Cross-talk fiber-optic temperature sensor

The temperature sensitivity of cross talk between closely spaced cores in a common cladding is calculated and compared with measurements. A periodic variation in core contrast is observed when one core is illuminated and the temperature is changed. The variation in light distribution, which is ascribable to a change in coupling between the cores, agrees with theoretical predictions. It is shown that cross talk can be made to be a sensitive, predictable function of temperature or by proper selection of materials, wavelength, and fiber geometry essentially temperature independent.     

Development of a portable fiber-optic current sensor for power systems monitoring

The paper presents a portable fiber-optic current sensor (FOCS), based on the Faraday effect, with a magnetic concentrator. Both the optical sensing head and electronic processing block are illustrated. A detailed experimental study to confirm the performance of the device is also reported. According to the measured values of ac rms current up to 1 kA, a calibration procedure was performed. The paper provides an analysis of the results obtained for various conductor displacements within the concentrator. The well-known temperature dependence of the Faraday current sensor and its influence on the measurement accuracy are tested by means of a special double-layer thermal insulated chamber. The calibrated and characterized FOCS is applied for harmonic analysis of the current. The results clearly illustrate the nature of the sensing process and demonstrate odd-order harmonics presence, as predicted by the mathematical model. The paper indicates that the developed device is suitable for the power systems monitoring.     

Evanescent fiber-optic chemical sensor for monitoring volatile organic compounds in water

The transport of trichloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and toluene in aqueous solutions through a polydimethylsiloxane film was modeled using a Fickian diffusion model to fit data obtained from an evanescent fiber-optic chemical sensor (EFOCS). The resultant diffusion coefficients for these analytes were respectively 3 × 10(-)(7), 5 × 10(-)(7), and 1 × 10(-)(7) cm(2)/s. Inclusion of an interfacial conductance term, defined as the ratio of the mass transport coefficient across the polymer surface and the analyte diffusion coefficient in the polymer, was required to accurately model the data. It was determined that the interfacial conductance terms were generally of the same order of magnitude for the analytes examined, suggesting a constant transport mechanism for the analytes. Linear chemometric algorithms were used to model the EFOCS response to aqueous mixtures of the three analytes with individual analyte concentrations between 20 and 300 ppm. Both partial least-squares and principal component regression algorithms performed comparably on the calibration sets, with cross-validated root-mean-squared errors of prediction for trichloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and toluene of approximately 26, 29, and 22 ppm, respectively. The resultant prediction model was then used to determine analyte concentrations in an independent data set with comparable precision.     

Coherence-multiplexed fiber-optic sensor systems for measurements of pressure and temperature changes

A digital demodulation method for read-out of phase changes induced in coherence-multiplexed sensors based on highly birefringent fibers is described. The method employs the fringe counting principle and enables registration of the phase shifts simultaneously induced in two multiplexed sensors with a maximum frequency of 10 kHz and resolution of 1/4 of the interference fringe. The performance of three multiplexed systems interrogated using the proposed detection method is investigated. The first system is composed of two serial multiplexed sensors serving for measurements of pressure and temperature changes in the same location, while the two other systems are composed of two parallel or serial multiplexed temperature-compensated sensors serving for pressure measurements at different locations.     

Application of a fiber-optic NIR-EFA sensor system for in situ monitoring of aromatic hydrocarbons in contaminated groundwater

