Characteristics of the distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser sensor for lateral force measurement

Characteristics of the distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser sensor for lateral force measurement are investigated. The distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser operates in dual-polarization modes and converts the lateral force into a corresponding shift in the beat frequency generated by the fiber laser. The sensitivity dependence on the angle between the force direction and the polarization axis orientation of the fiber is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The impact of the force action location and force length on the sensor response is also discussed. Good agreement between the theoretical data and the experimental results was obtained. A maximal sensitivity magnitude of ∼10 GHz/(N/mm) is recorded.