Author(s)

M. Życzkowski, P. Markowski

Abstract

The main purpose of the paper is to present the impact of the polarization state of light in fiber optic interference sensors on their stability and efficiency. The main application of interference-based sensors for security is the protection of wide area objects, especially perimeter protection. This type of sensor offers high accuracy of locating disturbances and a high certainty of detection. Their advantage is resistance to external electromagnetic interference, such as storms, or to influence other devices located in the detection zone. The sensitive part of the sensor does not introduce electromagnetic disturbances to the environment. An interference-based fiber sensor requires complex methods of signal detection in order to achieve the maximum efficiency. The paper describes research on the impact of polarization state of light in fiber optic interference-based sensors on stability, accuracy and efficiency in order to determine the alarm state and the disorder location. The paper presents a method to stabilize the state of light polarization in order to maintain the detection state of the maximum contrast. We determined the state of light polarization with the highest detection efficiency and stability of tested sensors. We present an interference-based sensor with a stabilized level of detection at the point of the maximum sensitivity.

Keywords

infrastructure protection, fiber optic sensor, interference-based sensors