High-Sensitivity Gas Pressure Fabry–Perot Fiber Probe With Micro-Channel Based on Vernier Effect

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a gas pressure fiber probe with high sensitivity magnified by Vernier effect. The probe is composed of two cascaded Fabry–Perot interferometers based on a SMF–SOHST–OFC structure (SMF: single-mode fiber; SOHST: side-opened hollow silica tube; OFC: optical fiber column). The high-frequency CO2laser drilling method for hollow silica tube can effectively maintain the transient balance of the air pressure inside and outside the cavity without destroying the reflective ends of the optical fibers. Experimental results show that the prepared fiber probe with the SOHST length of 375.2μm and column length of 247.3μm has high gas pressure sensitivity of 80.3 pm/kPa by demodulating Vernier envelope, and it has relatively low temperature cross-sensitivity of –1.33 kPa/°C. This sensor is highly sensitive and of compact size, which not only can be applied in gas pressure sensing but also has the potential for application in microfluidic detection.