Compact Harmonic Vernier Sensor Based on an In-Fiber FPI with Three Reflector System for Simultaneous Gas Pressure and Temperature Measurement

Abstract

In this work, we proposed a sensitivity-enhanced temperature sensor, a compact harmonic Vernier sensor based on an in-fiber Fabry–Perot Interferometer (FPI), with three reflective interfaces for the measurement of gas temperature and pressure. FPI consists of air and silica cavities formulated by single-mode optical fiber (SMF) and several short hollow core fiber segments. One of the cavity lengths is deliberately made larger to excite several harmonics of the Vernier effect that have different sensitivity magnifications to the gas pressure and temperature. The spectral curve could be demodulated using a digital bandpass filter to extract the interference spectrum according to the spatial frequencies of resonance cavities. The findings indicate that the material and structural properties of the resonance cavities have an impact on the respective temperature sensitivity and pressure sensitivity. The measured pressure sensitivity and temperature sensitivity of the proposed sensor are 114 nm/MPa and 176 pm/°C, respectively. Therefore, the proposed sensor combines ease of fabrication and high sensitivity, making it great potential for practical sensing measurements.

Keywords

• optical fiber sensor
• Vernier effect
• gas pressure and temperature
• Fabry–Perot interferometer