Overview of Trends in Optical Fiber Sensors

Alexis Mndez, PhD

MCH Engineering LLC Engineering,
1728 Clinton Ave., Alameda, CA 94501 (USA) alexis.mendez@mchengineering.com

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Contents

I t d ti Introduction Original Driving Factors Applications Market Situation Future Applications Conclusions
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Introduction

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Optical Fiber Sensor Roots:

Telecommunications T l i ti

Over 30 years of R&D, testing product development and broad commercial use in telecoms industry!
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After Personick

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Why Fiber Optic Sensors?

Source: NASA Langley Composite wing IVHM testing

400 conventional strain gage sensors

MCH Engineering, LLC 3000 fiber optic FBG strain sensors A. Mendez

Advantages of Fiber Optic Sensors

Galvanic isolation EMI immunity Intrinsically safe Passive: no need for electrical power Possibility of remote, multiplexed operation y , p p Small size and lightweight Integrated telemetry: fiber itself is a data link Wide bandwidth High sensitivity
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Fiber Optic Sensor:

Basic Configuration

E=Eo cos(kz - t)
Sensing is based on detecting a change in one or more of the light wave properties:
intensity polarization phase frequency
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Photonics Components Needed

Optical Sources
Quantum Cascade Lasers Tunable lasers Fiber lasers LEDs Broadband sources

Light Processing
Filters Imaging Beam steering

Detectors
CCDs UV, VIS, IR detectors Multi-spectral spectrometers

Light Guiding
IR waveguides g Specialty optical fibers Lenses

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Optical Fiber Waveguides:

Material & Geometry Choices

Glass vs. Crystals vs. Polymer

Amorphous glasses (silica, fluorides, chalcogenide) Single crystals (Sapphire) Polycrystalline materials (Halide) y y ( ) Polymeric (PMMA, polycarbonate, etc.)

Solid vs. Hollow

Index guiding (TIR) Reflection guiding Photonic Bandgap g g p guiding g
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Fiber Sensors Configurations g

Single-point sensor
Fiber

Sensing element

Multi-point (quasi-distributed) sensor

Distributed sensor

Multiple sensing points

Continuous sensing element

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Example of a Single-Point Sensor:

Intensity Pressure Sensor

Pressure, displacement, etc

A= step index B= graded index C= 2 fibers

Source: EOTEC 11
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Fiber Bragg Gratings Arrays:

Multi-Point M lti P i t FO Sensing S i

Spool with a continuous FBG Sensor Array Up to 100s of FBGs positioned at discrete points along a continuous fiber Each FBG can measure a fiber. specific parameter.
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Source: LxSix
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Distributed Fiber Sensing:

Raman & Brillouin Scattering Systems
The fiber is the sensor
Measurements all along a 10km fiber = 10,000 sensors!! 10 000
Standard multi-mode optical fibre p
T1 T2 T3 T4 .

Backscattered light provides measurement point every 1m

1m pulse of light
T9,995 T9,996 T9 997 9,997 T9,998 T9,999

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O g a OS ec o ogy Original FOS Technology Drivers es

Given the dielectric nature of optical fibers and their intrinsic immunity to EMI/RFI, they were the natural choice to develop sensors in high voltage and harsh environment applications. Key driving applications were originally:

HV Current & Voltage Systems D Downhole oil & gas well sensors h l il ll Military: acoustic & gyro sensors
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1st Generation Current Sensor:

Magneto Optic Current Transducer (MOCT)
Quartz glass monoblock with optical fiber link

Circa 1991

multimode fiber

thin-film polarizers

collimators

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2nd Generation:
All-Fiber Current Sensor
All fiber sensing coil Polymeric lightweight insulator Polymeric,

Circa 2002
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Photos: NxtPhase

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Downhole Instrumentation Comparison:

Electronic El t i vs. Fiber Optic Fib O ti
ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FIBER OPTIC SYSTEM

Power supply

Electronic ICs Solder joints Batteries Multi-components Insulation materials Moving parts

