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Distributed and Single-Point Fiber Optic Sensors: Applications and Technology

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 October 2024) | Viewed by 17859

Special Issue Editors

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
Interests: fiber optic sensors; novel photonic/microwave micro/nano materials; structures; devices and sensors; ultrafast laser machining; processing and characterization of micro/nano structures; materials and devices; sensors and instrumentation for applications in harsh environments; microwave-photonic sensing; imaging and spectroscopy; optical biomedical imaging and sensing
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Guest Editor
The Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Interests: photonic and microwave sensors; instrumentation for applications in energy; intelligent infrastructure; clean environment; biomedical sensing/imaging; national security

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fiber optic sensors have been widely used for the accurate measurement of various physical, chemical, and biological quantities, presenting with many well-known advantages. Various types of single-point and distributed fiber optic sensors have been reported in the last three decades, with some of them having been successfully commercialized. Therefore, further extension in the fields of application of fiber optic sensors is expected. This Special Issue aims to assemble original research and review articles concerning recent developments and applications of fiber optic sensors, including, but not limited to:

  • Distributed fiber optic sensors;
  • Fiber Bragg gratings;
  • Optical fiber interferometers;
  • Optical fiber resonators;
  • Optical fiber spectroscopy;
  • Sensors based on specialty optical fibers;
  • Multiplexed or quasidistributed optical fiber sensors;
  • Active optical fibers for sensing applications;
  • Integrated optics for sensing;
  • Microwave photonic sensors;
  • Fiber optic sensors for physical, chemical, and biological measurements;
  • Fiber optic sensor applications: civil structures, aerospace, oil and gas, medical, utilities, environmental monitoring, security, military and defense, steel industry, etc.

Dr. Jie Huang
Prof. Dr. Hai Xiao
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 1515 KiB  
Article
Temperature and Lateral Pressure Sensing Using a Sagnac Sensor Based on Cascaded Tilted Grating and Polarization-Maintaining Fibers
by Yifan Liu, Yujian Li, Pin Xu and Changyuan Yu
Sensors 2024, 24(21), 6779; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24216779 - 22 Oct 2024
Viewed by 450
Abstract
This study introduces a Sagnac Interferometer (SI) fiber sensor that integrates Polarization-Maintaining Fibers (PMFs) with a Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating (TFBG) for the dual-parameter measurement of strain and lateral pressure. By incorporating a 6° TFBG with PMFs into the SI sensor, its sensitivity [...] Read more.
This study introduces a Sagnac Interferometer (SI) fiber sensor that integrates Polarization-Maintaining Fibers (PMFs) with a Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating (TFBG) for the dual-parameter measurement of strain and lateral pressure. By incorporating a 6° TFBG with PMFs into the SI sensor, its sensitivity is significantly enhanced, enabling advanced multi-parameter sensing capabilities. The sensor demonstrates a temperature sensitivity of −1.413 nm/°C and a lateral pressure sensitivity of −4.264 dB/kPa, as validated by repeated experiments. The results exhibit excellent repeatability and high precision, underscoring the sensor’s potential for robust and accurate multi-parameter sensing applications. Full article
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27 pages, 6340 KiB  
Article
Design and Evaluation of Real-Time Data Storage and Signal Processing in a Long-Range Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) Using Cloud-Based Services
by Abdusomad Nur and Yonas Muanenda
Sensors 2024, 24(18), 5948; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24185948 - 13 Sep 2024
Viewed by 813
Abstract
In cloud-based Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) sensor data management, we are confronted with two primary challenges. First, the development of efficient storage mechanisms capable of handling the enormous volume of data generated by these sensors poses a challenge. To solve this issue, we [...] Read more.
