A Compact Fabry–Pérot Acoustic Sensor Based on Silicon Optical Waveguide Bragg Gratings

Abstract

No membranous optical sensors have excellent development prospects in aerospace and other industrial fields due to their small size and anti-electromagnetic interference. Here, we proposed a novel Fabry–Pérot (FP) cavity acoustic sensor based on silicon optical waveguide Bragg gratings. The FP cavity consists of two Bragg gratings written on the silicon-based optical waveguide and a miniature air groove. When the sound signal acts on the miniature air groove, the sound pressure changes the density of air molecules near the waveguide grating’s evanescent field, causing variation in the air’s refractive index. This results in a shift in the reflection spectrum of the FP cavity to detect the sound signal. The effects of the grating period, grating pitch quantity, and groove depth of the FP cavity on acoustic sensing were studied. The modelling predicts that the sensing sensitivity could be 0.4 nm/Pa. Theoretically, the compact self-designed acoustic sensor can withstand temperatures above 800 °C. Therefore, it has significant potential applications in precision measurement in high-temperature and high-pressure environments.