Light beam source Opto-electronic devices

SURFACE UNIT
Copper cable Fiber optic cable

Passive No electronics Low part count No moving parts

CABLE

Power supplied electronic circuits

No electronic circuits

SENSOR

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Downhole Applications:
Well Monitoring

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Proven Field Use of FBGs:

Downhole P/T Sensors
>150

Source: Weatherford

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The Instrumented Oilfield

Seismic Land Wells Refineries Pipelines Seismic Offshore Wells

Downhole Seismic

MultiPoint Temp (MPT) Borehole Pressure (BHP) Sand Detection

MultiPoint Temp (MPT) Perimeter Security Leak Detection Inventory Monitoring

Leak Detection Perimeter Security

Seismic Streamers Ocean Bottom Cables

MultiPoint Temp (MPT) Borehole Pressure (BHP) Sand Detection Strain Sensing

Picture courtesy of Sabeus Sensor Systems

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FO Seismic & Geophone Sensors:

Tow Arrays & OBCs

Source: PGS

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Pipeline Leak Detection p

Fiber cable

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Fiber Optic Gyro (FOG):

Applications
Mobile Antenna Pointing & Stabilization Vehicle Navigation Autonomous Vehicle Navigation
Material Handling Equipment

Torpedoes Weapons Simulators Video Camera St bili ti Vid C Stabilization Open & closed-loop designs 1,2,3, 6 axes Typically PM fiber with 80um OD.
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Source: KVH

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NGC FOG Product Family

Single, two, and three axes fiber optic gyros. Self contained and remote operation. uFORS product line on top. p p
Performance from 1 to 36 /hr. Over 7500 uFORS sold and production is ongoing.

FOG 200 product line below.

Performance of 3 /hr. Lower left FOG packaged for 200 g rms vibration environment environment.

By the 35th FOG anniversary (2011), NGC will have delivered over 100,000 fiber optic gyros!

Big market for PM fiber and PM couplers

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Lengthy Commercialization Process:

Fiber Optic Gyros (FOG)
1975 First publication

1985

Lab proto @ 0.01 /hr /hr

1995

First commercial applications (Boeing 777)

Photo: KVH Industries

2005

Broader Applications: (Subsea, automotive, etc)

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Applications

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FO Sensor Applications:
Segment Areas
Oil & Gas
Reservoir monitoring Downhole P/T sensing Seismic arrays y

Civil
Bridges Dams Roads Tunnels Land slides

Energy Industry
Power plants Boilers & Steam turbines Power cables Turbines Refineries

Transportation
R il monitoring Rail it i Weight in motion Carriage safety

Aerospace
Jet engines Rocket & propulsion systems Fuselages

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Successful Fiber Optic Biosensor:

20 Years of Product Sales!
Reached a sales volume of 60,000 units/year! Camino Camino 110-4B Intracranial Pressure Monitoring Kit

The ICP Monitoring Catheter is des g ed for Rapid Placement with instant monitoring at the e C o to g Cat ete s designed o ap d ace e t t sta t o to g t e source. A rapid rise in intracranial pressure resulting from severe head injury or other pathology requires early recognition and intervention.

Pressure
Optical Fib O ti l Fibers

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Medical Pressure Sensor:

Samba 3200/Preclin S b 3200/P li

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Medical Sensors:
Large, Di L Disposable M k t! bl Market!

Intra-aortic pressure sensor

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Cardiac Force Probe:

Endosense
Motivation

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Atrial Fibrillation, AF, affects 6 million today Improved Impro ed catheter ablation Real-time feedback Multi-billion dollar market

Endosense Touch+TM Force Sensing Technology is based on a probe fitt d with 3 FBG b fitted ith FBGs. Immune to EMI Probe cost allows for one time use no autoclave

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FBG Fabrication: Reel-to-Reel Process:

High Volume and FBG A Hi h V l d Arrays
-Fully automated process: - fib stripping fiber t i i - recoating - testing - winding - Continuous Write Sequence q - Capacity for 150,000 units/yr - Arrays with 100s of FBGs - No Contaminationhands free - Flexible and programmable - 100% inspection

