JPH0639934U - Means for making fiber optic energy detectors - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Objective] To provide a fiber optic energy detector that can be efficiently formed. The detector has a mold having a spiral groove around its surface, the mold holding a specific termination use configuration of the optical fiber wound to match the spiral groove on the mold. ,
Further comprising a coating material sprayed onto the optical fiber, the coating having a flexible structure, and further comprising ultrasonic vibrating means for etching selected portions of the optical fiber. ing.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

The present invention relates to means for making fiber optic energy detectors. For example, the prior art, in either phase modulation or frequency modulation of light passing through an optical fiber, mechanically or acoustically excites the signal to be imposed on the light propagating in the optical fiber. The acousto-optic effect was utilized in that it was used for the. This mechanical or acoustic excitation causes a change in the optical index of the fiber core. As a result, the optical distance of the light traveling in the fiber changes. This light is therefore modulated in phase and frequency by the signal. In glass fibers, the change in optical index is very small for a given mechanical or acoustic excitation energy. To obtain sufficient modulation, this requires a high level of signal energy to be one of the long interaction lengths, which is the length of the fiber that should be acoustically excited at the point where the modulation occurs. That's it. The sensitivity of optical fibers to direct acoustic modulation is described in J. A. Bucaro, Applied Optics, Vol. 18, No. 6, March 15, 1979. The present invention constructs a single-mode fiber with a thin cladding for use in a sensor that causes a phase modulation by extending a single-mode fiber with signal energy. The present invention also constructs a low-order mode optical fiber from a large-diameter optical fiber. Moreover, an optical fiber of a lower order mode is constructed from an optical fiber having a large diameter used in the present invention. These two optical fibers are accomplished by etching the currently available optical fibers.

S. K. Sheem and j. H. Cole, Optics Letters, Vol. 4, No. 10, October 1979, "Acoustic Sensitivity of Single Mode Optical Power Dividers," the prior art single-mode fiber is characterized by its increasing or decreasing acoustic sensitivity and modal structure. Etch to reduce its photoconductivity without considering the changes. Such an effect, ie reduced photoconductivity, is considered unfavorable for the purposes of the present invention and the present invention specifically provides a device for minimizing it.

The present invention also uses a distributed wavelength reflector of limited length to reflect light in a single mode optical fiber. Such reflections are described in U.S. Patent Application No. 08 8579 entitled "Method And Apparent For For Radiant Energy Modularity In In Optical Fibers"; O. Hill et al., Applied Physics letters, 32 (10), May 15, 1978, entitled "Photos sensitivity in Optical Fiber Waveguides: Application to Reflection Filters".

The present invention also uses a reflector that causes reflections in the optical fiber in a device similar to a Fabry-Perot interferometer. Such devices are described in P. G. Cielo, September 1, 1979, Applied Optics, Vol. 18, No. 17, “Fibre Optic Hydrophone: Improved Strand Configuration and Environmental Noise Protection”. The present invention provides a novel detection device which uses this reflector device as one of its many components. The present invention provides an optical fiber energy sensor as well as an optical demodulation device that can be used to convert the output of another type of energy sensor into an electronic signal that is more easily processed. An energy sensor useful with the present invention uses a single mode fiber. This energy sensor works as follows.

Signal energy to be sensed or detected results in stretching the etched single mode fiber. The etched single-mode fiber is a single-mode glass-clad fiber whose cladding thickness is reduced to a certain amount to weaken its strength. The present invention is based on the fact that when it is necessary to preserve the photoconductive properties of an etched single-mode fiber, the portion of the glass clad that has been removed has an optical index (eg, index of refraction) of the core of the single-mode fiber. It is assumed that the material is replaced by a plastic material that has a lower elastic modulus than that of the material and a lower elastic modulus than the glass clad that it replaces. Such etched single mode fibers are weaker and therefore more sensitive to stretching and compression. For a given amount of signal energy, a single-mode fiber stretches more after it is etched.

