In-Line Fiber Optic Interferometric Sensors in Single-Mode Fibers

Abstract

In-line fiber optic interferometers have attracted intensive attention for their potential sensing applications in refractive index, temperature, pressure and strain measurement, <em>etc</em>. Typical in-line fiber-optic interferometers are of two types: Fabry-Perot interferometers and core-cladding-mode interferometers. It’s known that the in-line fiber optic interferometers based on single-mode fibers can exhibit compact structures, easy fabrication and low cost. In this paper, we review two kinds of typical in-line fiber optic interferometers formed in single-mode fibers fabricated with different post-processing techniques. Also, some recently reported specific technologies for fabricating such fiber optic interferometers are presented.

Keywords

• in-line fiber-optic sensor
• Fabry-Perot interferometer
• core-cladding-mode interferometer
• Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
• Michelson interferometer