Synchronous phase detection for optical fiber interferometric sensors

A system has been developed to accurately detect phase signals produced in optical interferometric sensors. The system employs optical heterodyning and synchronously detects optical phase by feeding back an error signal to a phase modulator in the reference leg of the interferometer. This system is seen to have properties similar to a phase-locked loop. The system is mathematically analyzed and a simple second-order model developed which accurately predicts the system response.     

An economical piezoelectric phase modulator for fiber optic sensors

A homemade piezoelectric phase modulator for interfero-metric fiber optic sensors was fabricated using piezoelectric buzzers as strain elements. Six piezoelectric elements were embedded between the two halves of a bakelite cylinder split along its axis and secured tightly together again to form a cylinder. Single-mode optical fiber was then wound around the cylinder to complete the unit. Up to a frequency of 500 Hz, the phase shift produced by the modulator is linearly proportional to the amplitude of the applied voltage. The sensitivity of the phase modulator is about 3.6 rad/V and has a dynamic range of 1,000 rad, which is sufficient for most phase modulation purposes.     

碳纤维水泥石压敏传感器及其性能研究

研究了碳纤维水泥石压敏传感器(CFCPS)的制备方法、测试方法以及信号采集系统的建立方法,并对所定型的一种CFCPS进行了性能测试.研究表明:调整水灰比、减水剂掺量、分散剂掺量,采用碳纤维和碳黑复掺,同时采取合适的搅拌工艺,可制得性能稳定的CFCPS;CFCPS的电极宜采用埋入式网状电极,电阻测试方法应采用四电极法;所建立的基于电压信号的采集系统具有电路简单、精度高、方便实用等特点,并可以实现实时在线、多通道采集;所定型的CF-CPS的输入(应力或应变)与输出(电阻率变化率)关系式为:△ρ=-0.912σ(或△ρ=0.015ε),其输入范围为0～10MPa(0～578με)、输出范围为0～8%、灵敏度约为0.912%/MPa(-0.016%/με)、线性度约为13%、重复性约为4.49%、迟滞性约为5.28%、零点输出约为2.52%、时间零漂移约为8.46%.     

Noise properties of a bidirectional optical fiber transmission system using Raman amplifers

Abstract

Noise properties of a bidirectional optical fiber transmission system using Raman amplification are analyzed. Analytical expressions for both forward and backward amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise are established in terms of system parameters. The signal to ASE noise ratio (SNR) and the achievable repeater length are discussed. Based on the results, we find that there exist optimum pump and initial power levels for the maximum SNR and repeater spacing. The maximum system transmission length and accumulated ASE noise for a multiple‐amplifier system are calculated. A maximum system transmission length up to 5,000 km with 12 dB SNR is then predicted.     

Embedded optical fiber sensors for materials evaluation

Optical fiber waveguides embedded within materials have been applied to the measurement of chemical changes, strain, and temperature inside materials. This paper reviews some of the research that has been performed in this area over the past 10 years and cites the theoretical and demonstrated performance of such sensors for material evaluation during its manufacturing, in service lifetime and degradation periods.     

Revisiting twin-core fiber sensors for high-temperature measurements

A twin-core fiber Michelson interferometer is evaluated as a high-temperature sensor. Although linear and reproducible operation up to 300°C is obtained, at higher temperatures (700°C) the refractive index shifts plastically and hysteresis is observed, rendering an untreated sensor head unusable. The shift is shown to be greatly reduced by an annealing process of the fiber for 10 h at 900°C, with which the linear response is preserved.     

Graphene oxide-silver/cotton fiber fabric with anti-bacterial and anti-UV properties for wearable gas sensors

Wearable gas sensors can improve early warning provision for workers in special worksites and can also be used as flexible electronic platforms. Here, the flexible multifunctional gas sensor was prepared by grafting graphene oxide (GO)-Ag onto cotton fabric after swelling. The maximum bacterial inhibition rate of GO-150/cotton fabric was 95.6% for E. coli and 87.6% for S. aureus, while retaining the original high moisture permeability of cotton fabric. So GO/cotton fabric can resist the multiplication of bacteria. At the same time, GO can greatly improve the UV protection performance of cotton fabric used in garments. With increase of the GO concentration, the UV protection ability of composite fabric is enhanced. Finally, GO-Ag/cotton fabric sensors had stable NH₃ gas-sensitive properties and good washing stability. In conclusion, these cotton fabric sensors with antibacterial properties, UV resistance and highly sensitive gas-sensitive properties have potential applications in wearable early warning devices and textile products.     

