New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications: 2nd Edition
A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Sensors".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 115
Special Issue Editors
Interests: fiber optics; photoacoustics; fiber optical sensors; ultrasound
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: fiber-optic sensors; non-destructive testing; photoacoustics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Following the success of our Special Issue entitled “New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors/special_issues/RGNLA8BYU2)”, we are delighted to announce the launch of its second edition, continuing to spotlight the emerging fiber-optic sensors technologies and applications through open access publications.
We invite you to explore several highly cited papers from the original issue:
- Rapid and Accurate Shape-Sensing Method Using a Multi-Core Fiber Bragg Grating-Based Optical Fiber
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4494
Authors: Georgios Violakis, Nikolaos Vardakis, Zhenyu Zhang, Martin Angelmahr and Panagiotis Polygerinos
- Blast-Assisted Subsurface Characterisation Using a Novel Distributed Acoustic Sensing Setup Based on Geometric Phases
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/1/30
Authors: Sabahat Shaheen, Konstantin Hicke and Katerina Krebber
- Experimental Investigations of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors for Water Pipeline Monitoring
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/13/6205
Authors: Manuel Bertulessi, Daniele Fabrizio Bignami, Ilaria Boschini, Marina Longoni, Giovanni Menduni and Jacopo Morosi
Fiber-optic sensors have been extensively developed and utilized over the past four decades. They continue to gain broad acceptance due to their compact size, immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and reliability in harsh environments involving high temperature and humidity.
Historically, three major waves of fiber-optic sensor development can be identified, each characterized by distinct technological breakthroughs:
- The first wave featured fiber-optic gyroscopes based on the Sagnac effect and fiber-optic hydrophones, employing Mach–Zehnder interferometers. These devices achieved practical implementation, leading to both commercial and military systems still in use today.
- The second wave introduced Fabry–Perot interferometer–based sensors, which have been applied in a wide variety of engineering and scientific fields, with numerous applications reported in the literature.
- The third wave emerged with the invention of in-line fiber Bragg grating (FBG) optical filters for telecommunications. It was later discovered that FBGs served as excellent optical transducers for sensing multiple physical parameters, ushering in a new era of distributed sensing technologies.
In recent years, novel concepts and applications have continued to expand the field. Examples include the following:
- Fiber-optic current sensors (FOCS) utilizing the magneto-optic (Faraday) effect;
- Long-distance distributed strain and temperature sensing systems, such as Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometers (BOTDR);
- Fiber-optic biosensors (FOBSs) for medical diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring.
Moreover, new research trends are integrating AI-assisted data analytics, chip-based miniaturization and advanced signal processing to enhance sensor accuracy, reduce cost and enable real-time field deployment. Progress in prototype development for commercialization, biomedical applications and harsh-environment monitoring is further driving the next generation of fiber-optic sensing technologies.
This Special Issue, titled “New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications: 2nd Edition,” aims to highlight both traditional and emerging developments in fiber-optic sensing. Contributions are invited in the areas of novel sensor design, advanced fabrication and packaging, AI-enhanced signal processing, field testing and monitoring and application-driven system integration.
Prof. Dr. Xingwei Wang
Dr. Xu Guo
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- fiber-optic sensors
- distributed fiber-optic sensing systems
- fiber-optic biomedical sensors
- photoacoustics
- signal processing and AI
- harsh-environment sensing
- miniaturization and chip integration
- prototype development and commercialization
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Related Special Issue
- New Prospects in Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications in Sensors (9 articles)
