Apparatus for measuring an ambient isotropic parameter applied to a highly birefringent sensing fiber using interference pattern detection

A fiber-optic apparatus for measuring an ambient physical parameter, said apparatus comprising:

• a light source for emitting a linearly polarized light beam having a coherence length of 10-50 microns, in a predetermined polarization plane;
• a highly birefringent lead-in fiber having an input connected to said light source, a polarization axis parallel to said polarization plane, for propagating a polarization mode excited by said lightbeam, and an output;
• a highly birefringent sensing fiber having an input connected to said output of the lead-in fiber, two polarization axes rotated by an angle of 45.degree. with respect to said polarization axis of the lead-in fiber to divide substantially equally said polarization mode propagating in the lead-in fiber into two polarization modes propagating with different velocities in said sensing fiber, and an output where a total relative delay between said two polarization modes in the sensing fiber is a sum of an initial delay caused by a natural birefringence of said sensing fiber and an additional delay induced by the isotropic ambient physical parameter when said sensing fiber is subjected thereto;
• a highly birefringent lead-out fiber having an input connected to said output of the sensing fiber, two polarization axes rotated by an angle of 45.degree. with respect to said polarization axes of the sensing fiber for dividing substantially equally said two polarization modes propagating in the sensing fiber into two other polarization modes propagating in said lead-out fiber, and for subjecting said two other polarization modes to a relative delay substantially different from said total relative delay produced by said sensing fiber, and an output;
• a collimator for receiving an output light beam comprising said two other polarization modes from said output of said lead-out fiber;
• a crystalline delay plate having polarization axes aligned at an angle of 45.degree. with respect to said polarization axes of the lead-out fiber, for splitting said two other polarization modes in the lead-out fiber into two linearly, orthogonally polarized output beams and introducing a relative retardation between said output beams, the relative retardation being equal to the initial delay caused by said natural birefringence of the sensing fiber;
• at least one step delay crystalline plate combined with said crystalline delay plate, said at least one step delay crystalline plate having polarization axes aligned in parallel to said polarization axes of the crystalline delay plate to extend said range of relative delays;
• a Wollaston prism having polarization axes aligned in parallel with said polarization axes of said crystalline delay plate, for diverging said output light beams into slightly different directions thereon and introducing another range of relative delays increasing linearly from a beginning to an end of said Wollaston prism in a direction of diverging;
• a recombiner for combining said orthogonally polarized output beams to produce an interference pattern;
• a charged coupled device camera for detecting intensities across said interference pattern and determining position of a center of said interference pattern;
• and
• a computer having a software for tracking the position of the center of the interference pattern and determining said ambient parameter form said position

A method for measuring an ambient physical parameter, comprising the steps of:

• a) emitting a low coherence, linearly polarized light beam in a predetermined polarization plane;
• a') directing said light beam into a highly birefringent lead-in fiber having a polarization axis parallel to said polarization plane, said lead-in fiber propagating a polarization mode excited by said lightbeam;
• b) connecting a highly birefringent sensing fiber to said lead-in fiber, said sensing fiber having two polarization axes rotated by an angle of 45.degree. with respect to said polarization axis of the lead-in fiber to divide substantially equally said polarization mode propagating in the lead-in fiber into two polarization modes propagating with different velocities in said sensing fiber;
• b') subjecting said sensing fiber to the ambient physical parameter so that a total relative delay between said two polarization modes in the sensing fiber is a sum of an initial delay caused by a natural birefringence of said sensing fiber and an additional delay induced by the isotropic ambient physical parameter when said sensing fiber is subjected thereto;
• b")connecting a highly birefringent lead-out fiber to said sensing fiber, said lead-out fiber having two polarization axes rotated by an angle of 45.degree. with respect to said polarization axes of the sensing fiber to divide substantially equally said two polarization modes propagating in the sensing fiber into two other polarization modes propagating in said lead-out fiber and subjecting said two other polarization modes to a relative delay substantially different from said total relative delay produced by said sensing fiber;
• c) collecting an output light beam comprising said two other polarization modes from said lead-out fiber;
• d) dividing said two other polarization modes into two linearly, orthogonally polarized output beams and subjecting said orthogonally polarized output beams to a range of relative delays covering said total relative delay produced by said sensing fiber;
• e) recombining said orthogonally polarized output beams to produce an interference pattern;
• f) detecting intensities across said interference pattern and determining a position of a center of said interference pattern;
• and
• g) determining said ambient parameter from the position of said center of said interference pattern.