Side-hole two-core microstructured optical fiber for hydrostatic pressure sensing

Abstract

A novel side-hole two-core microstructured optical fiber (STMOF) is proposed for hydrostatic pressure sensing. The two solid fiber cores are surrounded by a few small air holes and two large air holes, and are separated by one small air hole in the center of the cross section of the STMOF. The two large air holes that we called side holes essentially provide a built-in transducing mechanism to enhance the pressure-induced index change, which ensures the high sensitivity of the hydrostatic pressure sensor based on the STMOF. Mode coupling between the two fiber cores of the STMOF has been investigated, which provides a pressure-dependent transmission spectrum by injecting a broadband light into one fiber core of the STMOF on one side and detecting output spectrum on another fiber core on the other side. Our simulations show that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the hydrostatic pressure applied on the STMOF and the peak wavelength shift of the transmission spectrum. A hydrostatic pressure sensor based on an 8 cm STMOF has a sensitivity of 0.111 nm/Mpa for the measurement range from 0 Mpa to 200 Mpa. The performances of hydrostatic pressure sensors based on STMOFs with different structure parameters are presented.