Optical fiber shape sensing has diverse applications in medical and industrial fields. However, commercially available fiber shape sensors are costly and complex. The development of eccentric fiber Bragg grating (eFBG) sensors provides a cost-effective alternative with unique capabilities. Existing eFBG shape sensing methods calculate curvature using Bragg signal intensity variations. Yet, uncontrolled bending and polarization-dependent losses cause spectral distortions affecting eFBG intensity ratios. To overcome this, we developed a data-driven deep-learning technique for accurate shape prediction. Our approach significantly improves shape prediction, achieving millimeter-level accuracy for curvatures of 3 cm to 70 cm in a 30 cm eFBG sensor. This promising research advances low-cost and accurate fiber sensors, impacting medical and industrial sectors requiring precise and cost-effective shape sensing.
Carbon-coated optical glass fibers were designed to reduce the hydrogen-induced light attenuation (hydrogen darkening) in harsh environments. The carbon layer reduces the hydrogen permeability, but makes the post-treatment for direct point-by-point inscription of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) more challenging. Moreover, the laser pulse treatment can greatly affect the tensile strength of the fiber. In this paper, we present direct point-by- point inscription of FBG through carbon-coated fiber layers with femtosecond laser pulses with a center wavelength of 400 nm, achieved via second harmonic generation of Ti:sapphire laser pulses. An array of four FBGs are successfully inscribed in a single-mode fiber. A direct comparison between the 400 nm and 800 nm inscribed FBGs in the carbon fibers is presented. The polarization dependence was examined of FBGs written with both laser processing wavelengths, as well as the mechanical stability of the processed fibers via tensile tests.
This research introduces a new non-destructive technique for the characterization of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) based on the analysis of the FBG diffraction profile via measuring its asymmetry and intensity. This approach enables the determination of such FBG parameters as an off-axis displacement, aberrations of the focusing system, outcoupling efficiency of refractive index modulation, grating length, and grating order. This proposed technique can significantly improve quality control in FBG manufacturing. The applicability of this technique is demonstrated on different types of fiber Bragg gratings written by point-by-point femtosecond laser writing.
We present a novel planar polymer ridge waveguide evanescent sensor for lab-on-a-chip applications. The integrated sensor is based on post-processing of Bragg gratings for the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength range by applying a femtosecond laser point-by-point (pbp) inscription technique. In general, this pbp inscription method offers a flexible selection of the Bragg grating wavelength from UV to NIR. The optical evanescent field sensor was tested with different substances with different refractive indices, demonstrating an increased sensitivity. Finally, the sensor was coated with palladium nanoparticles. With this functional coating, the polymer Bragg grating sensor is capable of hydrogen detection up to 4% concentration.
3D shape sensors find important applications in industries, e.g. structural health monitoring and medical technology. (Fiber-)Optical shape sensors possess various advantages such as miniature size, high sensitivity and low costs. Current challenges are the necessary increase of stability and reproducibility and the lack of application cases. We present a 3D shape sensor based on an ultra-thin glass (100 um) approach which allows both a stable and reproducible measurement. The 3D shape sensor presented here is part of the development of a novel and flexible X-ray detector, which serves as a practical application. Femtosecond laser pulses are used for the optical integration of both light waveguides and Bragg gratings into the ultra-thin glass. Bragg gratings serve as strain and ultimately curvature sensors (0 to 20/m) as they are integrated parallel to the neutral bending axis (20-30 um). The Bragg gratings are organized in a bi-directional network at known positions as all Bragg gratings can be integrated in a single step. The 3D shape sensor has to be calibrated only a single time as it can be mounted on and removed from surfaces without the need of a direct adhesion, resulting in easier integration and higher reproducibility as the neutral bending axis is not moved. A 3D reconstruction algorithm provides a 3D point cloud, which allows the calculation of the shape of the surface (here the detector surface). As the positions of Bragg gratings are well known, a more precise 3D shape recalculation is possible compared to fiber Bragg gratings.
