Designing low-cost modified cladding sensors: a structured approach

In this paper, a novel solution for signal conditioning, fiber illumination, and measurement is proposed for an optical fiber sensor based on a modified cladding sensing element. The presented technique has properties of compactness and low cost, due to the use of very common optoelectronic components, and flexibility, since it could be employed for different kinds of optical fiber sensors. In particular, a prototype has been realized and characterized for the measurement of liquid temperature.