Fiber laser sensors: enabling the next generation of miniaturized, wideband marine sensors

G. A. Cranch; G. A. Miller; C. K. Kirkendall

doi:10.1117/12.887541

11 May 2011 Fiber laser sensors: enabling the next generation of miniaturized, wideband marine sensors

G. A. Cranch, G. A. Miller, C. K. Kirkendall

Proceedings Volume 8028, Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications VIII; 80280I (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887541
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2011, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Fiber laser strain sensors achieve fundamentally limited strain resolution, resulting in their ability to resolve axial fiber displacements at the sub-femtometer level. This ultra-high resolution enables the development of miniaturized sensors capable of achieving the performance necessary for high resolution marine sensing. The reduction in size also facilitates an increased operating bandwidth for broadband acoustic transducers. The last decade has seen considerable development of this technology, moving it from a laboratory curiosity to deployable demonstrations. Significant advances have been made in understanding the fundamental properties of erbium fiber laser strain sensors as well as laser multiplexing, signal demodulation and sensor design. This talk will describe the basic properties of fiber laser strain sensors and show how the technical challenges involved in developing deployable, multiplexed arrays of miniature transducers have been overcome. In particular the development of miniature wideband hydrophones, low power DC magnetometers with sub-nT resolution and miniature acoustic vector sensors will be described. Finally, a view towards potential future applications of this technology will be given.

Citation Download Citation

G. A. Cranch, G. A. Miller, and C. K. Kirkendall "Fiber laser sensors: enabling the next generation of miniaturized, wideband marine sensors", Proc. SPIE 8028, Fiber Optic Sensors and Applications VIII, 80280I (11 May 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887541

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