Performance Comparison of Fiber Optic Tips in Interferometric Displacement Measurements

Fiber optic displacement sensors have many potential advantages over traditional displacement measurement techniques, including small size, immunity to electromagnetic interference, electrical isolation, and high resolution. In this report, we focus on an interferometric fiber optic sensor, where the gap between the fiber tip and the device under test forms a Fabry-Perot resonant cavity. An optical interrogator measures the reflected intensity at wavelengths ranging from 1510 to 1590 nm. The spacing between resonant frequencies allows us to determine the distance from the tip to the device under test. We consider ferrule connector angled physical contact (FC/APC), ferrule connector ultra physical contact (FC/UPC) and unpolished cleaved tips and compare their influence on sensor performance. A plane wave propagation model is proposed for predicting tip effects. Comparisons are made on the basis of sensor measurement range, resolution, and sensitivity to changes in test conditions. In this paper, we discuss the experimental setup, detail our analysis, and present test results with recommendations for the applications of each tip.