Curvature sensitivity enhancement of fused fiber taper

In this work a numerical model related to an optical inclinometer is presented. This model is based on a fused fiber taper monitored in the transmitted power. Comparisons are made between the numerical and experimental results and it is demonstrated good agreement with them. Thus, the model is proven to be suitable to simulate variation of parameters in order to obtain better performance of the sensor response. The numerical results demonstrate that is possible to enhance the inclinometer sensitivity by varying the length and waist of the taper. It is obtained a sensitivity of about 0,7 dB/degree using a taper length and waist of 1200 μm and 30 μm, respectively, at an angular range of 35 to 45 degrees.