Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Author Spotlight: Fabrication of a Low-Cost, Fiber-Coupled, and Air-Spaced Fabry-Pérot Etalon
Published on: February 3, 2023
Multimode Fabry⁻Perot Interferometer Probe Based on Vernier Effect for Enhanced Temperature Sensing
André D Gomes1,2, Martin Becker3, Jan Dellith4
1Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 07745 Jena, Germany. andre.gomes@leibniz-ipht.de.
Abstract:
New miniaturized sensors for biological and medical applications must be adapted to the measuring environments and they should provide a high measurement resolution to sense small changes. The Vernier effect is an effective way of magnifying the sensitivity of a device, allowing for higher resolution sensing. We applied this concept to the development of a small-size optical fiber Fabry⁻Perot interferometer probe that presents more than 60-fold higher sensitivity to temperature than the normal Fabry⁻Perot interferometer without the Vernier effect. This enables the sensor to reach higher temperature resolutions. The silica Fabry⁻Perot interferometer is created by focused ion beam milling of the end of a tapered multimode fiber. Multiple Fabry⁻Perot interferometers with shifted frequencies are generated in the cavity due to the presence of multiple modes. The reflection spectrum shows two main components in the Fast Fourier transform that give rise to the Vernier effect. The superposition of these components presents an enhancement of sensitivity to temperature. The same effect is also obtained by monitoring the reflection spectrum node without any filtering. A temperature sensitivity of -654 pm/°C was obtained between 30 °C and 120 °C, with an experimental resolution of 0.14 °C. Stability measurements are also reported.
Related Concept Videos
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Introduction to Special Senses
Tactile and Chemical Senses
Body Temperature
Body Temperature
The average body temperature is approximately 37°C (98.6°F) and typically ranges from 36.1–37.2°C...

