Apparatus for continuous readout of fabry-perot fiber optic sensor
First Claim
1. An apparatus for making high-resolution measurements at long distances between at least one sensor and the apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
- a source providing laser light, said laser light source tunable over a range of frequencies;
an optical switch for pulsing said laser light;
at least one sensor for reflecting said laser light;
a length of fiber optic cable interconnecting said sensor with said laser source;
means for directing the reflected light from said sensor to a detector to generate a digital output; and
a control logic for tuning said laser light source based on said digital output.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus to interrogate one or more fiber optic sensors to make high-resolution measurements at long distances between the sensor and the interrogator apparatus. The apparatus comprises a tunable light source, an optical switch for pulsing the light source, at least one sensor (e.g., a Fabry-Perot sensor) for reflecting the laser light, a fiber optic cable interconnecting the sensor with the light source, a coupler for directing the reflected light from the sensor to a detector in order to generate a digital output, and a control logic for tuning the laser light source based on the digital output from the detector. Use of a fiber Bragg grating temperature sensor is also contemplated.
-
Citations
31 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for making high-resolution measurements at long distances between at least one sensor and the apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
-
a source providing laser light, said laser light source tunable over a range of frequencies;
an optical switch for pulsing said laser light;
at least one sensor for reflecting said laser light;
a length of fiber optic cable interconnecting said sensor with said laser source;
means for directing the reflected light from said sensor to a detector to generate a digital output; and
a control logic for tuning said laser light source based on said digital output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. An apparatus for making high-resolution measurements at long distances between at least two sensors and the apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
-
a source providing laser light, said laser light source tunable over a range of frequencies;
an optical switch for pulsing said laser light;
a first sensor for reflecting said laser light;
a second sensor for reflecting said laser light;
a length of fiber optic cable interconnecting said first sensor and said second sensor with said laser light source;
a length of fiber optic cable interconnecting said first sensor and said second sensor wherein said cable delays the reflected light from said second sensor due to the length of said cable;
means for directing the reflected light from said first sensor and the delayed reflected light from said second sensor to a detector to generate a digital output; and
a control logic for tuning said laser light source based on said digital output. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. An apparatus for making high-resolution measurements at long distances from at least two sensors and the apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
-
a source providing laser light, said laser light source tunable over a range of frequencies;
an optical switch for pulsing said laser light and directing said laser light into any one of N output channels;
a first sensor for reflecting said laser light connected via a fiber optic cable to a first output channel;
a second sensor for reflecting said laser light connected via a fiber optic cable to a second output channel;
a first length of fiber optic cable interconnecting said first sensor and said first output, and a second length of fiber optic cable interconnecting said second sensor and said second output, wherein said first length is greater than said second length, wherein the difference in length is associated with the delay of the reflected laser light of said first sensor;
means for directing the reflected light from said first sensor and the delayed reflected light from said second sensor to a detector to generate a digital output; and
a control logic for tuning said laser based on said digital output. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
Specification