We present a femtosecond laser written, apodized chirped fiber Bragg grating (acFBG) used for dispersion control inside picosecond all-fiber lasers. A fiber fixation setup enables a plane-by-plane (pbp) written acFBG in a standard, polarization-maintaining fiber by applying a beam-slit configuration. The spectral specifications of the acFBG are examined in detail, and the grating is validated inside a mode-locked fiber laser oscillator. This letter provides a route to the fast prototyping of acFBGs with customized parameters for use as dispersion compensating elements inside ultrafast all-fiber lasers.
Hydrogen has attracted much attention as a source of clean and sustainable energy. However, one of the drawbacks of handling hydrogen as a power source is its volatility and flammability. Moreover, hydrogen leakages in gas pipelines or tanks can generate highly explosive gas mixtures in air, if the hydrogen concentrations exceed 4 %. Therefore, in order to increase the security, monitoring of hydrogen concentrations in hydrogen infrastructures is mandatory. Remote sensing systems using passive fiber optical sensors are predestined for these kinds of applications. In this paper, a sensor based on evanescent field fiber Bragg grating (FBG), coated with palladium (Pd) nanoparticles is proposed. Thereby, the intensity change of the sensor signal correlates with the hydrogen concentration. The detection range of the sensor is between 0.5% to 5% H2 in nitrogen or synthetic air atmosphere and therefore shows great potential for the detection of hydrogen leakages below the explosive limit of 4%.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Fiber Bragg gratings, Mathematical modeling, 3D modeling, Surgery, Spatial resolution, Signal to noise ratio, Signal attenuation, Robots, Polarization
Continuum robots are snake-like elastic structures that can be bent anywhere along their length hence representing ideal tools for minimally invasive surgery. To accurately control these flexible manipulators, 3D shape sensors that are small, sterile, immune to electromagnetic noise, and easy to replace are required. Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)-based shape sensing is a promising approach for this task. The recently proposed Edge-FBG based shape sensors are particularly promising due to their high flexibility and high spatial resolution. In Edge-FBGs, the amplitude change at the Bragg wavelengths contains the strain information at sensing nodes. However, such sensors are sensitive to changes in the spectrum profile caused by undesired bending-related phenomena. As the existing theories cannot accurately predict the spectrum profile in curved optical fibers, changes in the initial intensity that each Edge-FBG receives are not precisely known. These uncontrolled variations cause inaccuracies in shape predictions and make standard characterization techniques less suitable for Edge- FBG sensors. Therefore, developing a model that distinguishes the strain signal from the changes in the spectrum profile is needed. Machine learning techniques are great tools for studying complex problems, making it possible to explore the full spectrum of the Edge-FBG sensor for identifying patterns caused by bending. In this paper, we studied the feasibility of using a low-cost interrogation system for the Edge-FBGs, considering the minimum required signal-to-noise ratio. We trained a neural network with supervised deep learning to directly extract the shape information from the Edge-FBG spectrum. The designed model can predict the shape of a fiber sensor consisting of five Edge-FBG triplets with less than 6 mm tip error.
The detection and identification of molecular gases are of high relevance in many applications within healthcare, production monitoring and safety as well as environmental monitoring. One of the major difficulties of trace gas analysis is due to the bulky and expensive systems, what excludes both mobile and handheld use. For this purpose we present our new system based on the Quartz Enhanced PhotoAcoustic Spectroscopy (QEPAS), which can provide the required properties for gas analysis. We have developed a compact detection unit where DFB laser, collimation optics and QTF are integrated in a 14-pin butterfly housing. Therefore an optimization of the DFB laser chips will be presented too. The results show, that the laser diodes not only provide excellent performance, but also allow a detection limit for the greenhouse gas methane and carbon dioxide in the ppm range.
