Inexpensive optical fiber Fabry–Perot microcavity with controllable length for sensitive temperature measurements

Abstract

A simply fabricated, highly sensitive, and inexpensive optical fiber temperature sensor is reported with a Fabry–Perot (FP) microcavity of controlled length. The microcavity with controllable length is fabricated by single-mode fiber (SMF) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for temperature sensing. After the PDMS is cured, the SMF is connected to the supercontinuum light source (SCLS) and the optical spectrometer analyzer (OSA) for online observation of the reflection spectrum. The micro-displacement platform is used to pull the SMF to form an air cavity. After the air cavity is stabilized, ultraviolet (UV) activated glue is used for packaging outside the PDMS. The FP microcavity is formed by the end face of the SMF and the face of PDMS. The length of the FP microcavity can be controlled online by the micro-displacement platform to a minimum of 15 µm. The free spectral range (FSR) may reach 74.8 nm and the interference fringe contrast (IFC) is up to 19.8 dB to allow sensitive measurements across a wide temperature range. The experiments demonstrate a high temperature sensitivity of 5.388 nm/°C from 33 to 93 °C with high repeatability and linearity (R 2=0.9937). Stability experiments showed that the maximum changes in wavelength and intensity are only 45 pm and 0.035 dB, respectively. It is anticipated that the easily constructed, compact, and inexpensive fiber-optic temperature sensor will be employed in practical applications.