A PMMA based single-mode polymer optical fibre is etched to different diameter and it is observed that etching can lead to change in the material properties of the fibre such as Young’s modulus and thermal expansion coefficient. This can play a vital role in improving the intrinsic sensing capabilities based on etched polymer optical fibre. Thus, exploiting the different strain and temperature sensitivities exhibited by the etched and un-etched polymer FBGs and by using an FBG array, strain and temperature can be measured simultaneously and also with very high sensitivity.
A feasibility study on using polymer fiber Bragg sensors (PFBG) for providing force feedback to minimally invasive surgical devices is carried out. For this purpose a 3 mm long PFBG is fabricated and characterized for strain and temperature sensitivities. The PFBG sensor is then integrated onto a commercial laparoscopic clip applicator which is used as a proof of concept device. The force characterization of the clip applicator is carried out, with a replica setup which simulates the clip forming process of the device. An original clip is then formed without and with synthetic tissue samples of different hardness. The replica device force profile and original clip forming force profile follows the same pattern and thus the calibration data can be used to calculate the original force exerting on the tissues which can help in optimizing the clip formation process or can be used for providing force feedback capability to the device.
Carbon fibre-foam sandwich composite with embedded FBGs are fabricated and dynamic load testing and temperature studies were carried out. It was found from the tests that, the embedded FBG can measure the strain inside a sandwich composite, but a gauge factor is required to measure the absolute strain experienced inside the composite. The temperature sensitivity of the embedded FBG is found to be close to that of the free space sensitivity of the FBG, concluding that the thermal expansion of the carbon fibre-foam composite is minimal and has negligible effect on the embedded grating. The effect of the foam relaxation is also studied and it is found that foam relaxation can contribute to a strain error of ±16 με in strain measurements during the observed time period in this study. The results presented in this paper points to a direction that, embedded FBGs can be reliably used for strain measurement in sandwich composites and is less impacted by the thermal expansion of the composite laminate which is an advantage compared to other types of composite laminates. Further studies are required to estimate the FBG gauge factor for strain measurements and also to quantify the foam relaxation error based on an applied load.
The hydrostatic pressure sensitivity of polymer optical fibre Bragg grating of different diameters is investigated. For this purpose Bragg gratings are inscribed in single-mode polymer fibre and also in etched single-mode polymer fibre. The inherent pressure sensitivity of the grating are experimentally investigated up-to 1MPa by monitoring the change in the reflected peak wavelengths due to pressure. It is observed that polymer FBGs exhibit a positive Bragg wavelength shift and is also more sensitive compared to silica FBGs. The pressure sensitivity of the polymer FBG can be increased by reducing the diameter of the fibre.
Polymer micro-fibers with inscribed Bragg gratings are reported in this paper. By implementing a two-stage fabrication process a 16 μm diameter micro-fiber is fabricated with an inscribed 10 mm long Bragg grating which exhibits a peak reflected wavelength circa 1530 nm. The growth dynamics of the polymer micro-fiber Bragg grating are also observed and analyzed. A maximum reflectivity of 5% is obtained after an exposure time of 3 minutes to a 50 mW power He-Cd laser of 325 nm wavelength. The temperature characterization of the micro-fiber Bragg grating with different diameters is also presented. The fabricated micro-fiber Bragg grating can be used as sensors for high sensitivity measurements in a number of application areas.
Low frequency vibration measurements in a composite material using embedded polarimetric sensor are presented in this
paper. A glass fiber reinforced composite material sample is fabricated with two different polarimetric sensor types
embedded in it. The two types of polarimetric sensors embedded are based on polarization maintaining photonic crystal fiber
(PM-PCF) and Panda fiber. The vibration frequencies and amplitudes are measured using the embedded polarimetric sensors
and the results from both sensor types are compared. Analysis of the limitations of Panda fiber based vibration measurements
over PM-PCF is carried out and the results are presented. It is found that for high amplitude vibration measurements, PMPCF
based sensors offer a wider linear range and are more suitable than Panda fiber based polarimetric fiber sensors. It is
envisaged that the results from the studies will provide important information to end-users for selecting an appropriate sensor
for vibration measurements in composite materials.