The prior art teaches that extending the length of a single mode fiber changes the optical distance in the electromagnetic radiation propagating through its core. The prior art further teaches that this change in optical distance increases as the amount that a single mode fiber is stretched increases. The prior art uses this change in optical distance to modulate the electromagnetic radiation propagating through the core of the fiber. The prior art also teaches that the amount of modulation increases as the magnitude of the change in optical distance increases. Therefore, an optical fiber energy sensor consisting of an etched single-mode fiber and operating by stretching or compressing this etched single-mode fiber is more efficient for a given amount of signal energy. It results in a large modulation and consequently a higher sensitivity. An etching process is used to produce useful optical fibers for use in the present invention that have small morphological dispersions from large diameter optical fibers. It also provides a manufacturing process for constructing a device using the etched optical fiber useful in the present invention.

This process constitutes the mold with a material that is not affected by the etching process. These molds are used to hold the fiber to be etched in the same arrangement as it should be in the actual device. The various means by which the mold can be removed if it is not present in the actual device are also detailed.

The present invention makes the energy sensor more effective by actually optically demodulating the output of the energy sensor, thus substantially reducing the previously required extremely large bandwidth of the electronic demodulator. Optical demodulation device. A given optical demodulator also allows for multiple energy sensors to be multiplexed in the same optical fiber, thus substantially reducing the cost of multiple sensor devices such as hydrophone arrays.

The optical demodulator places each energy sensor between a pair of length limited Bragg reflector members constructed inside an optical fiber. Each pair of reflectors arranged constitutes a Fabry-Perot interferometer that only contains resonances in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum in which the Bragg reflector acts. Since each energy sensor is placed between a pair of reflectors, the resulting change in optical distance of the sensor when signal energy is detected at this time spectrally shifts the resonance of the Fabry-Perot interferometer. Let The device then partially demodulates this spectral shift with a second Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is considered an analytical interferometer. The resonance of this analytical interferometer has a spectral separation that is proportional to the spectral separation of the interferometer that includes the energy sensor to provide amplification of the spectral shift. The output of the combined energy sensor interferometer and analytical interferometer is spectrally shifted from the original spectral shift by the amplification factor times the equation given in the detailed description of the invention. The device can also use one or more analytical interferometers, each performing its own amplification. The resulting amplification can be such that each gives an output corresponding to a number of distinct numbers that represents the original spectral shift, thus reducing the bandwidth of the electron detector and the time demodulator. .

This photodetector finally makes several energy sensors identical by allowing each reflector pair corresponding to each sensor to have a different reflection band than all other reflector pairs. Considering multiplexing on fiber. This device uses a wavelength-scanning laser whose output scans the resonances of one reflector pair at a time.

An energy sensor useful in the present invention and an optical demodulation device provided by the present invention will be described. Let us first explain the energy sensor and then the optical demodulator.

The current technology of optical fiber energy sensor is that if a single mode optical fiber is radially compressed, stretched, or longitudinally compressed, then the single mode optical fiber is Teaches that the optical distance of the electromagnetic radiation propagating through the core of is changed. This technique further teaches that as the amount of expansion and contraction of single-mode fibers increases, so does the change in optical distance. Current technology uses this change in optical distance to cause phase modulation of the light propagating through the core. The length of the optical fiber in which the modulation occurs is called the interaction length.

An etched single mode fiber, or energy sensor, for use in an optical fiber useful in the present invention is described. Single-mode fibers are fibers that are configured to propagate only the lowest order modes. This lowest order mode in single mode fiber configurations is double degeneration. In these cases, the lowest order modes include two states of propagation, distinguished by the fact that their polarizations are perpendicular to each other.

The etched single-mode fiber is now chemically reacted with the cladding thickness (eg, in a solution of hydrofluoric acid or ammonium hydrofluoride buffered hydrofluoric acid). , Or a single-mode optical fiber thinned by ion milling. FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the fiber before etching. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the fiber after etching. FIG. 1 illustrates that the glass cladding designated 2-1 as a whole has a thickness designated by K. FIG. 2 illustrates that the cladding 2-2 has a reduced thickness indicated by R. In both FIGS. 1 and 2, the cores designated 1-1 and 1-2 have a diameter V which remains unchanged due to the nature of the etching process performed only on the exposed surface of the fiber.

