Recent Advances and Applications in Optical Fiber Sensing

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2026 | Viewed by 2008

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Interests: fiber-optic sensors; sensor technology and applications in geosciences; physical sensors; sensor devices; sensing principles; signal processing and data fusion in sensor systems; multi-sensor positioning and navigation

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Guest Editor
School of Automation and Electrical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: integrated optical accelerometer; integrated optical gyroscope; fiber-optic angular accelerometer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical fiber sensing has rapidly evolved into a transformative technology, enabling breakthroughs across multiple disciplines, from geophysics and structural health monitoring to environmental science, biomedicine, and industrial automation. With continuous advancements in fiber fabrication, optoelectronic integration, and signal processing, fiber-optic sensors now offer enhanced sensitivity, stability, and adaptability. Their unique ability to operate in extreme environments—including deep-sea, borehole, space, and hazardous industrial settings—has significantly expanded their applications in scientific research and real-world deployments.

This Special Issue aims to present the latest research on optical fiber sensing technologies, covering new theoretical models, novel sensor designs, and innovative applications. We invite researchers from diverse fields to contribute original articles, review articles, and technical notes that explore recent breakthroughs in fiber-optic sensing. Furthmore, we welcome a wide range of applications, including temperature, strain, vibration, rotation, magnetic field, current, gas, and biomedical sensing. Contributions addressing integration with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced signal processing techniques are also encouraged. Topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Fiber, grating, and components for optical fiber sensing;
  • Physical sensors, chemical sensors, and biosensors;
  • Micro- and nano-structured fiber-optic sensors;
  • Distributed optical fiber sensing;
  • Geophysical sensing;
  • Rotational sensing;
  • Environmental and structural monitoring;
  • Applications in geoscience;
  • Biomedical optical sensing;
  • Signal processing and data fusion in fiber-optic sensing;
  • Instrumentation and measurements in optical fiber sensing;
  • AI and machine learning in optical fiber sensing.

Dr. Yanjun Chen
Dr. Xiangdong Ma
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • fiber, grating, and components for optical fiber sensing
  • physical sensors, chemical sensors, and biosensors
  • micro- and nano-structured fiber-optic sensors
  • distributed optical fiber sensing
  • geophysical sensing
  • rotational sensing
  • environmental and structural monitoring
  • applications in geoscience
  • biomedical optical sensing
  • signal processing and data fusion in fiber optic sensing
  • instrumentation and measurements in optical fiber sensing
  • AI and machine learning in optical fiber sensing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4662 KB  
Article
High-Sensitivity Broadband Acoustic Wave Detection Using High-Q, Undercoupled Optical Waveguide Resonators
by Xiaoxia Chu, Zhongqiang Zhao, Jiangong Cui and Junbin Zang
Photonics 2025, 12(11), 1128; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12111128 - 14 Nov 2025
Viewed by 318
Abstract
In the field of acoustic wave detection, optical sensors have significant potential applications in numerous civilian and military fields due to their high sensitivity and immunity to electromagnetic interference. This study designed an undercoupled silica optical waveguide resonator (OWR) with a 2% refractive [...] Read more.
In the field of acoustic wave detection, optical sensors have significant potential applications in numerous civilian and military fields due to their high sensitivity and immunity to electromagnetic interference. This study designed an undercoupled silica optical waveguide resonator (OWR) with a 2% refractive index contrast. Mode spot converters were introduced at both ends of the straight waveguide to achieve efficient optical transmission between the fiber and the waveguide. The resonator was fabricated using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching technologies. The results show that the quality factor (Q-factor) of the resonator reached 2.75 × 106. Compared with a resonator with a refractive index difference of 0.75%, the Q-factor remained at the same order of magnitude while the sensor size was significantly reduced. To achieve high-sensitivity acoustic wave detection, this study employed an intensity demodulation method to realize acoustic wave detection with the resonator. Test results demonstrate that the OWR can detect acoustic signals in the frequency range of 25 Hz to 20 kHz, with a minimum detectable sound pressure of 1.58 μPa/Hz1/2 @20 kHz and a sensitivity of 1.492 V/Pa @20 kHz. The sensor exhibits a good signal-to-noise ratio and stability. The proposed method shows broad application prospects in the field of acoustic sensing and is expected to enable large-scale applications in scenarios such as communication, biomedical monitoring, and precision industrial sensing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Applications in Optical Fiber Sensing)
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8 pages, 3258 KB  
Article
High-Spatial-Resolution High-Accuracy OFDR Distributed Sensors Based on Seamless fs-WFBG Array
by Zhengze Jin, Wenzhu Huang, Yuanjing Zhao and Wentao Zhang
Photonics 2025, 12(4), 352; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12040352 - 8 Apr 2025
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Abstract
In optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR), the random optical noise in Rayleigh backscattering and the sliding window length in the algorithm cause a trade-off between sensing spatial resolution and accuracy. This paper proposes a novel high-spatial-resolution high-accuracy OFDR distributed sensor based on a [...] Read more.
In optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR), the random optical noise in Rayleigh backscattering and the sliding window length in the algorithm cause a trade-off between sensing spatial resolution and accuracy. This paper proposes a novel high-spatial-resolution high-accuracy OFDR distributed sensor based on a seamless femtosecond weak fiber Bragg grating (WFBG) array. Using femtosecond laser point-by-point (PbP) inscription technology, a 5 cm long seamless weak grating array was successfully fabricated on a polyimide fiber, consisting of ten 5 mm long WFBGs. The experimental results demonstrate that a sensing spatial resolution of 533 μm and a wavelength demodulation accuracy of ±2.05 pm were achieved for the first time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Applications in Optical Fiber Sensing)
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