Optical fiber sensor based on a radio frequency Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

This Letter proposes an optical fiber radio frequency (RF) Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) for sensing applications. An RF modulated laser source is injected into an optical fiber RF-MZI and collected by a photodiode. The interference pattern is observed in the RF domain by sweeping the frequency using a network analyzer. The proposed sensor has a linear response to applied temperature change. In addition, the sensitivity, observation frequency range, and the length of the sensing arm are discussed.