K.T.V. Grattan

Fiber optic sensor technology: an overview

This work presents an overview of progress and developments in the field of fiber optic sensor technology, highlighting the major issues underpinning recent research and illustrating a number of important applications and key areas of effective fiber optic sensor development.

Optical fiber sensor technology

List of contributors. Preface. 1. Overview of fiber sensor developments D.A. Jackson. 2. Foundations of optical fiber technology V. Handerek. 3. Sources for optical fiber sensors K.T.V. Grattan. 4. Optical detectors and receivers J.D.C. Jones. 5. Multimode optical fiber sensors G.R. Jones, R.E. Jones, R. Jones. 6. Multimode optical fiber chemical sensors J.O.W. Norris. 7. Single mode optical fiber sensors V. Handerek. 8. Optical fiber modulation techniques for single mode fiber sensors R.P. Tatam. 9. Fiber optic white-light interferometric sensors B.T. Meggitt. 10. Nonlinear effects in optical fibers A.J. Rogers. 11. Distributed fiber optic sensors A.H. Hartog. 12. Schemes for referencing of intensity-modulated optical sensor systems G. Murtaza, J.M. Senior. 13A. Hybrid optical fiber sensors R.C. Spooncer, G.S. Philp. 13B. Optical fiber current measurement A.J. Rogers. 13C. Fiber optic techniques for temperature measurement K.T.V. Grattan. 14. Advanced external fiber optic sensors D.A. Jackson. Index.

Self-mixing interference inside a single-mode diode laser for optical sensing applications

This paper presents a theoretical analysis and a comparison with experimental results on self-mixing interference inside a single-longitudinal-mode diode laser. A theoretical model, based on the steady-state equations of the lasing condition in a Fabry-Perot type laser cavity, is described, and through it a satisfactory analysis of self-mixing interference for optical sensing applications is given. In this work, the self-mixing interference produced by an external optical feedback is found to be due to the variations in the threshold gain and in the spectral distribution of the laser output. The gain variation results in an optical intensity modulation, and the spectral variation determines both the modulation waveform and the coherence properties of the interference. The theoretical analysis of the self-mixing interference is seen to yield a simulation of the laser power modulation which is in good agreement with the experiment results reported. >

Comparison of fluorescence-based temperature sensor schemes: Theoretical analysis and experimental validation

The performance of the two most promising fluorescence-based temperature sensing techniques, namely the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) and fluorescence lifetime (FL) schemes, have been compared. Theoretical calibration graphs for the two methods illustrate the useful monotonic change of the response with temperature variation. Comparison of the responses and the sensitivities of the two schemes show that at very low temperatures the FIR method exhibits a significant variation with temperature, while the response of the FL method becomes constant with its sensitivity approaching zero. With increasing temperature, the FIR and the FL methods (with short relaxation times and shorter intrinsic lifetimes of the upper energy levels) share a similar sensitivity over a wide temperature range. The presence of a long relaxation time or a longer intrinsic lifetime of the upper level in the use of the FL method gives a less satisfactory response. Experimental data obtained for a range of dopant ions in various hos...

Recent progress in optical current sensing techniques

This paper reviews recent developments in the field of current measurement which employ a wide range of optical and fiber optic techniques. Depending on the current sensing mechanisms involved and the sensing materials used, optical current sensors (OCSs) may be categorized into four main groups: (i) OCSs employing optical fiber as their sensing elements, (ii) OCSs using bulk glass to sense the current, (iii) OCSs using electro‐optic hybrid sensing devices, and (iv) OCSs using magnetic field sensing devices. The operational modes of a variety of OCSs have been grouped and discussed, and several examples given. It can be seen that as a result of an intensive and wide ranging research effort using various approaches, substantial progress in the differing aspects of the optical current sensing techniques considered, such as the sensing material used, the configurations of sensing elements introduced, and the detection schemes adapted, has been achieved during the past years. An overall view of the field shows it to be as an active and exciting research area, highlighting several recently introduced and novel sensing materials and configurations which provide impressive results in this field of instrumentation. Examples of applications for the electric power industry are discussed more extensively.

Self-mixing interference in a diode laser: experimental observations and theoretical analysis

The experimental results of an investigation of self-mixing effects or backscatter modulation in diode lasers coupled with a simple theoretical analysis are presented. The laser is used to send light, either in free space or through an optical fiber, to a movable target from which the optical backscatter is detected and fed back into the laser. In the experiment three significant conclusions are drawn: (1) self-mixing interference is not dependent on the coherence length of the laser, (2) the interference is not dependent on the use of a single-mode or multimode laser as the source, and (3) the interference is independent of the type of fiber employed, i.e., whether it is single mode or multimode. A comparison of this kind of interference with that in a conventional interferometer shows that self-mixing interference has the same phase sensitivity as that of the conventional arrangement, the modulation depth of the interference is comparable with that of a conventional interferometer, and the direction of the phase movement can be obtained from the interference signal. The above factors have implications for the optical sensing of a wide range of physical parameters. Several applications of the method are discussed that highlight the significant advantages of simplicity, compactness, and robustness as well as the self-aligning and self-detecting abilities of fiber-based self-mixing interferometry when compared with the use of conventional interference methods.

Digital signal-processing techniques for electronically scanned optical-fiber white-light interferometry

Several important digital processing techniques for optical-fiber sensor systems that use electronically scanned white-light interferometry are presented. These include fringe restoration, fringe-order identification, and resolution enhancement techniques. A pure low-coherence interference fringe pattern is restored by dividing, pixel by pixel, the beam intensity profile from the signal. The central (zero-order) fringe of the pattern is identified by using a centroid algorithm. A linear interpolation or a localized centroid algorithm is used to enhance further the phase resolution. Theoretical analyses, computer simulations, and experimental verifications have shown that these techniques are able to increase greatly the dynamic range of the measurement under a low signal-to-noise ratio environment.

Fiber-optic high-temperature sensor based on the fluorescence lifetime of alexandrite

A fiber‐optic sensor for continuous temperature measurement from room temperature to ≳700 °C is presented. The device is based upon the excitation of the synthetic crystal alexandrite with light from a diode laser operating at 670 nm and the measurement of its fluorescence lifetime. A simple low cost optical configuration is described together with the introduction of a new effective signal processing scheme for fluorescence lifetime measurement, and a high sensitivity and repeatability are observed, at best ±1 °C.

Infrared fluorescence ‘‘decay‐time’’ temperature sensor

The principle of the change in the ‘‘decay time’’ of the fluorescence of a small sample of neodymium in a glass matrix, excited by infrared radiation from a high‐power light emitting diode has been used in the construction of a fiber‐optic temperature sensor. Such a device is an inexpensive transducer and has demonstrated a fiber‐optic sensor not requiring referencing to the intensity of the exciting radiation.

Design and characterization of compact single-section passive polarization rotator

In this paper an improved design for a short and low-loss polarization rotator is proposed, consisting of a single-section asymmetrical waveguide butt-coupled between two standard rib waveguides. At a wavelength of 1.55 /spl mu/m, nearly 100% polarization conversion ratio is obtained, with a relatively short (320 /spl mu/m) device length and an extremely low 0.5 dB total insertion loss. The simulation results are obtained using the full vectorial finite-element-based beam propagation, the junction analysis, and the modal solution approaches.