A cost-effective edge-filter based FBG interrogator using catastrophic fuse effect micro-cavity interferometers

•An inexpensive in-line solution based on micro-cavity interferometers is used.•The cost-effective fabrication process of the micro-cavity is presented.•The development of new and lower cost interrogation technique for FBG.•Measurements of strain and temperature of the FBG sensor.•The presented analytical model strongly agrees with the experimental results. This paper proposed an inexpensive high contrast in-line micro-cavity interferometer for edge-filter strain and temperature interrogation of a fiber Bragg grating sensor. The simulation model is presented in order to describe the sensor behavior which strongly agrees with the experimental results with a mean error lower than 0.04%. The results show evidences of high repeatability and stability achieved in measurements of strain and temperature from 0 to 1440 μStrain and 5 °C to 50 °C, respectively.