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FBG-Based Sensors & Arrays:

Multiple Parameters & S M lti l P t Suppliers li

Accelerometer

Displacement meter

Strain meter

Pressure meter

Thermometer

Incline meter

Reliability is the main commercial issue

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FBG Interrogators:
Multiple Suppliers & St l M lti l S li Styles
New Photo and Bullets

Lab

Field/OEM

Module Hand-held 34
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Conventional Strain Gages & FBGs g

In May 2007 HBMthe worlds largest supplier of strain sensing systemsbegan offering optical strain gages i t b ff i ti l t i and interrogators based on FBG technology!!
This is the first time that a conventional foil strain gage manufacturer has adopted and embraced FBGs. d t d d b d FBG A broad and hard commercial pull should be expected from this initiative initiative. Will help motivate others in the industry.

Source: HBM 35
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Driving Factors for On-line Monitoring:

Decaying Ci il I f t t D i Civil Infrastructure

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Smart Structures Materials with Integrated "Nervous System"

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite with embedded fiber optic Bragg grating sensor

100m

Photo: Daimler-Chrysler

Photograph: DaimlerChrysler

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Smart Fabrics:
Civil & Geotechnical Applications

Source: FOS&S

D t t gases & chemical in landfills Detect h i l i l dfill

Monitor water ground table Detect and monitor corrosion in reinforce concrete

Source: BAM, Germany BAM

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Smart Fabrics:
Patient M it i OFSETH P j t P ti t MonitoringOFSETH Project
FBG sensors Monitoring or cardiac and respiratory rhythms in healthcare patients

Prevention of SIDS in newborns

59 FBG Sensors woven within a special textile

www.ofseth.org 39
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Load Monitoring in Wind Turbine Bl d T bi Blades

FBG Strain / Temperature Sensor Pads

D 3.1 D 1.1 Signal Processing

D 3.2 D 1.2

D 3.3 D 1.3

Rotor diameter: 112 m

Source: IPTH, Jena 40
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Temperature Monitoring of Rail Cars

20 FBG sensors are mounted on different p parts of a train car.

Hong Kong Rail System

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Sensor Installation

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Measurement Traces (Temperature differences)

Axle box (Front)

Axle box (Back)

Bare and packaged FBGs in front motor

Four brakes

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Cryogenic LNG Tanker:

Compartment Monitoring C t t M it i

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Active Fiber Coatings g

External Measurands:
Temperature Pressure Stress/strain Electromagnetic fields Biological agents Bi l i l t Chemical substances

Transmitted Light
Phase change Transmittance Wavelength Polarization

Fiber coating

Optical fiber

Coating response
Refractive index change Fluorescence Absorption Striction St i ti Spectral shift Scattering

An A area h dl explored in the hardly l d i th Specialty Optical Fiber field

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Water Leak Detection:

Distributed Moisture Sensor

A special polymer coating swells in the presence of moisture, expanding and f i di d producing microbending losses on the strapped multi-mode fiber.
Source: B. Culshaw

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Evanescent-Wave Sensor Principle

Chemically-Induced Chemically Induced Cladding Change
Chemical Ch i l agent t

Waveguide core

n2 So n1 S1

Waveguide cladding

Presence of chemical agent in cladding region changes optical properties Light propagating through sensor waveguide is affected by changes in exposed region
Source: IOS Inc.

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DICAST Chem Sensor Fibers

Fully distributed, intrinsically sensitive, chemically active, claddingbased, based fiber optic sensor elements provide seamless coverage coverage.

Cl2

HCN

H2S

Nerve

Source: IOS Inc.

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PCF Applications:
Gas Sensing

Side laser-drilled hole

Fiber Cross-section

Source: IPTH

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Optical Fiber Arrays:

Multiple Agent Sensing
Individually Clad Optical Fibers Optical Fiber Array

1 mm

5x 80x

Specifications:
~50000 fibers 3.1 m diameter 5 m diameter 4.5 d a ete

10x
Source: D. Walt/Tufts Univ D Univ.