A demodulation scheme is presented for a hybrid sensing system based on a polarimetric fiber sensor and a fiber Bragg
grating (FBG) for composite structural health monitoring (SHM). The demodulation module is comprised of a Thin Film
Filter Wavelength Division Demultiplexer (TFF WDM- Demux) and an Electro-optic (EO) modulator. Unlike
"laboratory-use" demodulation systems which typically do not need a compact form factor, the proposed miniaturized
demodulation system is compact, lightweight and has low power consumption. The bandpass responses of the TFF
WDM- Demux are designed to match the peak reflected wavelengths of the FBGs so that the differential wavelength
information can be converted to intensity variations recorded by the array of detectors connected to the output channels
of the TFF WDM- Demux. In the polarimetric sensor demodulation section of the system, an electrical control voltage is
applied to the electro-optic modulator in order to shift the polarimetric sensor output to the maximum sensitive linear
response region. Two types of polarimetric fiber sensors are used; a Panda fiber and a polarization maintaining photonic
crystal fiber. The polarimetric strain sensors provide the average strain and temperature information, while the fiber
Bragg grating sensors give localized strain information. The demodulation system uniquely allows for the multiple
outputs of FBG and polarimetric sensors to be converted to a common optical intensity domain, for strain and
temperature measurements.
This paper presents the concept of implementing miniature temperature insensitive optical fiber sensors into minimally
invasive surgical devices such as graspers, staplers and scissors. The lack of temperature insensitive and accurate force
feedback end effectors make the current minimally invasive surgeries (MIS) less effective especially in the area of
electrosurgery. The failure to provide accurate force feedback information reduces the user's sense of immersion in the
operating procedure. In this paper we present fiber sensors based on photonic crystal fibers (PCF) for force feedback
from the end effectors. Two types of miniature temperature insensitive PCF sensors can be implemented for MIS
applications; a Fabry-Perot interferometric sensor based on hollow core PCF and a tapered modal interferometric sensor
based on a solid core PCF. A concept for interrogating these sensors effectively at minimal cost is also presented. The
integration of sensors onto the end effectors is also important as one has to find an optimum position for maximum
strain/force transfer to the fiber sensor without interfering with the operation of the surgical tool. We have also presented
the methodology for incorporating the sensors into surgical end-effectors in this paper.
Fiber-optic sensors based on highly birefringent (HB) polarization-maintaining (PM) fibers represent a promising
generation of sensing devices also known as polarimetric fiber sensors. They utilize polarization (phase) modulation
within fibers to sense external perturbations [1]. HB polarimetric sensors can be made temperature insensitive but to
measure strain they require means for setting a zero strain reference. Composite structures are made from two or more
constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties and they remain separate and distinct in
a macroscopic level within the finished structure. This feature allows for the introduction of an optical fiber sensors
matrix into the composite material. In this paper we present experimental evidence that the interactions between the
composite material and optical fibers during manufacturing process are very significant. The lamination process can
dramatically change the strain sensitivity of the highly birefringent (HB) fibers.
A novel method for dew detection based on photonic crystal fiber (PCF) interferometer that operates in reflection mode
is presented in this paper. A large wavelength peak shift for the interference pattern is observed at the onset of dew
formation. The fabrication of the sensor head is simple since it only involves cleaving and splicing. By attaching a
thermoelectric cooler with temperature feedback, the fiber sensor demonstrated can be used as a dew point hygrometer.
A relative humidity (RH) sensor measuring wide range of humidity variations based on a bent single mode optical fiber coated with Agarose is reported. When exposed to moisture the change in refractive index of the Agarose layer results in changes in the degree of coupling of the core mode to cladding modes and corresponding changes in the output power are observed in the transmission spectrum of the Agarose coated bent fiber. The sensor shows linear response in the range 25 %- 90 % RH. We show that humidity sensitivity of the sensor is wavelength dependant and high sensitivity is observed at higher wavelengths. The sensor response is fast, stable and reversible in nature.
