Abstract
In this paper, we report on recent experimental results obtained with
fiber-Bragg-grating (FBG) hydrophones for underwater acoustic detection. The
optical hydrophones under investigation consist of FBGs coated with ring-shaped
polymers of different size and mechanical properties. The coating materials
were selected and designed in order to provide mechanical amplification, via
judicious choice of their acousto-mechanical properties and by exploiting
selected resonances occurring in different frequency ranges. Our underwater
acoustic measurements, carried out within the range 4–35 kHz, reveal
the resonant behavior of these optical hydrophones, as well as its dependence
on the coating size and type of material. These experimental data are also
in good agreement with our previously published numerical results. By comparison
with bare (i.e., uncoated) FBGs, responsivity enhancements of up to three
orders of magnitude were found, demonstrating the effectiveness of polymeric
coatings in tailoring the acoustic response of FBG-based hydrophones.
© 2012 IEEE
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