Mexico
Sigifredo Marrujo-García
Electronics Department, DICIS, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca 36885, Mexico
Arturo A. Fernandez-Jaramillo
Unidad Académica de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Sinaloa, Carretera Municipal Libre Mazatlán Higueras Km 3, Col. Genaro Estrada, Mazatlán 82199, Mexico
Julian M. Estudillo-Ayala
Electronics Department, DICIS, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca 36885, Mexico
Roberto Rojas-Laguna
Electronics Department, DICIS, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca 36885, Mexico
Juan M. Sierra-Hernandez
Electronics Department, DICIS, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca 36885, Mexico
A fiber curvature sensor based on a Mach–Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) constructed using the waist-enlarged technique to splice a segment of non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZ-DSF) between two segments of single mode fiber (SMF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. All fabricated sensors presented an improvement in their curvature sensitivity when they were coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer. The sensor that exhibited the best performance was 6.5 cm long, with a curvature sensitivity of 8.27 nm/m−1 in a range of 0.69 m−1 (from 1.08 to 1.77 m−1). This sensitivity is 3.22 times higher than that of the sensor without polymer. Additionally, the sensor coated with polymer exhibited cross-sensitivity that is 2.23 times smaller than the sensor without polymer. The easy fabrication and notable performance of this device makes it alluring for structural health monitoring.
