Abstract

A Michelson-based fiber-optic low-coherence interferometric quasi-distributed sensing system permitting absolute length measurement in a sensor array is proposed. The main part of the sensing system is a fiber-optic $3\times 3$ star coupler. The architecture of fiber-optic sensors can be easily realized as a linear sensor array, twin sensor arrays, or a loop sensor array. The proposed sensing scheme will be useful for the measurement of strain distribution. An important application could be deformation sensing in smart structures. A six-sensor array is demonstrated experimentally.

© 2005 Optical Society of America

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