Water wave frequency detection by optical fiber sensor

An optical fiber sensor has been developed and applied to measure frequency of water waves based on wave induced polarization change of the light. The fiber sensor can accurately detect water wave frequency for regular and irregular waves. The optimum sag of sensing fiber to the sensor output’s linearity has been studied. The agreement of the fiber sensor and wave gauge in frequency and time domain suggests that the fiber sensor has great potential for passive acoustic sensing and wave monitoring.