The utility of such a fiber will first be described in terms of sensitivity and then the ease of manufacture of a device using etched single mode fiber. For a given amount of signal energy, E, to be detected, the fiber of FIG. 1 with length L and total cross-sectional area S ₁ extends by the amount ΔL ₁ as follows.

[0016]

[Equation 1]

Here, Yo is the elastic modulus of the fiber material, which is constant for the sake of explanation and may be assumed to be equal to the elastic modulus of fused silica. Substituting in the same manner as above, but substituting the reduced cladding thickness into equation (I) gives an amount of extension ΔL ₂ , which the etched fiber follows accordingly for the same given amount of signal energy E. U

[0018]

[Equation 2]

Where S ₂ is the cross-sectional area of the etched fiber. Since S ₁ is larger than S _2, from formulas (I) and (II), ΔL ₂ > ΔL ₁ . The current technology of optical fiber sensing is, therefore, for a given amount of signal energy, a single mode fiber that is etched will have a greater change in optical distance than a normal single mode fiber, resulting in It teaches that a greater amount of phase modulation of the light propagating through can be obtained.

Another utility can be understood to be that fibers with extremely small overall diameters are difficult to construct using current methods and, even if constructed, are difficult to process. With the teachings of the present invention, devices that may use fibers with thinner cladding can be constructed with larger diameter fibers that are readily available. When such a device is assembled and a point is reached where the larger fiber is in place, the fiber can then be etched, which precludes further processing of the thin fiber or fibers with thin cladding. It A more detailed description of this process follows.

Another utility is recognized when it becomes necessary to construct fibers with small core diameters, and the present invention allows such fibers to be constructed from larger diameter fibers. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of an optical fiber with a large diameter, 3-3, which is a core material with a diameter of F, such as fused silica. The larger diameter fibers are etched thus creating a thin fiber with a reduced diameter G, the cross section of which is shown at 4-4 in FIG. The present invention may further cover the fiber having a diameter G with a material 5-4 having a lower index of refraction than the fiber itself, such as RTV670 silicone rubber manufactured by General Electric Corp. It further provides that an optical fiber with a small core diameter is made. Such a small core diameter fiber is effective in providing a low number of guided optical modes.

As an example of the etching process, the fiber 3-3 of FIG. 3 may have a pre-etch diameter in the range of 80 μm to 100 μm, and the etched core 4-4 of FIG. To 5 μm.

The particular hydroacoustic energy sensor illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, and in part in FIG. 7, is useful with the present invention. FIG. 5 is an end view of the sensor illustrating its cylindrical shape. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the sensor. This sensor consists of a rigid cylindrical skeleton, perhaps made of aluminum, shown at 6 in FIG. The outer surface of this cylindrical frame has a reduced diameter between planes H and J. Around this cylindrical frame is a thin film of flexible material, generally indicated at 7, in which a single mode optical fiber, generally designated at 8, is radially wound. Such flexible material may be, for example, silicone rubber or PVC. The sleeve is joined as at 13 and / or as at 14 to the larger diameter end 13 'of the cylindrical framework to reduce the diameter of the flexible membrane and the rigid mold. A space 9 is opened between the rigid cylindrical frame and the frame. The wall of this rigid cylindrical frame with the smaller diameter has an equalization hole 10 extending from the inner wall of the cylindrical frame to the space between the flexible membrane and the rigid frame. . On the inner wall of the cylindrical frame is a protrusion, indicated at 11 in FIG. Similarly, inside the cylindrical frame, a flexible bladder 12, which serves as a ballast supply, extends to form a tank 16, which is connected to the space 9 by an equalization hole 10. Spaces 16 and 9 are filled with another viscous, flexible material such as air, helium, or silicone oil. Also provided is an end cap 17 which creates the additional space 16 'shown in FIG. 6, which is perforated with a hole 15 which extends through the thickness of each of the end caps. The hydrophone shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 operates as follows.

The hydrophone is immersed in a fluid containing the sound waves to be measured. The present invention allows a portion of this fluid at any particular depth to enter the hydrophone through hole 15 and then bladder 12 around protrusion 11 as illustrated by the dashed line indicated at 12 '. And thus compressing the second viscous, pliable material in spaces 16 and 9 equalizes the static pressure in spaces 9 and 16 with the static pressure in the fluid outside the hydrophone. When the pressure in the spaces 16 and 9 equals the external pressure with the additional pressure created when stretching the bladder 12, the fluid ceases to flow through the hole 15. Holes 15 and / or equalization holes 10 are made small enough to slow the rate of equalization to a time period much longer than the time period between the sound pressures to be measured.

