Mass measurement using an intensity-modulated optical fiber sensor

Design and operation of an opto-mechanical sensor for mass measurements is reported. This device uses a pair of optical fibers and a reflecting coated lens. The light intensity modulation is based on the relative motion of the lens due to a given mass with respect to the optical fibers. The modulated intensity because of the weighing mass has been measured by using a digital voltmeter. A full-range sensitivity of about 11.5mV/g for a dynamic range of 80 g is obtained. A mass resolution of better than 0.25 g has been measured with this device. The measured output response is checked against the expected theoretical one and a general agreement observed. A comparison with similar experimental results shows some advantages of this method and potential use of such a sensor for medium mass measurements. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.