The MIR wavelength regime promises lower gas detection limits than the NIR or the VIS region due to higher absorption levels as one can read for simulation listed in HITRAN. Methane shows moderate absorbance below 3 μm which results into detection limits in the range of low ppm. IC and QC based lasers emit higher wavelengths, where the absorbances of methane are higher. TDLAS and QEPAS measurements to the trace gas CH4 are shown to display the spectroscopy performance of the different lasers with and without influences from the detector material. In this manuscript only QEPAS measurements will be presented. Scope of this paper is a quantitative comparison of the absorption and QEPAS behaviour of Methane in four important spectral regimes.
The NIR/MIR region between 1.8μm and 3.5μm contains important absorption lines for gas detection. State of the art are InP laser based setups, which show poor gain above 1.8μm and cannot be applied beyond 2.1μm. GaSb laser show a significantly higher output power (100mW for Fabry-Perot, 30mW for DFB). The laser design is presented with simulation and actual performance data. The superior performance of the GaSb lasers is verified in gas sensing applications. TDLAS and QEPAS measurements at trace gases like CH4, CO2 and N2O are shown to prove the spectroscopy performance.
Different modifications of quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) are discussed. An analysis of the signal-to-noise ratio for the generated photoacoustic signal gives hints for an optimized geometry of tuning fork and acoustic resonator. Furthermore, simultaneous or alternate photoacoustic and electrical driving is discussed, leading the way to new detection schemes that are capable of measuring changes in molecular relaxation dynamics.
Arrayed waveguide gratings (AWG) originally designed as demultiplexing device and manufactured with well established silicon wafer technology are already used successfully as compact spectrometers with high resolution1. In this paper, the concept of a new design for a wavelength demultiplexing device based on tailor-made polymers is presented. The motivation for a new design is a smaller footprint of the device and the avoidance of bended waveguides and the associated losses. Extensive simulations were performed to optimize the design. Using microscope projection lithography and hot embossing a first polymer based device was realized. Its characterization and the achieved performance in terms of resolution and covered wavelength range will be discussed.
In recent years fiber Bragg grating sensors gained interest in structural health monitoring and concepts for smart structures. They are small, lightweight, and immune to electromagnetic interference. Using multiplexing techniques, several sensors can be addressed by a single fiber. Therefore, well-established structures and materials in industrial applications can be easily equipped with fiber optical sensors with marginal influence on their mechanical properties. In return, critical components can be monitored in real-time, leading to reduced maintenance intervals and a great reduction of costs. Beside of generally condition monitoring, the localization of failures in a structure is a desired feature of the condition monitoring system. Detecting the acoustic emission of a sudden event, its place of origin can be determined by analyzing the delay time of distributed sensor signals. To achieve high localization accuracies for the detection of cracks, breaks, and impacts high sampling rates combined with the simultaneous interrogation of several fiber Bragg grating sensors are required. In this article a fiber Bragg grating interrogator for high frequency measurements up to the megahertz range is presented. The interrogator is based on a passive wavelength to intensity conversion applying arrayed waveguide gratings. Light power fluctuations are suppressed by a differential data evaluation, leading to a reduced signal-to-noise ratio and a low strain detection limit. The measurement system is used to detect, inter alia, wire breaks in steel wire ropes for dockside cranes.
Over the last years, battery safety becomes more and more important due to the wide spread of high-capacity lithium ion batteries applied in e.g. consumer electronics and electrical power storages for vehicles or stationary energy storage systems. However, for these types of batteries, malfunctions could be highly dangerous and all aspects of safety issues are not sufficiently considered, yet. Therefore, the improvement of the battery safety behavior is one of the most important issues discussed in actual research projects. In this paper the application of fiber optical sensors for enhanced battery safety is presented. The temperature is one of the most critical parameters indicating a failure of the cell, but even state-to-the-art battery management systems (BMS) are not able to monitor and interpret the distributed temperature field of a total battery storage system sufficiently. Furthermore, the volume expansion of the battery cell, which could be monitored by the strain on the cells’ surfaces, is one additional parameter not considered up to now. Both parameters could be simultaneous monitored by fiber optical sensor arrays, consisting of discrete fiber Bragg grating (FBG) elements. The FBG sensors are directly attached on the surface of the cell, recording the temperature as well as the strain distribution highly accurate and close-meshed. Failures and malfunction such as overcharging, gassing, and thermal runaway can be early predicted and avoided to extend the battery lifetime and enhance the operational battery safety. Moreover, battery aging effects lead to variations in the volume change behavior which can be detected additionally. Hence, a battery fully equipped with fiber optical sensor arrays in combination with an appropriate BMS enables a safe and continuous utilization of the energy storage system even under harsh conditions like rapid charging.
