A High-Sensitive Pressure Sensor Using a Single-Mode Fiber Embedded Microbubble with Thin Film Characteristics

A new fiber pressure sensor is proposed and analyzed in this paper. A commercial arc fusion splicer and pressure-assisted arc discharge technology are used here to fabricate a silica hollow microbubble from a common glass tube with the characteristics of a thin film. Then the single mode fiber is embedded into the microbubble to form a fiber Fabry–Perot interferometer by measuring the reflected interference spectrum from the fiber tip and microbubble end. As the wall thickness of the micro-bubble can reach up to several micrometers, it can then be used for measuring the outer pressure with high sensitivity. The fabrication method has the merits of being simple, low in cost, and is easy to control. Experimental results show that its pressure sensitivity can reach 164.56 pm/kPa and the temperature sensitivity can reach 4 pm/°C. Therefore, it also has the advantage of being insensitive to temperature fluctuation.