Regularized quadrature and phase tracking from a single closed-fringe interferogram

A new sequential phase demodulator based on a regularized quadrature and phase tracker system (RQPT) is applied to demodulate two-dimensional fringe patterns. This RQPT system tracks the fringe pattern's quadrature and phase in a sequential way by following the path of the fringes. To make the RQPT system more robust to noise, the modulating phase around a small neighborhood is modeled as a plane and the quadrature of the signal is estimated simultaneously with the fringe's modulating phase. By sequentially calculating the quadrature of the fringe pattern, one obtains a more robust sequential demodulator than was previously possible. This system may be applied to the demodulation of a single interferogram having closed fringes.     

Data processing for intensity based fiber optic sensors

The design of a data processing prototype for intensity based fiber optic sensors is presented. This processing unit fulfills the requirement of a simple and reliable measurement technique to the laboratory user. In this particular experiment, the data processing unit was tested for an optical fiber displacement sensor.     

Reflection intensity optical fiber sensors for the mid-infrared

Two kinds of reflection intensity sensor made of chalcogenide glass fiber for the mid-IR region are demonstrated. One is a double-fiber reflection sensor based on two tied fibers with a gold-coated hollow metal waveguide connected to the far end of the fibers. The other is a single-fiber reflection sensor based on contact couplers. These reflectance sensors were coupled to a Fourier-transform IR spectrometer by a unique accessory based on nonimaging concentrators. This setup was built to measure absorption spectra of a polymer coating of an aluminum can and a sheet of drafting paper. A theoretical model treating the ratio between the signal from the target and the background is introduced. This model was helpful in deriving the sensitivity characteristics of the sensors from experimental absorption peak heights. Hence, the absorption peaks heights that we obtained using a single-fiber reflection sensor with a symmetric coupler were nearly 50% relative to those obtained with a double-fiber reflection sensor.     

Blind carrier phase recovery for general quadrature amplitude modulation constellations

A new blind carrier phase reconstruction method that can be applied to both square- and cross-suppressed-carrier L-ary quadrature amplitude modulations (QAMs) is proposed. This method is based on a special phase metric that performs an absolute minimum for the carrier phase offset. In particular, it does not require any modification of the modulation structure. As a result, the non-coherent detection process is easy even for modulations with large QAM constellations. Simulation results will demonstrate the good performance of the estimator described, which is superior to that of conventional blind phase estimation methods.     

Monitoring and multiplexing technique for interferometric fiber optic sensors with a linearly chirped Er:fiber laser

The monitoring of interferometer fiber optic sensors using a laser that is scanned over a wide frequency range is investigated. The interrogation technique is based on the principle that if the light-source frequency varies linearly with time, the optical signal reflected or transmitted is intensity modulated at a frequency that is proportional to the optical path difference (OPD) in the interferometer. Fourier components in the detected optical output signal then correspond to the OPDs of any interferometers that have contributed to this modulation. The temporal position of a peak in the power spectrum of this signal is proportional to the OPD of the interferometer that is responsible for that peak. A fine tuning of the OPD value is determined from the phase of the corresponding Fourier component. Experimentally, an Er:fiber laser scanned over a 48-nm range centered at 1540 nm was used to monitor intrinsic fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers (FFPIs). Variations in the laser scan rate were compensated with the optical signal modulated by a reference FFPI held at a constant temperature. The OPD measurement resolution was 3.6 nm, and the dynamic range was 1.3 x 10(7). The temperature was measured from 20 degrees C to 610 degrees C with a 0.02 degrees C resolution, and multiplexing of three of the sensors arranged in series was demonstrated.     

Effect of capillary properties on the sensitivity enhancement in capillary/fiber optical sensors

The sensitivity enhancement observed in fluorescence signals when a conventional fiber optical sensor is coupled with a quartz or glass capillary results from the partial reflection of the radiation at the sample/internal wall interface and from the internal reflection of the refracted portion within the capillary wall. Thus, the length and absorbing properties of the capillary as well as the nature of the surrounding medium affect the enhancement significantly. To interpret the dramatic changes in enhancement observed experimentally when the absorbing properties of the capillary were changed, a partial reflective waveguide model is reported.     

