Optical fiber sensors and method for making the same
First Claim
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1. An optical fiber sensor which comprises:
- a substrate having a groove patternan optical fiber which includes a shaped bare optical fiber portion of an inverted U form having two bent portions and capable of being received or accommodated in the groove pattern of said substrate, and jacketed optical fiber portions extending from the shaped bare optical fiber portion at opposite ends thereof, said shaped bare optical fiber portion being fixed to in the groove pattern of said substrate and having thereon a metal coating or a coating of a dispersion of metal particles in a polymer matrix; and
an optical modulation unit which is fixedly provided in a light path of the optical fiber and placed in at least one groove formed in the said substrate,wherein when said optical fiber has a numerical aperture, NA, and said groove pattern has a groove width, Lg, expressed in mm, a product of said numerical aperture and said groove width is in a range 0<
NA×
Lg≦
0.55.
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Abstract
An optical fiber sensor which comprises a substrate having a groove pattern, an optical fiber which includes a shaped, bare optical fiber portion of an inverted U form and capable of being received or accommodated in the groove pattern of the substrate, and jacketed optical fiber portions extending from the shaped optical fiber rod portion at opposite ends thereof, and an optical modulation unit which is fixedly provided in a light path of the bare optical fiber portion and placed in at least one groove formed in the substrate. A method for fabricating the sensor is also described. The sensors include magnetic filed/current, electric field/voltage and temperature sensors.
52 Citations
44 Claims
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1. An optical fiber sensor which comprises:
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a substrate having a groove pattern an optical fiber which includes a shaped bare optical fiber portion of an inverted U form having two bent portions and capable of being received or accommodated in the groove pattern of said substrate, and jacketed optical fiber portions extending from the shaped bare optical fiber portion at opposite ends thereof, said shaped bare optical fiber portion being fixed to in the groove pattern of said substrate and having thereon a metal coating or a coating of a dispersion of metal particles in a polymer matrix; and an optical modulation unit which is fixedly provided in a light path of the optical fiber and placed in at least one groove formed in the said substrate, wherein when said optical fiber has a numerical aperture, NA, and said groove pattern has a groove width, Lg, expressed in mm, a product of said numerical aperture and said groove width is in a range 0<
NA×
Lg≦
0.55. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for fabricating an optical fiber sensor which comprises:
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(a) providing a substrate; (b) forming a groove patter having a groove width Lg in the substrate; (c) maintaining a product of said groove width, expressed in mm, and of a numerical aperture NA of said groove pattern in a range 0<
NA×
Lg≦
0.55;(d) separately providing an optical fiber having a bare optical fiber portion and jacketed optical fiber portions extending from opposite ends of the bare optical fiber portion and shaping the bare optical fiber portion under heating conditions substantially in an inverted U form having two bent portions so that said two bent portions have, respectively, a radius, R, of curvature of 0.3≦
R≦
15 mm and capable of being received or accommodated in the groove pattern;(e) setting and fixing the shaped bare optical fiber portion in the groove pattern; (f) forming at least one groove in the substrate extending in parallel to two parallel grooves of the inverted U-shaped groove pattern through the fixed optical fiber portion; and (g) fixedly setting an optical modulator unit in a light path of the optical fiber by inserting the unit in the at least one groove. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An optical fiber sensor which comprises:
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a substrate having a groove pattern; an optical fiber which includes a thermally shaped bare optical fiber portion of an inverted U form having two bent portions each having a radius R, of curvature of 0.3≦
R≦
15 mm and capable of being received or accommodated in the groove pattern of said substrate, and jacketed optical fiber portions extending from the shaped bare optical fiber portion at opposite ends thereof, said thermally shaped bare optical fiber portion being fixed to in the groove pattern of said substrate,wherein when said optical fiber has numerical aperture, NA, and said groove pattern has a groove width, Lg, expressed in mm, a product of said numerical aperture and said groove width is in a range 0<
NA×
Lg≦
0.55; andan optical modulation unit which is fixedly provided in a light path of the optical fiber and placed in at least one groove formed in said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44)
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- 38. An optical fiber sensor according to clam 37, wherein said optical modulation unit comprises a polarizer, an optical modulator and an analyzer disposed in three grooves formed in said substrate at spaces therebetween and sequentially arranged in this order so that optical axes of the polarizer, the optical modulator and the analyzer are aligned whereby said sensor is a magnetic field or current sensor.
Specification