In cloud-based Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) sensor data management, we are confronted with two primary challenges. First, the development of efficient storage mechanisms capable of handling the enormous volume of data generated by these sensors poses a challenge. To solve this issue, we propose a method to address the issue of handling the large amount of data involved in DAS by designing and implementing a pipeline system to efficiently send the big data to DynamoDB in order to fully use the low latency of the DynamoDB data storage system for a benchmark DAS scheme for performing continuous monitoring over a 100 km range at a meter-scale spatial resolution. We employ the DynamoDB functionality of Amazon Web Services (AWS), which allows highly expandable storage capacity with latency of access of a few tens of milliseconds. The different stages of DAS data handling are performed in a pipeline, and the scheme is optimized for high overall throughput with reduced latency suitable for concurrent, real-time event extraction as well as the minimal storage of raw and intermediate data. In addition, the scalability of the DynamoDB-based data storage scheme is evaluated for linear and nonlinear variations of number of batches of access and a wide range of data sample sizes corresponding to sensing ranges of 1–110 km. The results show latencies of 40 ms per batch of access with low standard deviations of a few milliseconds, and latency per sample decreases for increasing the sample size, paving the way toward the development of scalable, cloud-based data storage services integrating additional post-processing for more precise feature extraction. The technique greatly simplifies DAS data handling in key application areas requiring continuous, large-scale measurement schemes. In addition, the processing of raw traces in a long-distance DAS for real-time monitoring requires the careful design of computational resources to guarantee requisite dynamic performance. Now, we will focus on the design of a system for the performance evaluation of cloud computing systems for diverse computations on DAS data. This system is aimed at unveiling valuable insights into performance metrics and operational efficiencies of computations on the data in the cloud, which will provide a deeper understanding of the system’s performance, identify potential bottlenecks, and suggest areas for improvement. To achieve this, we employ the CloudSim framework. The analysis reveals that the virtual machine (VM) performance decreases significantly the processing time with more capable VMs, influenced by Processing Elements (PEs) and Million Instructions Per Second (MIPS). The results also reflect that, although a larger number of computations is required as the fiber length increases, with the subsequent increase in processing time, the overall speed of computation is still suitable for continuous real-time monitoring. We also see that VMs with lower performance in terms of processing speed and number of CPUs have more inconsistent processing times compared to those with higher performance, while not incurring significantly higher prices. Additionally, the impact of VM parameters on computation time is explored, highlighting the importance of resource optimization in the DAS system design for efficient performance. The study also observes a notable trend in processing time, showing a significant decrease for every additional 50,000 columns processed as the length of the fiber increases. This finding underscores the efficiency gains achieved with larger computational loads, indicating improved system performance and capacity utilization as the DAS system processes more extensive datasets. Full article
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10 pages, 9832 KiB  
Article
High-Resolution and Large-Dynamic Range Fiber-Optic Sensors Based on Dual-Mode Direct Spectrum Interrogation Method
by Min Zhou, Zhe Zhang, Qingyue Cui, Qingdian Lin, Jun Yu, Xiaoyang Guo, Cangtao Zhou and Shuangchen Ruan
Sensors 2024, 24(12), 3996; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24123996 - 20 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 900
Abstract
Conventional optical fiber temperature/strain sensors often have to make compromises between the resolution and the dynamic range. Here we present a new method that meets the measurement requirements for both high resolution and large dynamic range. A high-quality optical fiber Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) [...] Read more.
Conventional optical fiber temperature/strain sensors often have to make compromises between the resolution and the dynamic range. Here we present a new method that meets the measurement requirements for both high resolution and large dynamic range. A high-quality optical fiber Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) constructed using a pair of chirped fiber Bragg gratings is employed as the sensor and a dual-mode direct spectrum interrogation method is proposed to identify the small drift of external temperature or strain. As a proof-of-concept illustration, a temperature resolution of 0.2 °C within 30–130 °C is demonstrated. For strain sensing, the resolution can be 10 µε within 0–1000 µε. The measurement resolution can be improved further by routinely increasing the reflectivity of the CFBG and the cavity length and the sensor can also be mass-produced. This new sensing schema not only resolves the conflict between the resolution and the dynamic range of fiber-optic temperature/strain sensors but can also be extended to other sensors and measurands. Full article
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17 pages, 1206 KiB  
Article
Polar Decomposition of Jones Matrix and Mueller Matrix of Coherent Rayleigh Backscattering in Single-Mode Fibers
by Hui Dong, Hailiang Zhang and Dora Juan Juan Hu
Sensors 2024, 24(6), 1760; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24061760 - 8 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1016
Abstract
The Jones matrix and the Mueller matrix of the coherent Rayleigh backscattering (RB) in single-mode fibers (SMFs) have been derived recently. It has been shown that both matrices depict two polarization effects—birefringence and polarization-dependent loss (PDL)—although the SMF under investigation is purely birefringent, [...] Read more.
The Jones matrix and the Mueller matrix of the coherent Rayleigh backscattering (RB) in single-mode fibers (SMFs) have been derived recently. It has been shown that both matrices depict two polarization effects—birefringence and polarization-dependent loss (PDL)—although the SMF under investigation is purely birefringent, having no PDL. In this paper, we aim to perform a theoretical analysis of both matrices using polar decomposition. The derived sub-Jones/Mueller matrices, representing birefringence and PDL, respectively, can be used to investigate the polarization properties of the coherent RB. As an application of the theoretical results, we use the derived formulas to investigate the polarization properties of the optical signals in phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (φ-OTDR). For the first time, to our knowledge, by using the derived birefringence–Jones matrix, the common optical phase of the optical signal in φ-OTDR is obtained as the function of the forward phase and birefringence distributions. By using the derived PDL–Mueller matrix, the optical intensity of the optical signal in φ-OTDR is obtained as the function of the forward phase and birefringence distributions as well as the input state of polarization (SOP). Further theoretical predictions show that, in φ-OTDR, the common optical phase depends on only the local birefringence in the first half of the fiber section, which is occupied by the sensing pulse, irrelevant of the input SOP. However, the intensity of the φ-OTDR signal is not a local parameter, which depends on the input SOP and the birefringence distribution along the entire fiber section before the optical pulse. Moreover, the PDL measured in φ-OTDR is theoretically proven to be a local parameter, which is determined by the local birefringence and local optical phase distributions. Full article
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13 pages, 3265 KiB  
Article
Fabry–Perot Cavity Optimization for Absolute Strain Sensing Using Finite Element Analysis
by João M. B. Pereira, Paula M. P. Gouvea, Arthur M. B. Braga, Isabel C. S. Carvalho and Antonio C. Bruno
Sensors 2023, 23(21), 8785; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23218785 - 28 Oct 2023
Viewed by 959
Abstract
The finite element method (FEM) was used to investigate the optical–mechanical behavior of a Fabry–Perot Interferometer (FPI) composed of a capillary segment spliced between two sections of standard optical fiber. The developed FEM model was validated by comparing it with theory and with [...] Read more.
The finite element method (FEM) was used to investigate the optical–mechanical behavior of a Fabry–Perot Interferometer (FPI) composed of a capillary segment spliced between two sections of standard optical fiber. The developed FEM model was validated by comparing it with theory and with previously published experimental data. The model was then used to show that the absolute strain on the host substrate is usually smaller than the strain measurement obtained with the sensor. Finally, the FEM model was used to propose a cavity geometry that can be produced with repeatability and that yields the correct absolute strain experienced by the host substrate, without requiring previous strain calibration. Full article
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13 pages, 2717 KiB  
Article
Polarization Properties of Coherently Superposed Rayleigh Backscattered Light in Single-Mode Fibers
by Hui Dong, Hailiang Zhang and Dora Juan Juan Hu
Sensors 2023, 23(18), 7769; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23187769 - 8 Sep 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1229
Abstract
The properties of the state of polarization (SOP) and the degree of polarization (DOP) of Rayleigh backscattered light (RBL) in single-mode fibers (SMF) are investigated theoretically and experimentally when the incident probe is a perfectly coherent continuous-wave (CW) light. It is concluded that [...] Read more.
