Frequency-Estimation-Based Signal-Processing Algorithm For White-Light Optical Fiber Fabry-Perot Interferometers

A novel signal-processing algorithm based on frequency estimation of the spectrogram of single-mode optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometric sensors under white-light illumination is described. The frequency-estimation approach is based on linear regression of the instantaneous phase of an analytical signal, which can be obtained by preprocessing the original spectrogram with a bandpass filter. This method can be used for a relatively large cavity length without the need for spectrogram normalization to the spectrum of the light source and can be extended directly to a multiplexed sensor system. Experimental results show that the method can yield both absolute measurement with high resolution and a large dynamic range. Performance analysis shows that the method is tolerant of background noise and variations of the source spectrum. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.