Temperature desensitization of a fiber-optic pressure sensor by simultaneous measurement of pressure and temperature

A fiber-optic hydrostatic pressure sensor initially temperature compensated by optical means is further desensitized below the limits associated with second-order effects by the method proposed in this paper. We achieved this goal by using an integrated system of two coherence-multiplexed separate sensor components for simultaneous measurement of hydrostatic pressure and temperature and by on-line numerical processing of measurement data delivered simultaneously from both sensor parts. The system is based on highly birefringent fibers, employs electronic scanning, and can be used for quasistatic measurements. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.