Performance characterization of an intensity-modulated fiber optic displacement sensor

A testbed simulating an intensity-modulated fiber optic displacement sensor is experimentally characterized, and the implications regarding sensor design are discussed. Of interest are the intensity distribution of the transmitted optical signal and the relationships between sensor architecture and performance. Particularly, an intensity-modulated sensor's sensitivity, linearity, displacement range, and resolution are functions of the relative positioning of its transmitting and receiving fibers. In this paper, sensor architectures with various combinations of these performance metrics are discussed. A sensor capable of micrometer resolution is reported, and it is concluded that this work could lead to an improved methodology for sensor design. This paper has been approved by Los Alamos National Laboratory for unlimited public distribution (LA-UR 10-06637).