Calibration of accelerometers by use of an optical fibre vibration sensor

Abstract

This paper describes a new method for the calibration of accelerometers by use of an optical fibre vibration sensor. In this method light from a tungsten halogen lamp is made to pass through an optical fibre, the exit end of which is mounted on the vibration exciter together with the accelerometer under calibration. The emergent light is detected by a position-sensitive differential photodetector, the output of which is modulated by sinusoidal excitation. The measured output can be correlated to the displacement amplitude using the displacement versus differential voltage characteristic of the sensor. The measured values of the displacement amplitude agree well with the results obtained by a Michelson interferometer arranged side by side. The main advantages of the proposed method are simplicity, wide dynamic and frequency ranges, linearity and low noise.