Non-uniform sampling to extend dynamic range of interferometric sensors
First Claim
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1. A method for detecting a sensor parameter dependent on an interferometer phase, the method comprising:
- transmitting a plurality of interrogation signals having different combinations of polarization states to a sensor interferometer;
sampling interference signals received from the sensor interferometer in different polarization channels comprising interference between light components transmitted with the different combinations of polarization states to the sensor interferometer, wherein the sampling interval for the interference signals within each polarization channel is non-uniform with time; and
extracting an estimate for the sensor parameter from the sampled interference signals.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for interrogating optical sensors with high slew rates using non-uniform sampling are provided. The transmission of optical signals in a non-uniform pattern is employed to allow for demodulation of fringe rates exceeding the commonly understood Nyquist frequency limit given as one half of the mean sampling frequency. By monitoring the time dependent fringe frequency and assuming that the fringe frequency has a limited bandwidth, only a limited bandwidth smaller than the Nyquist bandwidth around the instantaneous fringe frequency needs to be reconstructed at any time.
16 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for detecting a sensor parameter dependent on an interferometer phase, the method comprising:
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transmitting a plurality of interrogation signals having different combinations of polarization states to a sensor interferometer; sampling interference signals received from the sensor interferometer in different polarization channels comprising interference between light components transmitted with the different combinations of polarization states to the sensor interferometer, wherein the sampling interval for the interference signals within each polarization channel is non-uniform with time; and extracting an estimate for the sensor parameter from the sampled interference signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for interrogating an optical sensor, comprising:
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transmitting a sequence of optical signals to the optical sensor, wherein the sequence of optical signals is non-uniform with time, wherein the sequence of optical signals is a sequence of optical signals for a polarization channel; and sampling received signals from the optical sensor according to the transmitted sequence of optical signals. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method for detecting a sensor parameter dependent on an interferometer phase, the method comprising:
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transmitting interrogation signals to a sensor interferometer, wherein the interrogation signals comprise pulse pairs that are non-uniformly distributed in time, and wherein a separation between two pulses in each of the pulse pairs is approximately equal to a delay imbalance of the sensor interferometer; sampling interference signals received from the sensor interferometer with a sampling interval that is non-uniform with time; and extracting an estimate for the sensor parameter from the sampled interference signals. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. An interferometric system comprising:
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an optical sensor, wherein the optical sensor comprises a fiber Bragg grating (FBG); a transmitter configured to transmit a sequence of optical signals to the optical sensor, wherein the sequence of optical signals is non-uniform with time; a receiver configured to detect interference signals produced by the optical sensor and the transmitted sequence of optical signals; and a signal processing unit configured to reconstruct the detected interference signals based on the transmitted non-uniform sequence of optical signals.
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20. A method for detecting a sensor parameter dependent on a time varying sensor interferometer phase, the method comprising:
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generating interrogation signals in the form of a sequence in a pattern that is non-uniform with time; transmitting the interrogation signals to a sensor interferometer; sampling interference signals received from the sensor interferometer with sampling intervals that are non-uniform with time; and extracting an estimate for the sensor parameter from the sampled interference signals. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification