Interrogation technique using a novel spectra bandwidth measurement method with a blazed FBG and a fiber-optic array for an FBG displacement sensor

A double-arched-beam-based fiber Bragg grating (FBG) displacement sensor is presented. Unlike most interrogation methods by measuring the resonance wavelength shifts, this kind of FBG sensor is proposed to measure the displacement by measuring the FBG's reflective spectra bandwidth using a blazed fiber Bragg grating (blazed FBG) and a fiber optic array. According to the strain distribution on the novel double-arched beam surface, the positive and negative strain will act on only one FBG, which is stuck on the beam surface. Thus, the positive and negative strain will make the spectra broaden as the displacement increases. What is more, the problem of cross-sensitivity in the FBG sensor is solved because temperature only affects the wavelength shift, but not the spectra bandwidth. The reflective signal of FBG sensor will be lead into a blazed FBG and the radiation light from blazed FBG with a certain radiation angle will be received by a fiber optic array, and then recorded by the infrared linear detector (IRLD). Based on the Gauss distribution theory, the radiation light spot size related to the FBG's reflective spectra bandwidth can be determined. Simulation and preliminary experimental results indicate the feasibility of the proposed idea.