A Review of Sensitivity Enhancement in Interferometer-Based Fiber Sensors

Overview

Journal Sensors (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2022 Apr 12

PMID 35408120

Authors

Zengrun Wen

Ziqing Guan

Jingru Dong

Hongxin Li

Yangjian Cai

Song Gao

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Optical fiber sensors based on an interferometer structure play a significant role in monitoring physical, chemical, and biological parameters in natural environments. However, sensors with high-sensitivity measurement still present their own challenges. This paper deduces and summarizes the methods of sensitivity enhancement in interferometer based fiber optical sensors, including the derivation of the sensing principles, key characteristics, and recently-reported applications.The modal coupling interferometer is taken as an example to derive the five terms related to the sensitivity: (1) the wavelength-dependent difference of phase between two modes/arms ∂ϕd/∂λ, (2) the sensor length Lw,A, (3) refractive index difference between two modes/arms Δneff,A, (4) sensing parameter dependent length change α, and (5) sensing parameter dependent refractive index change γ. The research papers in the literature that modulate these terms to enhance the sensing sensitivity are reviewed in the paper.

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PMID: 38284054 PMC: 10809379. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c03970.

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