Abstract
A fiber-optic curvature sensor based on a core offset single-mode fiber (SMF) combined with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is presented. The FBG cladding modes are efficiently excited by the large core misalignment. The curvature of the fiber can be obtained by the ratio between the recoupled cladding mode power and the reflected core mode power. These measurements are independent from temperature variation.

Abstract
In this work a self-referencing fiber optic intensity sensor using virtual instrumentation is presented. To ensure higher flexibility and dynamic optimization, the use of an optical fiber delay line or an electrical delay line is avoided by implementing a delay line in the virtual domain, preserving the self-referencing and sensitivity characteristics of the proposed optical intensity sensing structure. Results are presented where displacement is measured with an 18 mu m resolution demonstrating the concept feasibility.

Abstract
A system to interrogate optical fiber interferometric sensors with digital control is presented. The system is based on a receiving white light Mach-Zehnder interferometer and is capable of operating with four distinct synthetic and pseudo-heterodyne signal detection schemes. A differential phase detection scheme was implemented and system performance with the different processing schemes was compared using fiber Bragg grating based Fabry-Perot cavity strain sensors. With a lock-in time constant of 1 s, most digital techniques were able to nearly match the performance of a standard hardware system, demonstrating the feasibility of low-cost high-resolution interferometric systems operated with virtual instrumentation.

Abstract
A fiber-optic sensor for simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature is described. The refractive index measurement is based on the visibility variations of a Fabry-Perot interferometer. It is formed with the interfering waves generated from a low reflectivity Bragg grating inscribed on a Panda fiber and from the fiber end tip (Fresnel reflection) in contact with the liquid. The sensor is characterized by immersing the fiber tip in distilled water with different concentrations of ethylene glycol. A linear relation of the interferometer fringe visibility with refractive index variation is observed. The temperature is determined by the wavelength shift of the FBG peaks. Results show the feasibility of simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature and also the possibility of adjusting fringe visibility via polarization control.

Abstract
In this work a fiber optic interferometric system for differential refractive index measurement is described. The system is based on a white light Mach-Zehnder configuration, with serrodyne phase modulation, to interrogate two similar non-adiabatic tapered optical fiber sensors in a differential scheme. In this situation it is possible to measure the refractive index independent of temperature. Signal processing with low cost digital instrumentation developed in Labview environment allows a detectable change in refractive index of Delta n approximate to 2x10(-6), which is, from the best of our knowledge the highest resolution achieved using a fiber taper device. The results demonstrate the potential of the proposed scheme to operate as chemical and biological sensing platform.

Abstract
A fiber optic sensor for simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature is presented. The sensing probe is achieved by introducing multimode interference inside a high birefringence fiber loop mirror resulting in a configuration capable of refractive index and temperature discrimination. The multimode interference peak is sensitive to the surrounding refractive index (90 nm/RIU) and slightly responsive to the temperature (0.005 nm/degrees C). On the other hand, the birrefringent fiber loop mirror is highly sensitive to temperature (2.39 nm/degrees C) and has no response to refractive index. Therefore, a temperature independent refractive index measurement can be made with a resolution of +/- 2.5x10(-5).