Fiber in-line Fabry–Pérot interferometer for simultaneous measurement of reflective index and temperature

A fiber in-line Fabry-Perot interferometer is presented. The sensing head consists of a micro ellipsoidal air cavity and a small section of solid-core photonic crystal fiber. The reflective index （RI） and temperature can be interrogated simultaneously through a fast Fourier transform and by tracing the dip wavelength shift of the reflective spectrum. Experimental results show that the RI amplitude and wavelength sensitivities are 5.30/ RIU and 8.46 × 10-1 nm/RIU in the range from 1.34 to 1.43, and the temperature amplitude and wavelength sensitivities are 6.8 × 10-4/℃ and 2.48 × 10-3 nm/℃ in the range from 15℃ to 75℃, respectively. Easy fabrication, a simple system, and simultaneous measurement make it appropriate for aluM-parameter sensing application.

Measurement of small wavelength shifts based on total internal reflection heterodyne interferometry

This Letter presents a method of an optical sensor for measuring wavelength shifts. The system consists of a diffraction grating and a total internal reflection heterodyne interferometer. As a heterodyne light beam strikes a grating, the first-order diffraction beam is generated. The light penetrates into a total internal reflection prism at an angle larger than the critical angle. A wavelength variation will affect the diffractive angle of the first-order beam, thus inducing a phase difference variation of the light beam emerging from the total internal reflections inside the trapezoid prism. Both the experimental and theoretical results reveal that, for the first-order diffractive beam, the sensitivity and resolution levels are superior to 5°/nm and 0.006 nm, respectively, in the range of wavelength from 632 to 634 nm, and are superior to 3.1°/nm and 0.0095 nm in the range from 632 to 637 nm. For the theoretical simulation of the fourth-order diffractive beam, they are superior to 6.4 deg ∕nm and 0.0047 nm in the range from 632 to 637 nm.