The design of a polyimide film packaged hybrid fiber sensor for simultaneous strain and temperature measurement is
presented. This hybrid sensor operates in the intensity domain by converting the polarization and wavelength information
from a polarization maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM-PCF) sensor and fiber Bragg grating sensor (FBG)
respectively into intensity variations. The strain sensitivity of a polarimetric sensor for various lengths of the PM-PCF is
studied. The effective strain sensitivity of the FBG sensing system is adjusted to match that of the polarimetric sensor by
varying the slope of the edge filter. The packaging aspects of the hybrid fiber sensor are also presented in this paper.
The preliminary results of the characterization of nematic liquid crystal coated photonic crystal fiber (PCF)
interferometers are presented in this paper. Two types of interferometer were fabricated; one by sandwiching a small
section of PCF between standard single mode fibers and the second one is formed by tapering a small section of a PCF
by collapsing the air holes, and thinning down the air hole collapsed region to a micron size. The interferometers are
fabricated from different types of the photonic crystal fiber and temperature studies are carried out to select an
interferometer to be coated with the liquid crystal material. The requirement for a suitable liquid crystal materials to be
used for PCF interferometers are also discussed. The behaviour of liquid crystal (LC) coated interferometers with
temperature and applied electric field is studied to determine the feasibility of using such interferometers in sensing
applications.
A simple all-fiber tunable loss filter using a buffer stripped high bend loss fiber is presented in this paper. The center
wavelength of the filter is set merely by changing the bend radii of the macro bend fiber that avoids the complex
structures in the fiber of previous all-fiber filters. The proposed tunable filter can give an isolation of 20 dB for a
wavelength range of 40 nm and has wide range of applications.
A tunable demodulation system for fiber Bragg grating sensors utilizing photonic crystal fiber loop mirrors (PC-FLM) in
a ratiometric scheme is presented in this paper. The characterization of the demodulation system in two schemes is
presented, a single loop PC-FLM and a two loop PC-FLM scheme. For the two loop scheme the length of the photonic
crystal fiber must be optimized to achieve opposite slopes for a fixed wavelength range. A comparison of the
performance of the system with a single fiber loop mirror and two fiber loop mirrors in a ratiometric scheme is also
presented in this paper. The proposed system can be used as a tunable demodulation system to allow it to interrogate
FBGs with different peak wavelengths. A tunable wavelength demodulation system is demonstrated with a single loop
PC-FLM, with a wavelength range of 4 nm, a tuning range of 2 nm and a wavelength resolution of 2 pm.
A discretely tunable Surface-Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal based Lyot Filter, with tuning speeds in the order of
microseconds, is demonstrated experimentally as a channel dropper for the demodulation of multiple Fibre Bragg
Grating sensors. The 3-stage Lyot Filter designed and experimentally verified can be used together with the high-speed
ratiometric wavelength measurement system employing a fibre bend loss edge filter. Such systems can be used for the
demodulation of distributed Fibre Bragg Grating sensors employed in applications such as structural monitoring,
industrial sensing and haptic telerobotic surgical systems.
The performance of an all-fiber ratiometric wavelength measurement system is compared for the case of two edge filters
and the case of one edge filter. The two fiber edge filters are used with overlapping and opposite slope spectral
responses, a so called "X-type spectral response", each based on singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber
structures. Noise and polarization dependent loss (PDL) are the two parameters that determine the resolution and an
accuracy of the system. It is demonstrated that the use of two SMS edge filters for a ratiometric wavelength
measurement system can increase the resolution and the accuracy when compared with a system using only one edge
filter.
The electronic tunability of ferroelectric liquid crystal filled photonic crystal fibers is experimentally demonstrated in the
wavelength range of 1500 nm - 1600 nm. The tunability is achieved by applying electric field onto the ferroelectric
liquid crystal infiltrated photonic crystal fiber. Tuning of the fiber propagation properties is achieved due to re-orientation
of ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules on the application of the applied electric field. Such fibers could find
applications in the fabrication of fast, low loss, cost effective and highly efficient in-fiber tunable devices to be used in
the telecom wavelength range.