Fiber Bragg grating based optical shape sensing is a new and promising approach to gather position and path information in environments where classical imaging systems fail. Especially a real-time in-vivo navigation of medical catheter or endoscope without any further requirements (such as the continuous exposure to x-rays) could provide a huge advantage in countless areas in medicine. Multicore fibers or bundles of glass fibers have been suggested for realizing such shape sensors, but to date all suffer from severe disadvantages. We present the realization of a third approach. With femtosecond laser pulses local waveguides are inscribed into the cladding of a standard single mode glass fiber. The evanescence field of the main fiber core couples to two S-shaped waveguides, which carry the light to high reflective fiber Bragg gratings located approx. 30 μm away from the centered fiber core in an orthogonal configuration. Part of the reflected light is coupled back to the fiber core and can be read out by a fiber Bragg grating interrogator. A typical spectrum is presented as well as the sensor signal for bending in all directions and with different radii. The entire sensor plane has an elongation of less than 4 mm and therefore enables even complicated and localized navigation applications such as medical catheters. Finally a complete 3D shape sensor in a single mode fiber is presented together with an exemplary application for motion capturing.
In this paper, the concept of a micro ring resonator formed of waveguides in off-the-shelf polymers is presented. Extensive simulations were performed to determine appropriate dimensions for the waveguide and the design of ring and coupling zone as well as for the estimation of losses. Based on the calculated parameters, a first polymer ring resonator was realized using microscope projection lithography.
We present a fiber optical shape sensing system that allows to track the shape of a standard telecom fiber with fiber Bragg grating. The shape sensing information is combined with a medical visualization platform to visualize the shape sensing information together with medical images and post-processing results like 3D models, vessel graphs, or segmentation results. The framework has a modular nature to use it for various medical applications like catheter or needle based interventions. The technology has potential in the medical area as it is MR-compatible and can easily be integrated in catheters and needles due to its small size.
A new concept for fiber-optical 3D shape sensing applying femtosecond laser technology for highprecision direct writing of Bragg gratings within the core and the cladding of single core standard telecom fibers is presented. This new technology enables a cost-efficient and real-time 3D shape sensing and navigation of medical catheters or endoscopes only by means of passive optical sensor elements. First prototypes showed the possibility to achieve absolute navigation accuracy of four mm per meter and have successfully been tested in clinical environment.
Steel wires are widely applied in industrial applications - in most cases as critical components fulfilling high safety requirements in harsh environments (e.g. dockside cranes). In this paper a technique for real-time monitoring of steel ropes applying optical strain sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings is presented. The optical sensors are integrated within the wire strand and replace the core. The strain transmission from the outer wires to the sensors is assured by the mechanical coupling between the optical fiber and the strand. The actual strain load and rope vibrations in the kilohertz range can be determined in real-time.
A low cost, highly accurate and light intensity-independent sensor system for the analysis of fiber Bragg grating signals
based on fiber Bragg gratings in the detection unit is presented. The setup is based on two fiber Bragg gratings used in
reflection to analyse one sensing fiber Bragg grating. The Bragg gratings were inscribed in coated non-photosensitive
standard telecommunication fibers using an infrared femtosecond laser and the point-by-point writing technique. The
accuracy of this interrogation concept is presented by means of a temperature measurement with a resolution better than
0.12°C in a linear operation range of 20°C.
