Highly sensitive torsion sensor based on helical eccentric dual-core fiber Michelson interferometer

Abstract

An optical fiber torsion sensor was academically put forward and experimentally demonstrated by applying a Michelson interferometer (MI) based on a helical eccentric dual core fiber (HEDCF). The sensor consists of an eccentric dual core fiber (EDCF), a taper, and a helical structure based on the EDCF. Since there is a large interval between a centric core and an eccentric core of the EDCF, the helical structure can greatly improve the torsion sensitivity of the sensor. When the twisting direction is consistent with the pre-twisting direction, the optical path difference (OPD) of MI negative increases during the twisting process, and the spectral resonance wavelength shifts blue. Experimental results show that the greater the degree of helical addition, the higher the torsional sensitivity. The torsion sensitivity can reach as high as −7.01 nm/(rad/m) in clockwise (CW) direction in the range of 0–9.595 rad/m. Moreover, the satisfactory sensitivity, stable structure and small temperature crosstalk, let it a valuable select in torsion sensing domain, and is promising to be useful for broad applications across engineering fields.