The acoustic signal to be measured or sensed by the hydrophone consists of alternating changes in ambient fluid pressure. Since these changes are not equalized by the bladder mechanism described above, they instead cause the flexible thin film 7 to expand or contract radially, thus longitudinally stretching or compressing the single mode fiber 8 thus etched. To do

In those applications requiring the underwater acoustic sensor of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 to be in motion while being used to sense an underwater acoustic signal, a rigid cylindrical It comprises reinforcing strands mounted parallel to the axis, for example the fiber 8'in Figures 6 and 7. A fiber 8'is joined to the outside and / or to the surface of the flexible membrane 7 and extends below each clamping ring 14 around the rigid cylinder 6. The clamping surface is a rigid cylindrical portion 13 'to which the flexible membrane 7 is attached. Such a reinforcing fiber 8'is described in Kevlar. That is, it may be made of Ducor's tire cord fiber or glass. Such a reinforcing fiber 8'is arranged so as to increase the strength of the flexible thin film 7 in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, if the underwater acoustic sensor of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 is accelerated in the axial direction of the rigid cylinder 6, the resulting deformation of the flexible membrane 7 is due to the reinforced fiber 8'in FIGS. It has been made smaller. Furthermore, this reinforcing fiber 8 ', when arranged parallel to the axis of the rigid cylinder 6, does not substantially increase the resistance of the flexible membrane to the contraction in the radial direction, which is caused by the acoustic signal to be sensed. Furthermore, the mass of the flexible membrane can be varied, as can the density of the single mode fiber winding 8 which has the effect of shifting the underwater acoustic frequency response.

The underwater acoustic energy sensor of FIGS. 8 and 9 is useful with the present invention. FIG. 8 is an end view of the underwater acoustic sensor, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor of FIG. 8, where 7-9 is a flexible thin film having a spiral of single mode fiber 8-9 contained therein. Indicates. The assembly also includes an inner cylinder 202 made of a resilient, flexible material such as silicone rubber, which is in contact with the inner wall of the flexible membrane 7-9. Reinforcing strands, eg, fibers 201, are placed parallel to the axis of the flexible membrane 7-9 and mechanically contact the inner cylindrical material 202 without significantly altering its radial flexibility, causing the longitudinal direction of the inner cylindrical shape to change. Try to strengthen the strength of. The reinforcing fiber 201 may be made of Kevlar or glass and may extend long beyond the end of a flexible material and may be used to secure the sensor in place. The flexible inner cylinder 202 may also be elongated to position or secure the sensor in place. The invention also provides that the reinforcing fiber 201 is mechanically attached to the outside of the flexible membrane 7-9 parallel to the axis of the flexible membrane 7-9 so as to increase its longitudinal strength. Increasing the sensor's longitudinal strength also reduces the sensor's durability and the amount of radial expansion and contraction caused by the sensor's longitudinal acceleration, but the sensor's response to the acoustic signal, or radiation. The expansion and contraction of the shape does not decrease.

The underwater acoustic sensor of FIGS. 8 and 9 operates as follows. Immerse the sensor in a solution containing the acoustic signal. The periodical change in pressure appearing in the acoustic signal causes the flexible thin film 7-9 to expand or contract. As the thin film 7-9 expands and contracts, the etched single mode optical fiber 8-9 stretches or compresses, thus, as already explained, inside the core of the fiber 8-9. The electromagnetic radiation propagating through is modulated. Furthermore, since the inner cylinder is also radially flexible, this gives a small resistance to the expansion and contraction of the flexible membrane. It is given that the sensor of FIGS. 8 and 9 may use a single mode fiber etched as a single mode fiber 8-9.