We propose focused femtosecond laser irradiation to create stable and permanent scattering damage in large-core
polymer optical fibers. Possible sensing applications using optical time domain reflectometry are discussed and
presented. Experiments show that quasi-distributed fiber bend sensors and absolute temperature sensors can be realized
by evaluating backscatter intensities.
A fibre Bragg grating sensor system used for monitoring of strain being effective on the power cable of an offshore wind
turbine is presented. The Bragg grating structure was inscribed in coated non-photosensitive standard telecommunication
fibres using an infrared femtosecond laser and the point-by-point writing technique. Due to the presence of the protective
coating of the fibre, the mechanical stability of the resultant sensor device is better than that of a sensor consisting of a
bare fibre. A system containing this sensing element was successfully installed and tested in an offshore wind turbine
prototype (REpower 6M) in February 2010, near Ellhöft (Germany). The fabrication process of the fibre Bragg gratings,
a comparison between the sensor signal and a commonly used strain gauge and measurement results of the online
monitoring are presented.
A microring resonator is used as a photonic sensor device for the detection of the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT).
Selectivity is achieved by coating the sensor chip with specially designed receptor molecules. The measurand is the shift
in resonance frequency of the microring resonator induced by the change in effective index of refraction of the
waveguide materials due to adsorption/intercalation of the analyte. The response is linear with concentration and
reversible, i.e. the TNT molecules desorb from the sensor surface when it is flushed with carrier gas. This enables online
measurements since the sensor can be used again after flushing and no sampling is needed. Insensitivity to other
substances is demonstrated. Some chemically similar molecules induce a shift also, but the sensitivity is much lower.
The sensing limit for TNT is determined to be 0.5ppb. Simultaneous operation of two ring resonators is demonstrated,
proving the capability of a multi species monitoring when the rings are coated with different receptor molecules.
Detection of explosives is an emerging task for maintaining civil security. Optical methods and especially tunable diode laser spectroscopy are discussed as means for providing fast and reliable data. Selective and sensitive detection is possible in the midinfrared spectral region; however, until recently, small and easy to operate laser sources were not readily available for applications outside the laboratory. The situation changes with the maturation of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). We present detection methods based on photofragmentation and subsequent midinfrared detection of the fragments for the detection of nitrogen-based explosives. For this type of explosive, the very low vapor pressure makes the use of direct spectroscopic techniques extremely difficult, since the equilibrium concentrations are in the ppb to ppt range. Peroxide-based explosives like triacetone triperoxide possess a much higher vapor pressure, making direct absorption spectroscopy and also a quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy sensor possible. The progress and challenges of the application of QCLs, also with respect to interferences with other molecules present, are discussed.
Trace detection of energetic materials is a method to screen personnel, packages and other items for concealed
explosives. It is likely, that a person who carries explosives will contaminate himself and the package with the
explosive.
We present first results on the development of a compact detector combining Pulsed Laser Fragmentation (PLF)
with fragments detection. A passively q-switched UV microchip laser photofragments surface contaminations.
The concentration ratio of the fragments NO and NO2 is a sufficient indicator for the presence of nitrogen-based
explosives. For TNT, the results suggest, that a surface density as small as a few ng/cm2 can be reliably detected.
After attacks with anthrax pathogens have been committed since 2001 all over the world the fast detection and
determination of biological samples has attracted interest. A very promising method for a rapid test is Laser Induced
Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). LIBS is an optical method which uses time-resolved or time-integrated spectral
analysis of optical plasma emission after pulsed laser excitation. Even though LIBS is well established for the
determination of metals and other inorganic materials the analysis of microbiological organisms is difficult due to their
very similar stoichiometric composition. To analyze similar LIBS-spectra computer assisted chemometrics is a very
useful approach.
In this paper we report on first results of developing a compact and fully automated rapid test for the detection of
hazardous microbiological material. Experiments have been carried out with two setups: A bulky one which is composed
of standard laboratory components and a compact one consisting of miniaturized industrial components. Both setups
work at an excitation wavelength of λ=1064nm (Nd:YAG). Data analysis is done by Principal Component Analysis
(PCA) with an adjacent neural network for fully automated sample identification.
