INVESTIGATION AND APPLICATION OF THE FRUSTRATED-TOTAL-INTERNAL-REFLECTION PHENOMENON IN OPTICAL FIBERS

A detailed investigation of the frustrated-total-internal-reflection ( FTIR) phenomenon in silica-glass-based optical fibers and its applicat ion to simple intensity-modulated strain and pressure sensors is prese nted. Such sensors may be readily fabricated with silica-based fibers and can be easily modified with sapphire fibers for high-temperature i ndustrial applications where conventional silica-based fiber sensors a re not feasible. We present the all-fiber FTIR sensor and show good co rrelation between theory and experiment. We also present results for t he design and implementation of a prototype FTIR-based fiber pressure sensor. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.