Fiber Bragg grating interrogation and multiplexing with a 3×3coupler and a scanning filter

We present a new technique for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor interrogation and multiplexing. The technique combines a scanning bandpass filter used to multiplex by wavelength multiple gratings in a single fiber, and an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder fiber interferometer made with a 3×3 coupler to detect strain-induced wavelength shifts. A demonstration system interrogates four gratings in a single fiber at a sampling rate up to 20 kHz, with a noise floor measured at less than 10 nϵ/√(Hz) above 0.1 Hz