Ultra-miniature surface-mountable optical pressure sensor is constructed on an optical fiber. The sensor design utilizes an angled fiber tip which steers the optical axis of the optic fiber by 90°. The optical cavity is formed on the sidewall of the optic fiber. The optical cavity may be covered with a polymer-metal composite diaphragm to operate as a pressure transducer. Alternatively, a polymer-filled cavity may be constructed which does not need a reflective diaphragm. The sensor exhibits a sufficient linearity over the broad pressure range with a high sensitivity. The sensitivity of the sensor may be tuned by controlling the thickness of the diaphragm. Methods of batch production of uniform device-to-device optical pressure sensors of co-axial and cross-axial configurations are presented.
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