A multi-channel fiber optic proximity sensor

In this investigation, we propose an efficient multi-channel optical proximity sensor based on the spectrally-resolved interferometric principle. This sensor consists of a single optical source, a spectrometer and fiber optic components such as an optical circulator, a coarse wavelength division multiplexer (CWDM) and fiber optic probes. A spectrometer is used to detect the spectral interferograms of the measuring probes according to their own spectral bandwidths and the interference signals can be separated by the spectral filtering by a CWDM. The principle of the proposed sensor system was verified with feasibility experiments with the home-built 4 channel sensor system. The measuring range of each channel was 1 mm and the resolution was a few tens of nanometers determined by the deviation of linear motions. The stability of the sensor was less than 30 nm. With the aid of a broadband source and a spectrometer, the measurement channel can be extended further by using a suitable CWDM.