Low-cost fiber-tip fabry-perot interferometer and its application for transverse load sensing

Abstract

A Fabry-Perot interferometer sensor based on a fiber-tip bubble-structure micro-cavity is proposed, fabricated, and demonstrated for transverse load sensing. The micro-cavity is fabricated by using arc discharge at the end of a multimode fiber which has been processed with chemical etching. A transverse load sensitivity of 3.64 nm/N and a relative low temperature sensitivity of about 2 pm/°C are experimentally demonstrated for the proposed fiber-tip bubble-structure micro-cavity sensor. The sensor has the advantages of low-cost, ease of fabrication and compact size, which make it a promising candidate for transverse load sensing in harsh environments.