Mumtaz, F.; Roman, M.; Zhang, B.; Abbas, L.G.; Ashraf, M.A.; Dai, Y.; Huang, J. Highly Sensitive Strain Sensor by Utilizing a Tunable Air Reflector and the Vernier Effect. Sensors2022, 22, 7557.
Mumtaz, F.; Roman, M.; Zhang, B.; Abbas, L.G.; Ashraf, M.A.; Dai, Y.; Huang, J. Highly Sensitive Strain Sensor by Utilizing a Tunable Air Reflector and the Vernier Effect. Sensors 2022, 22, 7557.
Mumtaz, F.; Roman, M.; Zhang, B.; Abbas, L.G.; Ashraf, M.A.; Dai, Y.; Huang, J. Highly Sensitive Strain Sensor by Utilizing a Tunable Air Reflector and the Vernier Effect. Sensors2022, 22, 7557.
Mumtaz, F.; Roman, M.; Zhang, B.; Abbas, L.G.; Ashraf, M.A.; Dai, Y.; Huang, J. Highly Sensitive Strain Sensor by Utilizing a Tunable Air Reflector and the Vernier Effect. Sensors 2022, 22, 7557.
Abstract
A highly sensitive strain sensor based on tunable cascaded Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Cascaded FPIs consist of a sensing FPI and a reference FPI which effectively generate the Vernier Effect (VE). The sensing FPI comprises a hollow core fiber (HCF) segment sandwiched between single-mode fibers (SMFs), and the reference FPI consists of a tunable air reflector, which is constituted by a computer programable fiber holding block to adjust the desired cavity length. Simulation results predict the dispersion characteristics of modes carried by HCF. The sensor’s parameters are designed corresponding to a narrow bandwidth range, i.e., 1530 nm to 1610 nm. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed sensor exhibits optimum strain sensitivity of 23.9 pm/με in the range of 0 to 3000 με which is 13.73 times higher than the single sensing FPI strain sensitivity of 1.74 pm/με. The strain sensitivity of the sensor can be further enhanced by extending the source bandwidth. The proposed sensor exhibits ultra-low temperature sensitivity of 0.49 pm/°C in the wider temperature range of 25 °C to 135 °C, providing good isolation for eliminating cross-talk between strain and temperature. The sensor is very robust, cost-effective, easy to manufacture, repeatable, and shows a highly linear and stable response in the wider range of axial strain. Based on the sensor’s performance, it may suit plenty of practical applications in the real sensing world
Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
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