Interaction of analyte molecules with the evanescent wave of light guided in optical fibers is among the most promising novel sensing schemes that can be applied for environmental monitoring and on-line process analysis. By combining this measuring principle with the solid-phase extraction of analyte molecules into the polymer cladding of a fiber, it is possible to perform direct absorption measurements in the cladding, if the fiber is adapted to a conventional spectrometer/photometer. A big advantage of this arrangement is that the measurement is scarcely disturbed by matrix effects (background absorption of water in IR measurements, stray light due to turbidity in the sample). By using near-infrared (NIR) evanescent field absorption (EFA) measurements in quartz glass fibers coated with a hydrophobic silicone membrane it is possible to design and construct sensors for monitoring apolar hydrocarbons (HCs) in aqueous matrices.The paper presents a fiber-optic sensor system for the determination of aromatic HCs in groundwater or industrial wastewater. Generally, this instrument is suitable for quantitative in situ monitoring of pollutants such as aromatic solvents, fuels, mineral oils or chlorinated HCs with relatively low water saturation solubility (typically between 0.01 and 10 g l(-1)). The sensor probe is connected via all-silica fibers to a filter photometer developed at the IFIA, thus, allowing even remote analysis in a monitoring well. This portable instrument provides a total concentration signal of the organic compounds extracted into the fiber cladding by measuring the integral absorption at the 1st C--H overtone bands in the NIR spectral range.In situ measurements with the sensor system were performed in a groundwater circulation well at the VEGAS research facility of the University of Stuttgart (Germany). The NIR-EFA sensor system was tested within the frame of an experiment that was carried through in a tank containing sandy gravel with a groundwater-saturated aquifer, where soil and groundwater were contaminated with technical grade xylene. The goal of this experiment was to model and optimize the groundwater circulation well used for the remediation of the aquifer and soil surrounding the well. The sensor proved to trace reliably the total hydrocarbon concentration in the process water pumped from the well to a stripper column. Measurements were performed continuously over 4 months with C8 HC sum concentrations in the process water between 80 mg l(-1) down to the limit of detection, which is around 200 microg l(-1). It could be demonstrated that the fiber-optic sensor system is a valuable tool for near-real-time control of a remedial action technique and verification and documentation of its success.     

Precision fiber-optic sensor based on an optoelectronic recirculation system

It is proposed that an optoelectronic recirculation system can be used as an instrument for measuring the length of optical fibers and as a temperature sensor. The measured quantity is identified from the recirculation frequency, which is recorded with comparative ease and high accuracy. The optoelectronic recirculation system can be used to monitor the quality of optical fiber connections and other optical elements, and also to estimate the refractive index profile of multimode graded-index optical fibers. Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 7, pp. 32–35, July, 1999.     

Analysis of a high-speed fiber-optic spectrometer for fiber-optic sensor signal processing

A novel high-speed fiber-optic spectrometer has been demonstrated in our previous work. The high-speed spectrum measurement is enabled by translating the spectral-domain signal into a time-domain signal through a dispersion element. We present a mathematical model that accurately describes the relationship between the optical spectrum to be measured and the dispersed time-domain signal. Based on the model, the effects of the key parameters on the performance of the spectrometer are investigated in detail using numerical simulation. The analysis is useful for the design and application of such spectrometers.     

Wide-range fiber-optic strain sensor

A wide-range strain sensor which utilizes optical fiber as the transducing element is reported. This device differs from the well-known microbend type sensor in that a roller chain is used to impose constant curvature bends on the fiber, rather than a corrugated plate which imposes sinusoidal bends in the microbend sensors. This change also leads to a wide range of sensitivity adjustment and a linear calibration curve.     

Field test of a distributed fiber-optic intrusion sensor system for long perimeters

Field tests in desert terrain of a distributed sensor system for detecting and locating intruders based on the phase-sensitive optical-time-domain reflectometer (phi-OTDR) are described. The sensing element is a single-mode telecommunications fiber in a 4.5 mm diameter cable buried in a trench filled with loose sand. Light pulses from a continuous-wave Er:fiber Fabry-Perot laser with a narrow (<3 kHz) instantaneous linewidth and low (few kilohertz per second) frequency drift are injected into one end of the fiber, and the orthogonal polarizations of the backscattered light are monitored with separate receivers. Localized phase changes in the optical carrier are sensed by subtracting a phi-OTDR trace from an earlier stored trace. High sensitivity and consistent detection of intruders on foot and of vehicles traveling down a road near the cable line was realized over a cable length of 8.5 km and a total fiber path of 19 km in real time.     

Faraday current sensor with temperature monitoring

We present a novel optical current sensor based on the Faraday effect that incorporates a temperature monitoring system. The monitoring element is a temperature-dependent birefringent plate placed at the Faraday sensor head. Measurement of the plate retardation permits compensation for the temperature dependence of the Verdet constant. Validation experiments are presented and discussed.     

A fiber-optic pressure-gradient sensor

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 11, p. 36, November, 1991.     

