Detection of liquid-level variation using a side-polished fiber Bragg grating

A liquid-level sensor based on a side-polished fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor can detect height variation of liquids of arbitrary refractive index (RI). For liquids with RI lower than that of fiber core, liquid-level variation can be monitored by the peak power difference of the grating segments surrounded by the liquid and air. For liquids with RI higher than that of fiber core, liquid-level information can be obtained from the influence of the shortening of the effective length of the immersed grating segment upon the reflection spectrum.