Opto-mechanical study of an optical fiber sensor based on polarimetric effects

Abstract

In this paper, we studied the structure of a sensor consisting of single-mode optical fiber, inserted between two thin steel ribbons. The measuring principle is based on the analysis of the polarization modulation under external load. The sensor, thus conceived, was mechanically and optically tackled. Improvements of the initial device based on the introduction of a second optical fiber in parallel were made to increase the sensitivity of the sensor.

The transfer function of the sensor as equation shows the fringes number of polarization at the fiber end versus the applied load to the sensor can be used directly by an user, for opto-geometric characteristics fixed. In other words, the model developed in this work provides a sizing tool allowing to user to get the best compromise metrological to solve a given problem of instrumentation.

Keywords: Fiber optic sensors, Polarization, Elasto-optical coupling, Mechanical modeling