GaAs-based fiber-optic pressure sensor

A new sensor developed for measurement of hydrostatic pressure up to at least 100 MPa at a standard range of ambient temperatures is described. The sensor exploits the displacement of the optical absorption edge occurring in semiconductors under the influence of hydrostatic stress as a result of pressure-induced energy shifting of conduction band extrema. The sensing element is composed of an intrinsically pure GaAs single crystal configured in the form of a microprism located at the sensor tip, and attached to two multimode (50/125 μm) optical fibers designed to deliver input light to the sensor and to output a pressure-modulated light signal to the outside of a pressure region. Characterization of the sensor has been performed for pressures up to 100 MPa and for temperatures ranging from 5 to 50°C. A procedure has been proposed involving the use of two sensors (active and compensating) to minimize temperature drift through appropriate signal processing     

Fabry-Perot diaphragm fiber-optic sensor

The general theory of a diaphragm fiber-optic sensor (DFOS) is proposed. We use a critical test to determine if a DFOS is based on Fabry-Perot interference or intensity modulation. By use of the critical test, this is the first design, to the best of our knowledge, of a purely Fabry-Perot DFOS, fabricated with microelectromechanical system technology, and characterized as an audible microphone and ultrasonic hydrophone with orders of improvement in signal-to-noise ratio.     

Inline fiber-optic polarization analyzers for sensor application

Theoretical and experimental investigations of a new type of inline fiber-optic polarization analyzer are described in this paper. The discussed devices are based on a polarimeter, as well as a Sagnac interferometer configuration, and give the possibility to detect the full polarization changes. Detection of the polarization state as well as its degree in real time by the systems containing a standard single-mode fiber and application of appropriate modulation technique is a new property of the arrangement. The comparison of the described systems based on experimental device investigation is also presented in this paper.     

Highly sensitive fiber-optic sensor for dynamic pressuremeasurements

A new type of fiber-optic pressure sensor based on a specially developed side-hole fiber is presented. It allows for unambiguous and fast phase-shift measurements in the range from -π/2 to +π/2 with a sampling rate of 5 kHz and resolution of about 1% of full scale (2 · 10^-3 atm)     

Smart interpolator for a fiber-optic pressure sensor

A smart interpolator is proposed to improve the long-term stability of a fiber-optic pressure sensor. This method relies on decomposing the compensation model into signal and reference channel parameters. Analysis shows that this interpolator can be used for self-calibration and cancellation of the long-term drift. Experiments prove its effectiveness.     

Neural processing-type fiber-optic strain sensor

A neural-processing-type strain sensor insensitive to thermal variation is presented and calibration of the device through modulation of the processing system's internal parameters is described. The sensor exploits the variation of the far-field polarization pattern in a single-mode birefringent fiber under the influence of longitudinal strain. A temperature-compensating fiber element is built in, making the sensor assembly immune to thermal variation. Sampling of the sensor output and parallel distributed processing of the samples are integrated within the sensor. The processor manages both a training function and a generalization function. The training function modulates a small-size linear network built into the system. In the working phase, the generalization function is used to recover measurement information. If the sensor is thermally compensated, the network gives a reading of the measurand with an error not exceeding 0.1%. Applicability of the processing system to bimodal sensor output is also described     

Embedded fiber-optic Fabry-Perot ultrasound sensor

A fiber-optic ultrasound sensor is presented. The sensor consists of a continuous length of single-mode optical fiber with a built-in Fabry-Perot interferometer. The acoustic pressure produces changes in the index of refraction along the interferometer cavity through the strain-optic effect, thus modulating the reflected power of the light propagating in the fiber. The dielectric internal mirrors that form the interferometer are fabricated by joining a fiber coating with a TiO(2) film at one end to an uncoated fiber by electric arc fusion splicing. Experimental results have been obtained for sensors embedded in plastic and graphite composite materials, using ultrasound waves in the range from 100 kHz to 5 MHz. Values for the optical phase shift amplitude as large as 0.5 rad were obtained at an acoustic frequency of 200 kHz for a 1.1-cm-long interferometer embedded in plastic.     

White-light interferometric fiber-optic pressure sensor

A novel configuration for a fiber-optic white-light interferometric sensor is presented which allows for absolute measurements of hydrostatic pressure with an improved operation range. The performance of two fibers (York bow-tie 800 and especially designed elliptical-core side-hole fiber) used as sensing elements was experimentally studied. The sensor itself was composed of two equal lengths of the fiber spliced at 90°. This structure assures temperature compensation and enables application of a Wollaston prism as a receiving interferometer. A step delay line made of crystalline quartz was used to increase the operation range of the sensor