Optomechanical sensor network with fiber Bragg gratings

Abstract

Cavity optomechanics offers a versatile platform for both fundamental physics and ultrasensitive sensing. Importantly, resonant enhancement in both optical and mechanical responses enables the highly sensitive optical detection of small forces, displacements, vibrations, and magnetic fields, enabling it a promising candidate of the next generation of ultrasensitive sensor networks. However, this is impeded by the fiber optic-incompatibility and intrinsic nature of existing optomechanical sensors. Here, we report the first demonstration of an optomechanical sensor network in terms of magnetic field detection, wherein multiple fiber-optic optomechanical sensors are connected into a standard single mode fiber. Building upon a commercially available fiber Bragg gratings, we realize a robust low-loss, low-noise, and polarization-insensitive coupling with light sources in a way compatible with fiber optics. This thus enables our optomechanical senor to fulfill the requirements for ultrasensitive sensor networks. Furthermore, in this sensor network we demonstrate the sensitivity of 8.73 pm/Gs for DC magnetic fields and 537 fT/Hz1/2 for AC magnetic fields in a magnetically unshielded environment with the ambient temperature and pressure, better than the reported values in previous optomechanical magnetometers. Our work sheds light on exploiting cavity optomechanics in the practical applications and ultrasensitive senor networks.