Sensitivity optimization of U-shaped fiber optics based on the Taguchi method

Abstract

The structure of macrobending fiber optics is an ideal structure for constructing fiber optic sensors. This study presents a new design and implementation of U-shaped fiber optics. The basic geometric parameters of U-shaped fiber optics, such as dimension size or curve radius, are analyzed. The Taguchi method was used to optimize the effects of the control and noise factors with respect to dimension size, loop, wavelength, and core size. The control factors were varied at different levels to achieve a novel sensitivity response optimization of the wavelength and core size. The quality characteristics of the signal-to-noise ratio (larger-the-better characteristics) were used to determine the effect of the control parameters in the data analysis. The data of the sensitivity response was analyzed to predict the performance of the U-shaped fiber optics. Results indicate that, by using the Taguchi method, the best control factor setting involves 2.5 cm × 1.5 cm (dimension size) and 1550 nm (wavelength). The percentage contribution of wavelength is the highest at 67.17%, followed by dimension size (13.31%) and number of loops (11.72%) for the fiber optic core size of 50–9–50 μm. For the 9 μm single-mode fiber optics, the corresponding percentages are 61.48%, 16.64%, and 12.81% for wavelength, dimension size, and number of loops, respectively. The Taguchi methodology is suitable for designing sensor geometry.