Fiber Optic Fabry-Perot Interferometer Pressure Sensors for Oil Well.
Zijia Liu, Jin Cheng, Jinheng Li, Junming Li, Longjiang Zhao, Zhiwei Zheng, Peizhe Huang, Hao Li
Abstract
Open AccessIn oil well environments, pressure sensors are often challenged by electromagnetic interference, temperature drift, and corrosive fluids, which reduce their stability and service life. To improve long-term reliability under these conditions, we developed a fiber optic Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity pressure sensor that employs an Inconel 718 diaphragm to provide both high mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. An integrated fiber Bragg grating (FBG) was included to monitor temperature simultaneously, allowing temperature-pressure cross-sensitivity to be decoupled. The sensor was fabricated and tested over a temperature range of 20-100 °C and a pressure range of 0-60 MPa. Experimental characterization showed that the FP cavity length shifted linearly with pressure, with a sensitivity of 377 nm/MPa, while the FBG demonstrated a temperature sensitivity of 0.012 nm/°C. After temperature compensation, the overall pressure measurement accuracy reached 0.5% of the full operating pressure range (0-60 MPa). These results confirm that the combined FP-FBG sensing approach maintained stable performance in harsh downhole conditions, making it suitable for pressure monitoring in shallow and medium-depth reservoirs. The proposed design offers a practical route to extend the operational lifetime of optical sensors in oilfield applications.