Performance analysis of a noncontact plastic fiber optical fiber displacement sensor with compensation of target reflectivity

An inexpensive fiber-based noncontact distance sensor specific for monitoring short-range displacements in micromachining applications is presented. To keep the overall costs low, the sensor uses plastic optical fibers and an intensiometric approach based on the received light intensity after the reflection from the target whose displacement has to be measured. A suitable target reflectivity compensation technique is implemented to mitigate the effects due to target surface nonuniformity or ageing.The performances of the sensor are first evaluated for different fiber configurations and target reflectivity profiles and positions using a numerical method based on Monte Carlo simulations. Then, experimental validations on a configuration designed to work up to 1.5mm have been conducted. The results have confirmed the validity of the proposed sensor architecture, which demonstrated excellent compensation capabilities, with errors below 0.04mm in the (0-1)mm range regardless the color and misalignment of the target.