A fiber optic sensor for monitoring CO2 during sequestration as well as for sensing the explosive TNT is described. The
sensor is based on evanescent-field spectroscopy, functionality and sensitivity are characterized.
A fiber optical laser sensor is applied for online and in-situ concentration monitoring of volcano gases. This can help to better understand the mechanisms underlying volcanic activity and enable the establishment of novel warning systems.
A compact, tunable and single-mode laser for the mid-infrared (MIW) spectral range is developed by difference frequency generation (DFG) in AgGaS2 and two "off-the-shelf' diode lasers. The MIR laser light is coupled into a silverhalide fiber and at the end of the fiber an infrared detector is used to record the transmitted MIR laser light. If the index of refraction of the fiber material is higher than the one of the surrounding medium the light is guided through the fiber due to total reflection. There are two loss mechanisms that will attenuate the laser intensity when passing through the fiber: (1) The frustrated total reflection (FTR) and (2) the attenuated total reflection (ATR). The FTR is related to a change of the index of refraction while the ATR is related to a change of the absorption coefficient. When tuning the MIR laser over an absorption line of a molecule that is outside of the fiber both, FTR and ATR, contribute to the measured spectral line profile that is recorded by the infrared detector. Similar to the direct laser absorption spectroscopy the recorded line profiles in the case of the evanescent~field spectroscopy can be used for estimating concentrations of molecules. A practical application of the evanescent field fiber sensor is shown as H2S is measured online and insitu at the volcano "Solfatara" in Italy.
Tunable mid-infrared radiation in the spectral range between 6.8 micrometer and 12.5 micrometer is generated via nonlinear optical difference-frequency-generation in AgGaS2. The input radiation that is needed for this process is provided by two high-power single mode diode-lasers. The combination of this MIR-laser source with a MIR-detector and lock-in detection technique has very interesting applications in spectroscopy. The on-line performance of this MIR-spectrometer is shown as single rotational lines of molecules are probed in the gas phase and in the vapor extracted from contaminated soil samples.
Two cw-single mode diode-lasers with powers of 30 and 50 mW at the center wavelengths 682 and 791 nm are applied as signal and pump sources for difference frequency generation (DFG) in an AgGaS2 crystal with a length of 30 mm. For 90 degree type I phase matching tunable mid-infrared laser radiation is obtained in the spectral range between 4.9 and 5.1 micrometers , while the DFG-output power is 0.2 (mu) W. The performance of this diode-laser MIR-DFG spectrometer is shown as the absorption of CO for the P(28) rotational line around 2023 cm-1 is probed in a cell and on-line in the exhaust of an engine.
Time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy and laser excitation at 248 nm and 337 nm are applied to investigate fuel and oil contaminations in water with respect to classify between different aromatic hydrocarbons. The quantitative interpretation of the LIF- data is difficult because petroleum products are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons in various compositions. Solvent and concentration effects like fluorescence reabsorption or excimer formation cause a red shift of the fluorescence intensity spectra and a change in time evolution of the LIF-decay spectra. In this paper these effects are discussed with respect to practical applications. A time-integrated photon counting technique applying two different time-gates in combination with fiber optics has been drawn out to simplify the method, so it becomes very attractive for quantitative diagnostics of oil and fuel contaminations in water or soil samples. An example for on-line monitoring is reported.
A frequency stabilized distributed feedback dye laser is applied to give Fourier-limited excitation pulses with a duration of 50 ps at 226 nm and 309 nm. Then NO and OH radicals are excited in an atmospheric standard flame (McKenna burner) or in a pressure cell. The time-evolution of the flurorescence is recorded by a Streak camera in a pressure in the picosecond time scale. Quenching rates for NO, with CO2, O2, NO, and N2 are reported. Systematic influences of the direction of polarization of the exciting laser beam on the LIF-decay are discussed as well as sensitivity and detection limits of the picosecond spectroscopy compared to the nanosecond LIF.
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