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Optical sensor system utilizing bragg grating sensors

  • US 5,680,489 A
  • Filed: 06/28/1996
  • Issued: 10/21/1997
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A system for detecting perturbations to which a piece of equipment is being subjected thereto, said system comprising:

  • (a) an optical sensor placed along said piece of equipment and having a plurality of reflective Bragg gratings induced in the sensor and each grating acting as a sensor element, each grating having a unique location along said piece of equipment and a unique wavelength component for reflecting incident light, each of said unique wavelength components of said sensor elements being altered when being subjected to perturbations;

    (b) a light source for providing input light to said sensor to cover all of said wavelength components so as to reflect incident light from each of said gratings;

    (c) an unbalanced interferometer for receiving said reflected incident light from each of said gratings, said unbalanced interferometer having first and second arms and generating an interferometric signal for each wavelength component of said incident light reflected by each of said Bragg gratings;

    (d) means for generating a modulation signal;

    (e) a phase modulator for receiving said modulation signal, said phase modulator being placed in one of said arms of said unbalanced interferometer, said phase modulator modulating each of said interferometric signals; and

    (f) a demodulator for receiving each of said modulated interferometric signals and producing output signals representative of the amount each of said unique wavelength components of said reflected incident light is altered when subjected to said perturbations.

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