Vernier-effect optical interrogation technique for fiber Bragg grating sensors

This work demonstrates a new technique for real-time optical sensor interrogation by exploiting a novel Vernier effect between the multiple (comb) wavelength responses of a multiplexed fiber Bragg grating array and the fixed discrete wavelengths of an all-solid-state tunable laser. Sets of output photodetector voltages serve as high-resolution optical "signatures" to determine uniquely the strain in the single fiber section. The sensor demonstrated here is compact, lightweight, and is specifically intended for remote operability in harsh (vibrational) environments. In this proof of concept, strain values over a range of nearly 500 microepsilon can be easily resolved to better than 5.9 microepsilon, which is the incremental limit of the mechanical test fixture used to induce strain in the experiment.     

Dynamic thermal response of single-mode optical fiber for interferometric sensors

The dynamic temperature phase sensitivity of a three-layer optical fiber is calculated for unjacketed as well as Al- and Hytrel-coated fibers. The calculations include both the variation of the refractive index with temperature and the thermally induced axial and radial strains. The calculated phase sensitivity indicates that it is currently possible to measure a 1-microdegree C temperature change at frequencies exceeding 50 kHz with 1 cm of a metal coated optical fiber.     

Tailoring fiber grating sensors for assessment of highly refractive fuels

Three approaches that allow the tailoring of long period gratings based refractometric sensors for concentration measurement in fuel blends are employed to assess the fuel quality in biodiesel and biodiesel-petrodiesel blend. To allow the analysis of fuel samples with refractive index higher than fiber cladding one, the samples refractive indices were changed by thermo-optic effect and by dilution in a standard substance with low refractive index. The obtained results show the sensor can detect oil concentration in biodiesel samples with resolution as better as 0.07% and biodiesel concentration in biodiesel-petrodiesel samples with average resolution of 0.09%.     

Using a validated transmission model for the optimization of bundled fiber optic displacement sensors

A variety of intensity-modulated optical displacement sensor architectures have been proposed for use in noncontacting sensing applications, with one of the most widely implemented architectures being the bundled displacement sensor. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the arrangement of measurement fibers in previously reported bundled displacement sensors has not been configured with the use of a validated optical transmission model. Such a model has utility in accurately describing the sensor's performance a priori and thereby guides the arrangement of the fibers within the bundle to meet application-specific performance needs. In this paper, a recently validated transmission model is used for these purposes, and an optimization approach that employs a genetic algorithm efficiently explores the design space of the proposed bundle sensor architecture. From the converged output of the optimization routine, a bundled displacement sensor configuration is designed and experimentally tested, offering linear performance with a sensitivity of -0.066 μm(-1) and displacement measurement error of 223 μm over the axial displacement range of 6-8 mm. It is shown that this optimization approach may be generalized to determine optimized bundle configurations that offer high-sensitivity performance, with an acceptable error level, over a variety of axial displacement ranges. This document has been approved by Los Alamos National Laboratory for unlimited public release (LA-UR 11-03413).     

Multiplexing of optical fiber gas sensors with a frequency-modulated continuous-wave technique

We report on the use of a frequency-modulated continuous-wave technique for multiplexing optical fiber gas sensors. The sensor network is of a ladder topology and is interrogated by a tunable laser. The system performance in terms of detection sensitivity and cross talk between sensors was investigated and found to be limited by coherent mixing between signals from different channels. The system performance can be improved significantly by use of appropriate wavelength modulation-scanning coupled with low-pass filtering. Computer simulation shows that an array of 37 acetylene sensors with a detection accuracy of 2000 parts in 10(6) for each sensor may be realized. A two-sensor acetylene detection system was experimentally demonstrated that had a detection sensitivity of 165 parts in 10(6) for 2.5-cm gas cells (or a minimum detectable absorbance of 2.1 x 10(-4)) and a cross talk of -25 dB.     

非本征光纤法珀传感器的振动特性研究

针对光纤法珀(Fabry-Perot, FP)超声波传感器振动特性,将传感器薄板振动简化为具有集中参数的二阶振动,推导二阶振动方程的集中参数(力阻抗、等效质量、弹性系数、集中力),获得传感器共振频率、振幅灵敏度与结构参数设计关系。测试直径2.52 mm、厚度150 μm玻璃振动薄板在空气、水中的共振频率分别为205 kHz及115 kHz,水介质中共振频率振幅灵敏度约18 pm/Pa。制作的传感器可测试局放产生超声波的最小声压约1 Pa。