Optical pressure/acoustic sensor with precise Fabry-Perot cavity length control using angle polished fiber

This paper presents a novel Fabry-Perot (FP) optical fiber pressure/acoustic sensor. It consists of two V-shaped grooves having different sized widths, a diaphragm on the surface of the larger V-groove, and a 45 angle-polished fiber. The precision of FP cavity length is determined by the fabrication process of photolithography and anisotropic etching of a silicon crystal. Therefore, the cavity length can be controlled on the order of ten nm. Sensors were fabricated and tested. Test results indicate that the sensors' cavity lengths have been controlled precisely. The packaged sensor has demonstrated very good static and dynamic responses compared to a commercially available pressure sensor and a microphone. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America