The properties of the state of polarization (SOP) and the degree of polarization (DOP) of Rayleigh backscattered light (RBL) in single-mode fibers (SMF) are investigated theoretically and experimentally when the incident probe is a perfectly coherent continuous-wave (CW) light. It is concluded that the instantaneous DOP of the coherently superposed RBL is always 100%, and the instantaneous SOP is determined by the distributions of the birefringence and the optical phase along the SMF. Therefore, the instantaneous SOP of the coherently superposed RBL does not have a constant relationship with the SOP of the incident CW probe. Furthermore, the instantaneous SOP varies randomly with time because the optical phase is very sensitive to ambient temperature and vibration even in the lab environment. Further theoretical derivation and experimental verification demonstrate, for the first time, that the temporally averaged SOP of the coherently superposed RBL has a simple constant relationship with the SOP of the incident CW probe, and the temporally averaged DOP is 1/3 in an SMF with low and randomly distributed birefringence. The derived formulas and obtained findings can be used to enhance the modelling and improve the performances of phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry and other Rayleigh backscattering based fiber-optic sensors. Full article
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7 pages, 1871 KiB  
Communication
Fs-Laser Fabricated Miniature Fabry–Perot Interferometer in a No-Core Fiber for High-Temperature Applications
by Chen Zhu, Osamah Alsalman and Jie Huang
Sensors 2023, 23(18), 7754; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23187754 - 8 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1404
Abstract
This paper reports a fiber in-line Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI) fabricated in a no-core fiber using the direct femtosecond laser writing technique for high-temperature sensing applications. Two in-line reflectors are directly inscribed in a no-core fiber to construct a low-finesse FPI. Fringe visibility greater [...] Read more.
This paper reports a fiber in-line Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI) fabricated in a no-core fiber using the direct femtosecond laser writing technique for high-temperature sensing applications. Two in-line reflectors are directly inscribed in a no-core fiber to construct a low-finesse FPI. Fringe visibility greater than 10 dB is obtained from the reflection spectra of the fabricated no-core fiber FPIs. Temperature responses of a prototype no-core fiber FPI are characterized up to 1000 °C. The proposed configuration is compact and easy to fabricate, making it attractive for sensing applications in high-temperature harsh environments. Full article
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14 pages, 9457 KiB  
Article
Measurement of the Acoustic Relaxation Absorption Spectrum of CO2 Using a Distributed Bragg Reflector Fiber Laser
by Kun Shen, Jixian Yuan, Min Li, Xiaoyan Wen and Haifei Lu
Sensors 2023, 23(10), 4740; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23104740 - 14 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1472
Abstract
Reconstruction of the acoustic relaxation absorption curve is a powerful approach to ultrasonic gas sensing, but it requires knowledge of a series of ultrasonic absorptions at various frequencies around the effective relaxation frequency. An ultrasonic transducer is the most widely deployed sensor for [...] Read more.
