A curvature sensor based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer is proposed. A capillary tube of silica is fusion spliced between two single mode fibers, producing a Fabry-Perot cavity. The light propagates in air, when passing through the capillary tube. Two different cavities are subjected to curvature and temperature. The cavity with shorter length shows insensitivity to both measurands. The larger cavity shows two operating regions for curvature measurement, where a linear response is shown, with a maximum sensitivity of 18.77pm/m^-1 for the high curvature radius range. When subjected to temperature, the sensing head produces a similar response for different curvature radius, with a sensitivity of 0.87pm/°C.

Date Published: 30 May 2016
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 9916, Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors, 991603 (30 May 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2235215

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9916:
Sixth European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors
Elfed Lewis, Editor(s)