A 16-channel multi-longitudinal mode fiber laser sensor array system based on wavelength/frequency division multiplexing

The 16-channel multi-longitudinal mode fiber laser sensor array is investigated experimentally by the wavelength/frequency division multiplexing technique. In the proposed sensing system, a 4×4 sensor array is established by a few different coupling-ratio couplers, and four different fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) with different center wavelengths are used as four different sensing units. In each sensor unit, four parallel fiber laser sensors have the same operating wavelengths FBGs, but their effective laser cavity lengths slightly different from each other. Every cavity is formed by a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) serving as one reflection mirror, a piece of erbium-doped fiber (EDF) acting as the gain medium, and a Faraday rotator mirror (FRM) serving as other reflection mirror. When the pump power is higher than threshold value, the 16-channel fiber laser sensor array is stimulated stably. The frequency of the beat signal of the fiber laser sensor with different cavity lengths is used to realize frequency division multiplexing, and the wavelength division multiplexing is realized according to the operation wavelength of the fiber laser. The beat frequency signals are generated on a photodetector(PD), and monitored by a frequency spectrum analyzer(FSA). By tracking the shift of the beat frequency, all of the 16 laser sensors can be demodulated and real-time discriminated. The result of the experiment shows that different channels can be demodulated independently. The applications of the sensor array for strain and temperature measurements are also investigated. The strain or temperature information can be extracted from the change of the beat frequency signals according to the wavelength-frequency division multiplexing and the beat signal demodulation. The proposed hybrid multiplexing system can greatly reduce the weight, volume, and cost of the fiber laser sensors system while increasing the amount of the sensors multiplexable, which making it very competitive in some applications fields requiring large scale arrays such as space vehicles, marine infrastructure systems and constructional engineering.