Hybrid Fiber Optic Sensor, Based on the Fabry–Perot Interference, Assisted with Fluorescent Material for the Simultaneous Measurement of Temperature and Pressure

Abstract

Herein we design a fiber sensor able to simultaneously measure the temperature and the pressure under harsh conditions, such as strong electromagnetic interference and high pressure. It is built on the basis of the fiber-optic Fabry–Perot (F–P) interference and the temperature sensitive mechanism of fluorescent materials. Both halogen lamps and light-emitting diodes (LED) are employed as the excitation light source. The reflected light from the sensor contains the low coherent information of interference cavity and the fluorescent lifetime. This information is independent due to the separate optical path and the different demodulation device. It delivers the messages of pressure and temperature, respectively. It is demonstrated that the sensor achieved pressure measurement at the range of 120–400 KPa at room temperature with a sensitivity of 1.5 nm/KPa. Moreover, the linearity of pressure against the cavity length variation was over 99.9%. In the meantime, a temperature measurement in the range of 25–80 °C, with a sensitivity of 0.0048 ms/°C, was obtained. These experimental results evince that this kind of sensor has a simple configuration, low-cost, and easy fabrication. As such, it can be particularly applied to many fields.