Work

Optical fiber sensor with enhanced strain sensitivity based on the Vernier effect in a three-FBG cascaded Fabry–Perot configuration

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The Vernier effect has attracted significant attention in the past decade as an effective method for improving measurement sensitivity. In this study, we introduce and validate a sensitivity-enhanced optical fiber strain sensor utilizing cascaded Fabry–Perot interferometers (FPIs), which are constructed by inscribing three fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in series. Experimental results show that the proposed structure provides a strain sensitivity of up to 23.3 pm μ ɛ − 1 , which is approximately 16 times higher than that of the single-sensing FPI, which has a sensitivity of 1.45 pm μ ɛ − 1 . Beyond demonstrating high sensitivity, we systematically analyze the sensor’s detection limit and dynamic range by varying the cavity lengths, highlighting key performance trade-offs. Experimental results show strong agreement with simulations and validate the practical utility of the design. The proposed sensor is simple to fabricate, cost-effective, and well-suited for deployment in low-resource environments or multiplexed sensor networks.

Source: Optical Fiber Technology

Authors: Dhyana C. Bharathan, R. Martijn Wagterveld, Karima Chah, Christophe Caucheteur, Herman L. Offerhaus

Institutions: Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, University of Twente, University of Mons

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Fiber Optic Sensors

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,360