Ultra-highly sensitive gas pressure sensor based on dual side-hole fiber interferometers with Vernier effect

Abstract

We have presented and demonstrated a fiber optic gas pressure sensor with ultra-high sensitivity based on Vernier effect. The sensor is composed of two integrated parallel Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) which are fabricated by fusion splicing a short section of dual side-hole fiber (DSHF) in between two short pieces of multimode fibers (MMFs). Femtosecond laser is applied for cutting off part of the MMF and drilling openings on one air hole of the DSHF to achieve magnified gas pressure measurement by Vernier effect. Experimental results show that the gas pressure sensitivity can be enhanced to about -60 nm/MPa in the range of 0-0.8 MPa. In addition, the structure possesses a low temperature cross-sensitivity of about 0.55 KPa/°C. This presented sensor has practically value in gas pressure detection, environmental monitoring and other industrial applications.