All Fiber Mach–Zehnder Interferometer Based on Intracavity Micro-Waveguide for a Magnetic Field Sensor

Abstract

A magnetic fluid (MF)-based magnetic field sensor with a filling-splicing fiber structure is proposed. The sensor realizes Mach–Zehnder interference by an optical fiber cascade structure consisting of single mode fiber (SMF), multimode fiber (MMF), and single-hole-dual-core fiber (SHDCF). The core in the cladding and the core in the air hole of SHDCF are used as the reference and sensing light path, respectively, and the air hole of SHDCF is filled with magnetic fluid to realize magnetic field measurement based on magnetic controlled refractive index (RI) characteristics. The theoretical feasibility of the proposed sensing structure is verified by Rsoft simulation, the optimized length of SHDCF is determined by optical fiber light transmission experiment, and the SHDCFs are well fused without collapse through the special parameter setting. The results show that the sensitivity of the sensor is −116.1 pm/Gs under a magnetic field of 0~200 Gs with a good long-term operation stability. The proposed sensor has the advantages of high stability, fast response, simple structure, and low cost, which has development potential in the field of miniaturized magnetic field sensing.

Keywords

• optical fiber sensor
• magnetic field sensor
• magnetic fluid
• Mach–Zehnder interferometer