Next-Generation Optical Fiber Sensing

Optical fibers were proposed for long-distance communications about six decades ago. Soon, researchers discovered that optical fibers could also be leveraged for sensing physical parameters such as distance, bending, or curvature. Nowadays, many optical fiber sensor configurations have matured into successful commercial products and are very competitive in terms of performance, offering several advantages over other technologies. These include gyroscopes, distributed temperature and strain sensors, and fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors.The advent and advancements in specialty fibers (multicore, microstructured, few-mode, radiation-sensitive, and hollow-core fibers, among others) along with the latest 3D-printing manufacturing methods and artificial intelligence (AI) have opened the door to a new generation of optical fiber sensors.In this Research Topic, original research articles as well as review or perspective articles that report on theoretical, analytical, and experimental investigations related to the following areas (but it is not limited to) are welcome:1. Sensors based on new fiber Bragg gratings such as multimode and multicore, tilted FBGs, or gratings that withstand radiation or harsh thermal conditions. It is expected that such gratings can compensate for their intrinsic temperature/strain sensitivity or can increase the accuracy of the measurements.2. New approaches to sensing with hollow-core fibers including distributed sensing with gas-filled fibers, new gyroscopes, quantum effects, and new sensors where the sample or particles is/are placed inside the hollow core of the fiber.3. Ultraminiature sensors based on nano- or micro-structures fabricated on optical fiber tips. For example, sensors where microcavities are directly printed on the microscopic facet of an optical fiber or structures that can be transferred to the optical fiber facet. 4. Intelligent optical fiber sensing by means of AI-based data and signal processing. 5. Sensing mechanisms using multiple spatial modes or space-division multiplexing technologies for multi-parameter sensing. For example, using few-mode fiber, all-fiber mode multiplexers, or highly coupled multicore fibers. Topic editors: Joel Villatoro, Amado M. Velázquez-Benítez Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81549/next-generation-optical-fiber-sensing