A π-phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (π-FBG) shows high sensitivity to the ultrasonic (US) wave as compared to the conventional FBG due to the strong slow-light phenomenon at the resonance peak. However, its sensitivity is limited by the interrogation schemes. A combination of π-FBG and unbalanced fiber Mach– Zehnder interferometer (F-MZI) are theoretically analyzed and optimized for the highly sensitive acoustic sensor. The coupled-mode theory (CMT) and transfer matrix method (TMM) are used to establish the numerical modelling of π-FBG. For the optimized grating parameters of π-FBG, the proposed sensing system shows the high strain sensitivity of 1.2 × 108/ε, the highest dynamic strain resolution of 4.1fε/√Hz, and the highest wavelength shift resolution of 4.9 × 10−9 pm. Further, the proposed sensing system strongly supports both time andwavelength division multiplexing techniques. Therefore, the proposed sensing system shows extreme importance in single as well as quasi-distributed US acoustic wave sensing networks.

Considering the low accuracy and low efficiency of the traditional calibration method for base strain sensitivity of accelerometers, a novel base strain sensitivity calibration system with steady harmonic excitation is proposed. The required cantilever beam for calibration is driven by an electromagnetic exciter to generate a base strain varying in a steady harmonic pattern. By applying a Wheatstone bridge circuit, the generated strain with low distortion can be measured. The measurement system with a compensation function can automatically calibrate the base strain sensitivity. The amplitude linearity and frequency response characteristics of the base strain sensitivity in two accelerometers are obtained experimentally, and the uncertainty in the results is 2% ( k = 2).