Simplified highly-sensitive gas pressure sensor based on harmonic Vernier effect

Abstract We propose and demonstrate a simple highly-sensitive gas pressure sensor based on harmonic Vernier effect. By fusion splicing two hollow silica capillaries, a cascaded Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity is formed. Without special photonics crystal fibers or laser machining involved, the fabrication process is greatly simplified. The interplay between the two interferometers consisting the FP cavity leads to optical Vernier effect. By properly adjusting the length of the silica capillaries harmonic of optical Vernier effect is observed and can be served as a sensitive probe for diagnosing gas pressure. Our results showed a sensitivity of 80.8 pm/kPa from 1 to 101 kPa with good linearity of 99.7%, and a low temperature cross sensitivity of 2.22 kPa/°C, a factor of three lower than that of the microstructure fiber-based gas pressure sensors. Combining both ease of fabrication and high sensitivity, this sensor can be a good candidate for mass production in fields of gas sensing and environmental safety monitoring.