A comparative study and experimental observations of optical fiber sagnac interferometric based strain sensor by using different fibers

•In this research we have presented the work of Optical Fiber Sagnac Interferometer (OFSI) based strain sensor using different types of optical fibers. In this report we have theoretically and experimentally analyzed interferometric strain sensor by using three different types of fiber such as PMF, standard PCF and Hi-Bi PCF respectively.•In first approach, we have demonstrated a polarization maintaining based OFSI having sensitivity of 4.56 pm/με for 50 cm length and 26.85 pm/με for 57 cm length. In the second approach, we have proposed an OFSI by using standard PCF having sensitivity of 1.809 pm/με for 17 cm of length. In the third approach, we have developed an OFSI based strain sensor using a Hi-Bi PCF, with detection sensitivity of 0.893 pm/μɛ and1.24 pm/με for 7 cm and 23.9 cm length respectively.•These proposed sensors are particularly attractive for precision strain sensing. These exhibits the advantages of high sensitivity, compact size and potentially low cost. From this paper we can conclude that polarization maintaining fiber have highest sensitivity in comparison to other fibers. These fiber interferometers can be useful in various application areas such as strain measurement in hazard environments and health monitoring of complex structures.