Reconstruction of the acoustic relaxation absorption curve is a powerful approach to ultrasonic gas sensing, but it requires knowledge of a series of ultrasonic absorptions at various frequencies around the effective relaxation frequency. An ultrasonic transducer is the most widely deployed sensor for ultrasonic wave propagation measurement and works only at a fixed frequency or in a specific environment like water, so a large number of ultrasonic transducers operating at various frequencies are required to recover an acoustic absorption curve with a relative large bandwidth, which cannot suit large-scale practical applications. This paper proposes a wideband ultrasonic sensor using a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) fiber laser for gas concentration detection through acoustic relaxation absorption curve reconstruction. With a relative wide and flat frequency response, the DBR fiber laser sensor measures and restores a full acoustic relaxation absorption spectrum of CO2 using a decompression gas chamber between 0.1 and 1 atm to accommodate the main molecular relaxation processes, and interrogates with a non-equilibrium Mach-Zehnder interferometer (NE-MZI) to gain a sound pressure sensitivity of −45.4 dB. The measurement error of the acoustic relaxation absorption spectrum is less than 1.32%. Full article
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13 pages, 1407 KiB  
Article
A Machine Learning Specklegram Wavemeter (MaSWave) Based on a Short Section of Multimode Fiber as the Dispersive Element
by Ogbole C. Inalegwu, Rex E. Gerald II and Jie Huang
Sensors 2023, 23(10), 4574; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23104574 - 9 May 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1857
Abstract
Wavemeters are very important for precise and accurate measurements of both pulses and continuous-wave optical sources. Conventional wavemeters employ gratings, prisms, and other wavelength-sensitive devices in their design. Here, we report a simple and low-cost wavemeter based on a section of multimode fiber [...] Read more.
Wavemeters are very important for precise and accurate measurements of both pulses and continuous-wave optical sources. Conventional wavemeters employ gratings, prisms, and other wavelength-sensitive devices in their design. Here, we report a simple and low-cost wavemeter based on a section of multimode fiber (MMF). The concept is to correlate the multimodal interference pattern (i.e., speckle patterns or specklegrams) at the end face of an MMF with the wavelength of the input light source. Through a series of experiments, specklegrams from the end face of an MMF as captured by a CCD camera (acting as a low-cost interrogation unit) were analyzed using a convolutional neural network (CNN) model. The developed machine learning specklegram wavemeter (MaSWave) can accurately map specklegrams of wavelengths up to 1 pm resolution when employing a 0.1 m long MMF. Moreover, the CNN was trained with several categories of image datasets (from 10 nm to 1 pm wavelength shifts). In addition, analysis for different step-index and graded-index MMF types was carried out. The work shows how further robustness to the effects of environmental changes (mainly vibrations and temperature changes) can be achieved at the expense of decreased wavelength shift resolution, by employing a shorter length MMF section (e.g., 0.02 m long MMF). In summary, this work demonstrates how a machine learning model can be used for the analysis of specklegrams in the design of a wavemeter. Full article
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12 pages, 3648 KiB  
Communication
A Fabry–Perot Sensor with Cascaded Polymer Films Based on Vernier Effect for Simultaneous Measurement of Relative Humidity and Temperature
by Teng Zhang, Qun Han, Zhizhuang Liang, Junfeng Jiang and Zhenzhou Cheng
Sensors 2023, 23(5), 2800; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23052800 - 3 Mar 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2405
Abstract
In this paper, fiber sensor based on Vernier effect for simultaneous measurement of relative humidity (RH) and temperature is proposed. The sensor is fabricated by coating two kinds of ultraviolet (UV) glue with different refractive indexes (RI) and thicknesses on the end face [...] Read more.
In this paper, fiber sensor based on Vernier effect for simultaneous measurement of relative humidity (RH) and temperature is proposed. The sensor is fabricated by coating two kinds of ultraviolet (UV) glue with different refractive indexes (RI) and thicknesses on the end face of a fiber patch cord. The thicknesses of two films are controlled to generate the Vernier effect. The inner film is formed by a cured lower-RI UV glue. The exterior film is formed by a cured higher-RI UV glue, of which thickness is much thinner than the inner film. Through the analysis of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the reflective spectrum, the Vernier effect is formed by the inner lower-RI polymer cavity and the cavity composed of both polymer films. By calibrating the RH and temperature response of two peaks on the envelope of the reflection spectrum, simultaneous measurements of RH and temperature are realized by solving a set of quadratic equations. Experimental results show that the highest RH and temperature sensitivities of the sensor are 387.3 pm/%RH (in 20%RH to 90%RH) and −533.0 pm/°C (in 15 °C to 40 °C), respectively. The sensor has merits of low cost, simple fabrication, and high sensitivity, which makes it very attractive for applications that need to simultaneously monitor these two parameters. Full article
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17 pages, 6072 KiB  
Article
Monitoring Epoxy Coated Steel under Combined Mechanical Loads and Corrosion Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors
by Luyang Xu, Dawei Zhang, Ying Huang, Shuomang Shi, Hong Pan and Yi Bao
Sensors 2022, 22(20), 8034; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22208034 - 21 Oct 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2030
Abstract
Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors have been applied to assess strains, stresses, loads, corrosion, and temperature for structural health monitoring (SHM) of steel infrastructure, such as buildings, bridges, and pipelines. Since a single FBG sensor measures a particular parameter at a local spot, [...] Read more.
Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors have been applied to assess strains, stresses, loads, corrosion, and temperature for structural health monitoring (SHM) of steel infrastructure, such as buildings, bridges, and pipelines. Since a single FBG sensor measures a particular parameter at a local spot, it is challenging to detect different types of anomalies and interactions of anomalies. This paper presents an approach to assess interactive anomalies caused by mechanical loading and corrosion on epoxy coated steel substrates using FBG sensors in real time. Experiments were performed by comparing the monitored center wavelength changes in the conditions with loading only, corrosion only, and simultaneous loading and corrosion. The theoretical and experimental results indicated that there were significant interactive influences between loading and corrosion for steel substrates. Loading accelerated the progress of corrosion for the epoxy coated steel substrate, especially when delamination in the epoxy coating was noticed. Through the real-time monitoring from the FBG sensors, the interactions between the anomalies induced by the loading and corrosion can be quantitatively evaluated through the corrosion depth and the loading contact length. These fundamental understandings of the interactions of different anomalies on steel structures can provide valuable information to engineers for better management of steel structures. Full article
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15 pages, 6548 KiB  
Article
Highly Sensitive Strain Sensor by Utilizing a Tunable Air Reflector and the Vernier Effect
by Farhan Mumtaz, Muhammad Roman, Bohong Zhang, Lashari Ghulam Abbas, Muhammad Aqueel Ashraf, Yutang Dai and Jie Huang
Sensors 2022, 22(19), 7557; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22197557 - 6 Oct 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 1973
Abstract
A highly sensitive strain sensor based on tunable cascaded Fabry–Perot interferometers (FPIs) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Cascaded FPIs consist of a sensing FPI and a reference FPI, which effectively generate the Vernier effect (VE). The sensing FPI comprises a hollow core fiber [...] Read more.
A highly sensitive strain sensor based on tunable cascaded Fabry–Perot interferometers (FPIs) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Cascaded FPIs consist of a sensing FPI and a reference FPI, which effectively generate the Vernier effect (VE). The sensing FPI comprises a hollow core fiber (HCF) segment sandwiched between single-mode fibers (SMFs), and the reference FPI consists of a tunable air reflector, which is constituted by a computer-programable fiber holding block to adjust the desired cavity length. The simulation results predict the dispersion characteristics of modes carried by HCF. The sensor’s parameters are designed to correspond to a narrow bandwidth range, i.e., 1530 nm to 1610 nm. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed sensor exhibits optimum strain sensitivity of 23.9 pm/με, 17.54 pm/με, and 14.11 pm/με cascaded with the reference FPI of 375 μm, 365 μm, and 355 μm in cavity length, which is 13.73, 10.08, and 8.10 times higher than the single sensing FPI with a strain sensitivity of 1.74 pm/με, respectively. The strain sensitivity of the sensor can be further enhanced by extending the source bandwidth. The proposed sensor exhibits ultra-low temperature sensitivity of 0.49 pm/°C for a temperature range of 25 °C to 135 °C, providing good isolation for eliminating temperature–strain cross-talk. The sensor is robust, cost-effective, easy to manufacture, repeatable, and shows a highly linear and stable response for strain sensing. Based on the sensor’s performance, it may be a good candidate for high-resolution strain sensing. Full article
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