Overview of high performance fibre-optic sensing

An overview of fibre-optic interferometry based sensing is given, particularly as it applies to high-performance sensing applications. The operation of a fibre-optic interferometer as a sensor is reviewed. The sensitivity limitations of a fibre-optic sensor are derived, and the system impact of multiplexing many sensors together is explored. A review of the development of the fibre-optic acoustic transducer is presented, as well as system applications and future trends in fibre-optic interferometric sensing.