Optical Fiber Sensors: Working Principle, Applications, and Limitations

TLDR

Fiber‑optic technology originated for data transmission and telecommunications, but sensors based on fiber optics have rapidly expanded due to their high performance and ability to operate in remote, harsh environments, offering cost‑effectiveness, miniaturization, light weight, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. This review surveys fiber‑optic sensors based on Bragg gratings, long‑period gratings, interferometers, surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence, and light diffusion. The review discusses the sensing principles, fabrication methods, applications, advantages and disadvantages, and recent progress in environmental, industrial, and biomedical fields for each class of fiber‑optic sensors. The review highlights techniques to overcome sensing challenges and summarizes prospects for future development of fiber‑optic sensors.

Abstract

Fiber‐optic technology emerged originally for applications in data transmission and telecommunications. However, sensors based on fiber‐optics have been developed rapidly because of their excellent sensing performances and capability to function in remote and harsh environments. The usage of fiber‐optic sensors has flourished in many fields over the past 30 years due to the fiber‐optic's inherent advantages: cost‐effectiveness, miniaturized size, light weight, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. This work reviews the fiber‐optic sensors based on Bragg gratings, long period gratings, interferometers, surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence, and light diffusion. Brief theory of sensing principle, fabrication method, applications, advantages and disadvantages of the different fiber‐optic sensors, are addressed. Recent progress in numerous sensing fields, including environmental, industrial, and biomedical are discussed for each class of fiber‐optic sensors. The review highlights the methods and techniques used to overcome the sensing challenges. Finally, prospect of future developments of fiber‐optic sensors is summarized.