City Research Online

Abstract

Fibre optic sensors offer promising solutions for accurate and precise temperature monitoring across diverse application areas. This study experimentally evaluates the performance of several widely-used fibre optic temperature sensing technologies, including distributed fibre sensing systems based on Raman, Brillouin, and Rayleigh scattering effects, as well as point sensing based on fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs). Under identical thermal conditions, each sensor type is assessed in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, and uncertainty. Distributed measurements are obtained through using Raman optical time domain reflectometry, Brillouin optical time domain analysis, and optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR). The results obtained show clear differences in the sensitivity and precision observed, with OFDR and FBGs demonstrating superior stability and repeatability. This comparative analysis, undertaken in this comprehensive way for the first time, offers industry a wealth of foundational data for selecting suitable fibre optic temperature sensors, which can be tailored to their application-specific requirements.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2026 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Publisher Keywords:	optical fibre sensing, distributed temperature sensing, measurement uncertainty, quasi-distributed sensing, structural health monitoring
Subjects:	T Technology > T Technology (General) T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Departments:	School of Science & Technology School of Science & Technology > Department of Engineering
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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