Etched single-mode fibers are useful in any energy sensor, where one signal energy is used to longitudinally stretch or compress the single-mode fiber to change the optical distance of the optical fiber. Wake up. Some energy sensors allow the use of lower order mode optical fibers when the morphological dispersion of such fibers is low enough to retain sufficient light coherence over the interaction length. For these energy sensors, the present invention provides the thin fiber of FIG. It should be noted that any optical fiber, such as a multimode step index or hierarchical index fiber, can be etched to increase its sensitivity to longitudinal stretching.

If the glass cladding of the step index or hierarchical index fiber is etched away to weaken its electromagnetic radiation conductance, the present invention provides the resulting fiber with a drawing 2-2 ′ of the drawing. As in 2 above, it may be coated with a material having a lower optical index than the fiber core, such as RTV670 silicon rubber, to restore its ability to conduct electromagnetic radiation.

An optical fiber energy sensor useful in the present invention, which preferably uses an etched single mode fiber, is manufactured by the following manufacturing method. First, make a mold that holds the fibers to be etched in the same array or configuration that should be used in the particular sensor that is being manufactured. In the case of the hydrophones of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the fiber is of helical construction. A suitable mold for this hydrophone is a cylinder 18 as shown in FIG. 10, around which is engraved a spiral groove 19 'around which an unetched optical fiber 20' is wrapped. If it is desired to remove the mold after etching, the material of the mold is a substance that can be melted or melted into a liquid state at a temperature that does not damage the fiber or flexible thin film material. There must be. Such a material is beeswax. In addition, some mold materials can compromise even the etching of the fiber, which requires rubbing the wax in place on the fiber, thus protecting the fiber from the etchant. A mold made of such a material is first thinly coated by immersing it in the solution of the protective material 21 'in FIG. 11 or by spraying it. When this protective material 21 'hardens, it does not affect the etching process. Suitable protective materials are Type 1 39 Low Index Plastic Cladding Solusion manufactured by Optelecom, or Kynar, ie Pennwalt Chemical Co. It is a vinylidene fluoride manufactured by the company. Provide that the protective material has a lower optical index of refraction for the fiber core if the fiber to be etched does not have sufficient glass cladding to conduct light. Type 139 Low Index Plastic Cladding Solution or Kynar has a lower optical index than fused silica.

If desired, it is also provided that the fiber is bonded to the mold, perhaps at both ends of the etching core, as shown at 22 'in FIG. A binder is sufficient as the protective material described above.

If it is necessary to protect the parts of the fiber from the etchant, these parts may likewise be covered with the protective material already described, as indicated by 23 'in FIG. If the optical fiber energy sensor is to use etched single mode fiber, then mold 18 'with the fiber 20' in place as shown in FIG. Place either in ammonium hydrofluoride buffered hydrofluoric acid, or in a solution of any other chemical that can dissolve or remove the glass cladding of the fiber. Generally, the etching solution facilitates the entry of the etchant around all portions of the fiber that must be ultrasonically agitated and etched if needed.

After the etching period (which can be determined empirically), the mold with the now-etched fiber in place was taken out of solution, washed with water, dried and then melted or melted. It is dipped in a coating solution and then removed, or cured, dried, or cooled to spray a solution of the substance that becomes the material of the flexible film, or otherwise coated. Ultrasonic agitation of the solution is carried out when it is necessary to facilitate entry of the coating solution around all parts of the fiber. The present invention also provides that the application of the dressing should be performed in vacuum for the purposes of coating uniformity and removal of air pockets.

When using a fiber that, after etching, does not have sufficient cladding thickness to conduct electromagnetic radiation into the core, the coating will have a lower refractive index than the core material. Determine that you have. Such a coating solution may be either a protective material as described above or a silicone rubber such as RTV670 from the General Electric company. The viscosity of the coating solution can be varied as a means of controlling the thickness of the coating that remains on the mold as it is removed from the solution. The lower viscosity of the coating solution gives a thinner coating. The mold removed from the coating solution is then rotated until the coating solidifies in order to achieve a uniform film at the channels. FIG. 12 shows the mold and fiber of FIG. 10 completed after the etching and immersion process. The etched fiber is shown at 20-E and the flexible film material is shown at 124.

