Sensitivity magnification of an interferometric optical fiber sensor with a length-linked virtual reference

Abstract

Here, it is proposed an alternative to magnify the sensitivity of a single optical fiber interferometric sensor up to two orders of magnitude. The method consists of fabricating the sensing interferometer with a specific length whose spectrum is added to that of a virtual interferometer whose length is linked to the sensing interferometer. In this manner, the spectrum of the sensing and virtual interferometers are made to coincide in a maximum or a minimum. The pattern resulting from said sum has a well-defined envelope that is easy to monitor and correlate with the measurand. Thus, the sensor sensitivity can be magnified as desirable. To demonstrate the method, a microscopic Fabry-Perot interferometer was fabricated and tested as temperature sensor. A temperature sensitivity amplification of 124 times was demonstrated experimentally. The method here proposed may pave the way to practical implementation of the Vernier effect with a single interferometer or resonator.