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Microsphere Arrays: p y
Assembly Process
Microspheres

10 m

10 m
Source: Dickinson, T. A.; Michael, K. L..; Kauer, J. S.; Walt, D. R.; Anal. Chem. 1999, 71, 2192-2198.

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Surface Micromachining + Active Coatings

Chemical or bio agent

Source: Fiberlogix, Ltd.

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Market Perspective

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Global Optoelectronics Market

Source: OIDA

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Telecom vs. FO Sensors vs

Optical Telecom FO Sensors

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Sensors Market Size

Development of the World Market Share of Fiber Optical Sensors until 2008
US $ Million
60000

SENSORS WORLD MARKET

Fiber Optical Sensors

50000

Total sensors

1998 U$32,534.0M 2003 U$42,158.4M 2008 U$50,594.3M AVERAGE OF ANNUAL GROUTH RATE 4,5%

40000

30000

20000

FOS WORLD MARKET

1998 U$175,0M MKT SHARE (0,54%) $ , ( , ) 2003 U$283,4M - MKT SHARE (0,67%) 2008 U$1,450,0M MKT SHARE (2,87%)
1998 2003 2008

10000

AVERAGE OF ANNUAL GROUTH RATE 23,5%

Source: INTECHNO CONSULTING

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2008 FOS Market

Source: Lightwave Venture LLC & Qorex

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Distributed Optical Fiber Sensor Market S M k t

Source: Li ht S Lightwave V t /OIDA Venture/OIDA

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Market Hurdles & Barriers

Fragmented Markets & Applications Unfamiliarity ith th technology U f ili it with the t h l Conservative/no-risk attitude of some industries Need for a proven field record & Reliability Compatibility with existing equipment Cost Long R&D and NPI cycles Availability of trained personnel Turn-key type systems ( y yp y (sensing solution) g ) Lack of standards Quality, performance, packaging & reliability deficiencies across vendors
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Technology Development Forces

Applications Systems Subsystems Module Device Process Materials Science

Application Pull pp

Technology Push
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Where Are The Opportunities?

Point Sensing
Oil & gas Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) Chem/Bio Sensing Medical/Life Sciences (disposable sensors) Water Q lit /W t W t Quality/Wastewater Treatment t T t t Automotive (very low cost requirements) Aerospace & Shipboard applications (reduction in size & weight) Low Cost Sensors (Plastic fibers) Food Industry/Agriculture?

Distributed
Intrusion detection/Perimeter protection Transmission Lines (Dynamic Energy Rating) Homeland security Home Security (FTTH spin-off)

New Breakthroughs
Photonic C t l Fib Ph t i Crystal Fibers (OCF) b based sensors d

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Future Market Opportunities: pp

Low cost sensors all applications & markets Disposable sensors medical & health care Distributed sensors all areas Smart fabrics geotechnical, medical, aerospace Hydrogen sensors fuel cells Food industry water & food safety Environmental power plant & refinery emissions emissions,
plane & vehicle cabin air quality

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Future R&D Opportunities:

Novel S N l Specialty Fib i lt Fibers & C ti Coatings Custom-tailored specialty fibers
Multi-core Tapered Brillouin scattering enhanced Perforated claddings

Active fiber coatings Holey and hollow-core fiber based sensors Fiber arrays Plastic fiber sensors & FBGs
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Conclusions

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Conclusions
Fiber Optic Sensors (FOS) are an Enabling Technology for diverse civil, industrial and defense applications. FOS technology offers the possibility of sensitive, non-destructive, and in-situ measurements of temperature, stress, strain and deformation of different materials & structures. Novel applications for on-line monitoring and service lifetime in a variety of applications and industries are made possible by FOS. Theoretical and experimental research is needed to investigate:

Fiber embedding techniques Mechanics of host material/fiber interfaces Adequate fiber coatings and packaging designs Sensor design and configuration

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