The performance evaluation of a low-cost macro-bend fiber based temperature sensor is examined in this paper. The
temperature sensor is based on a macro-bend singlemode fiber loop employed in a ratiometric power measurement
scheme and has a linear characteristic with temperature at a fixed wavelength and bend radius. The sensor head consists
of a single turn of a bare bend sensitive singlemode fiber with an applied absorption coating. The temperature of the
sensor head is varied up to 75 °C and the linearity of the response is studied with different applied absorption coatings.
The impact of stress on the sensor is investigated by applying external forces to the sensor and an estimation of
magnitude of the stress induced variation in the ratio of the system is determined. The proposed temperature sensor,
based on a macro-bend fiber, has a wide range of applications such as in composite materials processing.
For an all-fiber edge filter used in a rapid wavelength measurement system for optical sensing, a
low polarization dependent loss (PDL) is required to ensure high measurement accuracy. The
calculation of the bend loss for the TE and TM modes based on scalar approximations results in a
discrepancy between the calculated PDLs and measured results. Here a full vectorial finite difference
beam propagation method (FV FD-BPM) is used to compute the complex propagation constant and the
field distributions of the TE and TM modes in the bending fiber, allowing the accurate calculation of
the PDL of bending fiber.
A ratiometric wavelength measurement system based on a fiber bend loss edge filter has been proposed and
demonstrated previously. Such a system offers the advantage of a high resolution, simplicity and a high measurement
speed. The applications of such a system for the demodulation of the outputs of multiple Fiber Bragg grating (FBG)
sensors requires the use of a high speed tunable filter to separate responses from multiple sensors. Here we present the
results of modelling and analysis for a discretely tunable ferroelectric liquid crystal filter, which could be used as a
channel dropper in a WDM-based demodulation system containing multiple FBG sensors.
Many fiber Bragg grating interrogation systems uses ratiometric wavelength measurement based on an edge filter. In any
ratiometric scheme a 3dB coupler is a vital component which splits the signal and makes the system ratiometric. All
commercial 3dB couplers exhibit a wavelength dependency and polarization dependent loss. In this paper the effects of
the wavelength dependency and polarization dependent loss of the 3dB coupler in a ratiometric wavelength measurement
system are investigated using both simulation and experimental techniques. The ratio response of the system is simulated
considering the wavelength dependency of the coupler and is compared with that of a response with a wavelength
independent coupler. A comparison study of the polarization induced ratio fluctuation and corresponding errors in
wavelength with a polarization insensitive 3 dB coupler (very low PDL) and an ordinary 3 dB coupler is also presented.
The results show that the 3 dB coupler has a significant influence on the ratio response and accuracy of a ratiometric
wavelength measurement system.
Theoretical analysis and experimental investigations are presented on the resolution of a ratiometric wavelength measurement system. Theoretical modelling indicates that the resolution of a ratiometric wavelength measurement system is determined by the signal-to-noise ratio of the input signal and the noise of the photodetectors associated with optical-to-electronic conversion. For the experimental verification, a ratiometric system employing a macrobending standard singlemode fiber is developed and corresponding results are in a good agreement with the theoretical prediction.
In this paper we analyze the performance of a fibre Bragg grating (FBG) interrogation system based on a liquid crystal
tunable filter (LCTF), which acts as a channel dropper for multiple FBG sensors coupled to a simple all-fibre ratiometric
wavelength measurement scheme in which a macrobending single-mode fibre is utilized as an edge filter. We present a
model of the proposed interrogation scheme and analyse the optimum design parameters for the LCTF. From the model,
the optimum ratio between the number of FBG sensors and the tunable filter bandpass can be found. Experimental
results for the wavelength interrogation system are presented to validate the theoretical predictions. The model should be
also suitable for similar interrogation systems using other forms of tunable bandpass filters.
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