Ultrahigh-resolution and ultra-simple fiber-optic sensor with resonant Sagnac interferometer

Abstract

The resonant fiber-optic sensor (RFOS) is well known for its high sensing resolution but usually suffers from high cost and system complexity. In this Letter, we propose an ultra-simple white-light-driven RFOS with a resonant Sagnac interferometer. By superimposing the output of multiple equivalent Sagnac interferometers, the strain signal is amplified during the resonance. A 3 × 3 coupler is employed for demodulation, by which the signal under test can be read out directly without any modulation. With 1 km delay fiber and ultra-simple configuration, a strain resolution of 28fε/Hz at 5 kHz is demonstrated in the experiment, which is among the highest, to the best of our knowledge, resolution optical fiber strain sensors.