Design and Modeling of a High Sensitivity Fiber Bragg Grating-Based Accelerometer

Use of a detailed theoretical model has allowed the optimization of the design of a high sensitivity accelerometer, based on a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and an accelerometer based on this design has been demonstrated experimentally. With a universal model based on double-point encapsulation established, the performance of the device in terms of its optimal sensitivity and frequency distribution has been analyzed, with an optimization 'figure of merit' using the product of the sensitivity and the resonant frequency being presented. The experimental results obtained indicate that the FBG-based accelerometer thus developed shows a broad, flat frequency band, a corresponding flat range sensitivity of similar to 152.0pm/G, a resonant frequency of 441.0Hz, and a cross-axis sensitivity of less than 3.6% of the main-axis sensitivity. An accelerometer of this type and with this performance thus has the potential for the important field of low frequency oil-gas seismic exploration.