Fiber-optic sensor reads strain through electrical signals, skipping optical analyzers

Scientists have demonstrated a new fiber-optic sensing method that detects strain and displacement by reading interference patterns directly in the electrical spectrum of a photodetected signal. The approach uses a polymer optical fiber-based single-mode–multimode–single-mode (SMS) structure, in which multimode propagation creates relative modal delays that appear as measurable dips in the electrical-frequency domain. Their research was published in the IEEE Sensors Journal on April 27, 2026.