Fabry-Perot Temperature Sensor for Quasi-Distributed Measurement Utilizing OTDR

A quasi-distributed Fabry-Perot fiber optic temperature sensor array using optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) technique is presented. The F-P sensor is made by two face to face single-mode optical fibers and their surfaces have been polished. Due to the low reflectivity of the fiber surfaces, the sensor is described as low Fresnel Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI). The working principle is analyzed using two-beam optical interference approximation. To measure the temperature, a certain temperature sensitive material is filled in the cavity. The slight changes of the reflective intensity which is induced by the refractive index of the material was eaught by OTDR. The length of the cavity is obtained by monitoring the interference spectrum which is used for the setting of the sensor static characteristics within the quasi-linear range. Based on our design, a three point sensor array are fabricated and characterized. The experimental results show that with the temperature increasing from -30℃ to 80℃, the reflectivity increase in a good linear manner. The sensitivity was approximate 0.074 dB℃. For the low transmission loss, more sensors can be integrated.