Cascaded-Cavity Fabry-Perot Interferometric Gas Pressure Sensor based on Vernier Effect

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 18; no. 11; p. 3677
• Main Authors: Chen, Peng, Dai, Yutang, Zhang, Dongsheng, Wen, Xiaoyan, Yang, Minghong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 29.10.2018; MDPI AG
• Subjects: extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer; femtosecond laser; gas pressure; Vernier effect; Vernier effect; extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer; femtosecond laser; gas pressure
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/S18113677

An extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) composed of double fiber FP cavities in a glass capillary tube to generate Vernier effect has been fabricated and employed for gas pressure sensing. A lead-in single-mode fiber (LSMF) and a reflective single-mode fiber (RSMF) were inserted into the capillary tube to form a FP cavity. Femtosecond (fs) laser was used to ablate openings on a capillary tube for gas passage to the FP cavity. A fusion hole was also drilled on the end face of a SMF by fs laser. The sensitivity of the sensor is enhanced due to Vernier effect. Experimental results show that the sensitivity was as high as 86.64 nm/MPa in the range of 0~0.6 MPa, which is 32.8 times larger than that of an open-cavity EFPI sensor without Vernier effect. The temperature cross-sensitivity of the sensor was measured to be about 5.18 KPa/°C. The proposed sensor was characterized by its high sensitivity, compact structure and ease of fabrication, and would have extensive application prospects in gas sensing fields.