Influence of cavity loss on an extrinsic Fabry-Perot cavity intensity-based pressure sensor

We present an extrinsic Fabry-Perot cavity intensity-based pressure sensor that mainly comprises a single-mode fiber end and an elastic monocrystalline silicon layer bonded to a silicon diaphragm. We investigated the influence of cavity loss on the performance indexes (PIS) of the intensity-based extrinsic Fabry-Perot cavity optical fiber pressure sensor. A buffer unit made of three incompressible oil cavities attenuated outside pressure and transformed pressure information into cavity length microchange information. Experimental results indicated that, under center quadrature-points within the linear regions of adjacent fringes, for an applied 40 kPa external pressure, cavity length was modulated by pressures of 69.9 kPa-109.9 kPa, 150.1 kPa-190 kPa, 220.1 kPa-259.9 kPa, and 279.9 kPa-319.9 kPa, output intensity ranges increased as 1 mu W, 1.02 mu W, 1.03 mu W, and 1.05 mu W, sensitivity increased as 0.01909 mu W/kPa, 0.01986 mu W/kPa, 0.02127 mu W/kPa, and 0.02387 mu W/kPa, but linearity degraded, as indicated by the standard deviation of linear fits of 0.02607, 0.02664, 0.02935, and 0.04879 due to cavity loss. Furthermore, the pressure ranges within the same quarter period decreased as 40 kPa, 37.45 kPa, 32.4 kPa, and 30.15 kPa. Consequently, the same lengths of linear regions within adjacent fringes of an approximately sinusoidal curve corresponded to different measurement ranges, linearities, and sensitivities. Initial cavity length must be chosen to optimize both signal strength and the PIS studied here in manufacturing this type sensor. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.