In this work, a dual refractive index and temperature sensor based on an interferometric system and on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm is presented. Here, it is shown that the EMD provides a comprehensive way to analyze and decompose complex reflection spectra produced by an interferometric filter build at the tip of an optical fiber. By applying the EMD algorithm, the spectrum can be decomposed into a set of intrinsic mode functions (IMF) from which the temperature and the refractive index can be easily extracted. Moreover, the proposed methodology provides a detailed insight of the behavior of this type of interferometric sensors and allows widening of the dynamic measurement ranges of both variables. Here, for proof of principle purposes, a filter based on a stack of three layers (two of them were thermo-sensitive) was fabricated. Finally, it is shown that the proposed methodology can decompose the experimental measured spectra and to determine the refractive index and the temperature, supporting the mathematical model.
Keywords: Empirical mode decomposition; optical fiber; refractive index; sensors; temperature.