Ultrahigh-sensitivity optical fiber sensor based on the virtual harmonic vernier effect

This paper proposes a fiber-optic sensor based on the virtual harmonic Vernier effect (VHVE). The VHVE is obtained by processing the spectrum of the traditional Vernier effect (TVE). We demonstrate that the periodic outer envelope and the high-frequency fringes in the TVE can be used as the spectra of the virtual interferometer and sensing interferometer of the VHVE, respectively. Thus, the VHVE-based spectrum will be viewed as a “superposition” of the spectra of the virtual interferometer and sensing interferometer. The optical path length of the virtual interferometer is multiple times different from that of the sensing interferometer, they meet the excitation condition of the HVE, and they can use the same spectral demodulation method. Thus, this is called the “VHVE.” A novel parallel-structured dual Fabry–Perot interferometer fiber-optic sensor is employed to detect gas refractive index. The spectral demodulation methods of the VHVE and TVE are used to track the same set of spectral data, and the obtained sensitivities are 1,158,000 nm/RIU and 39,000 nm/RIU, respectively. Experimental results show that through the VHVE, the sensitivity of the sensor is increased to 106 orders of magnitude. Compared with the HVE, the VHVE can easily increase the harmonic order. In this experiment, the harmonic order reaches 28. Meanwhile, based on the proposed VHVE principle, any sensor based on the TVE can be converted into a VHVE-based sensor to significantly enhance the sensitivity without changing the existing sensor structure. This new sensing mechanism has significant potential in improving sensor sensitivity.