After the coating in FIG. 12 has solidified, holes are drilled through the coating and the protective material and into the material of the mold. The location of such holes must be chosen so that the mold material can be removed by melting or melting and not damage the fiber in the coating. Such a hole 125 is shown in FIG. Remove the mold through the much larger opening 126 in FIG. 12 formed by contracting the mold to release it from the flexible film and protective material, thus cutting the film in the plane marked P in FIG. The mold should be made of a material such as Teflon that can be cooled with liquid nitrogen for ease. In addition, the mold should collapse to aid in its removal. In the hydrophone of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, a suitable collapsible mold is shown in end view FIG.

FIG. 13 is an end view of the cylinder 257. The removed portion of this cylinder, referred to as the key, is shown at 256. The key 256 extends parallel to the axis of the cylinder and along the entire length of the cylinder. The arrow labeled ZZ describes the movement of the key to aid in its removal. Removal of the key allows the cylinder 257 to collapse radially and thus be removed from the flexible thin film material after etching and immersion.

If it is desired to manufacture an optical fiber energy sensor that uses a flexible sleeve or canopy to comprise unetched optical fibers, the present idea also eliminates the etching and cleaning steps from the manufacturing process described above. It is also possible.

An optical demodulator provided by the present invention is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 14, reference numeral 24 designates an optical fiber on which a pair of limited-length distributed Bragg reflectors 25 are mounted. A length-limited distributed Bragg reflector, as used in this study, reflects some of the specific wavelength band of electromagnetic radiation propagating in an optical fiber back to the source. A part is transmitted to the optical fiber through the optical fiber, and the light spectrally outside these specific wavelength bands is transmitted to the optical fiber which is transmitted to the optical fiber which is hardly affected. Such a reflector causes a spatial periodic perturbation of the optical index of the cladding that surrounds the core of the optical fiber so that there is a spatial periodicity in the direction parallel to the axis of the core and The spatial period may be set so as not to exceed the length that maintains the coherence of the. Spatial periodic perturbations are obtained by partially removing the cladding from the length of the fiber and then placing the fiber towards the grating of the light so that the teeth of the grating are perpendicular to the axis of the core. You can wake it up. The magnitude of the reflectivity may be increased or decreased by removing more or less cladding and thus moving the optical grating closer to or further from the core, which was filed on October 26, 1979 in the United States. It is disclosed in patent application No. 088579. Such a reflector has been developed by Hill et al. And described in "Photosensitivity in Optical Fiber Waveguides: Application to Reflection Filter Fdbrication", Applied Physics No. 15th, May 15th, # 32, # 32; Can also be used to show that the reflection wavelength band occurs in the next time.

Λ _CM ≈2 nd M (III) where λ _CM is the center of the reflected wavelength band for a particular value of M, n is the effective optical index in the optical fiber core, and d is the perturbation that creates the Bragg reflector. The spatial period of M, M is an integer greater than zero and is called the order of the reflection band. The width, Δλ _CM , is the total spectral width of a particular reflection band measured at half the total reflection intensity that a particular Bragg reflector can have. This is shown in the prior art to be as follows.

[0041]

[Equation 3]

Where l is the length of the Bragg reflector of limited length. Referring again to FIG. 14, the reflector pair 25 is labeled A, B, C, .... The reflectors in each pair both spatially reflect the same wavelength band and are made to have the same transmission spectrum, for example by adjusting d and l. However, each pair is again adjusted to adjust d and l according to equations (III) and (IV) so as to reflect a particular wavelength band that is spectrally distinct from the reflected wavelength bands of any other pair. , And therefore the wavelength spacing W.E. containing at least one of these specific wavelength bands only for each reflector to be used. I. Exists.

Each pair 25 constitutes a Fabry-Perot interferometer inside the single mode fiber 24. This Fabry-Perot interferometer is sensitive only to electromagnetic radiation that is spectrally within the reflection wavelength band of a particular pair of distributed Bragg reflectors. FIG. 15 is an illustration of transmission for a particular reflector pair. Referring to FIG. 15, the vertical coordinate represents the transmission of electromagnetic radiation through a particular reflector pair and the abscissa represents the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation propagating through fiber 24 and incident on the reflector pair. There is. Electromagnetic radiation that is spectrally outside the specific pair of reflected wavelength bands is actually transmitted unaffected. Such radiation is shown as area a in FIG.

The maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation propagating in the fiber and in the opposite band of the spectrally specific pair of reflectors is transmitted forward through the pair of reflectors, where the wavelength is

[0045]

[Equation 4] Where OPL is the optical distance between the reflectors and N is a positive integer. if

[0046]

[Equation 5]

If so, the minimum amount of electromagnetic radiation is transmitted forward through the pair of reflectors. The result is a spectrally periodic transmission as shown in region b of FIG. As taught in the field of interferometry, the spectral width of the transmission peak shown at 300 in FIG. 15 is a Bragg with a limited length that constitutes the pair of reflectors responsible for the transmission peak. The spectral separation Δλ of the transmission peak can be changed by changing the magnitude of the reflectivity of the reflector. This can be achieved as already explained. The number of peaks 300 in the wavelength region b in FIG. 15 is given as follows.

[0048]

[Equation 6]

Where Z is the geometrical length between the reflectors as measured along the axis of the single mode fiber, l is the distributed Bragg reflector as measured along the axis of the fiber Is the length of. As the optical distance between the pair of two reflectors changes, the transmission peak in the wavelength range b shown in FIG. 15 is spectrally defined in this range as shown in the formula (V). Transition within b.

The present invention provides a portion or all of the length of the optical fiber 24 disposed between a pair of two reflectors with an optical fiber energy sensor, such as the acoustic energy of FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. Set the interaction length of the sensor. As already explained, such a sensor operates by varying the optical distance of the optical fiber by lengthening or shortening the length of the optical fiber with the detected signal energy. Therefore, for example, in a reflector pair B such that the interaction length of the optical fiber energy sensor detecting the signal is located inside it, the transmission peak in region b of FIG. The spectrum shifts as caused by the signal energy being stored.

Referring again to FIG. 14, the present invention provides electromagnetic radiation using a wavelength-scanning laser 26, which is suitable for introduction into a single mode fiber 24 having a reflector pair 25 disposed thereon. The light is incident by the condenser lens 27. The output of laser 26 is scanned or chirped for a particular wavelength range. FIG. 16 is a graph of a laser output suitable for the present invention. The scan range is Δλ _L and is so marked in FIG. The scan time interval is λT, also noted as in FIG. The scanning speed is Δλ _L / ΔT. According to the present invention, the scanning range of the laser 26 is W. I. So that the reflector wavelength band region b of FIG. 15 of each pair 25 in FIG. 14 is spectrally within the scan range.

Referring again to FIG. 14, the assembly includes a beam splitter 127 for directing a portion of the laser output beam to a Fabry-Perot interferometer 28, hereinafter referred to as the “reference Fabry-Perot” interferometer. When the output wavelength λ _{L of the} laser is

[0053]

[Equation 7]

Where Q is a positive integer D is the optical distance between the reflectors that make up the Fabry-Perot interferometer 28. Reference Fabry-Perot interferometer 28 transmits a portion of this radiation to photodetector 29 of FIG. 14, which then produces an electrical reference signal. The photodetector 29 is a commercially available device, for example, Texas Instruments Inc. #TIXL manufactured by, and whose output is an electrical signal, the amplitude of which is a well known function of the amplitude of the incident radiation. If the laser is scanning as in FIG. 16, the transmitted output of the reference Fabry-Perot interferometer 28 will be a series of time-separated peaks, each corresponding to a resonance of the reference Fabry-Perot interferometer 28.

The present invention negotiates the optical distance D of the reference Fabry-Perot interferometer 28 to determine the spatial period of the reflectors in each reflector pair 25 as the reference Fabry-Perot interferometer 28 in the laser scanning range Δλ _L. The transmission peak is chosen to occur at a wavelength very close to the reflector wavelength band of each reflector of pair 25.

Referring again to FIG. 14, the output end of the single mode fiber 24, ie the end opposite the laser beam incident, is focused on the Fabry-Perot interferometer 30 as shown in FIG. Is connected to an appropriate focusing mechanism 32. The output of this interferometer 30 is directed to the photodetector 31.

From the previous description of interferometry prior art and the spectral transmission of reflector pair 25, the following can be seen. If a scanning laser is incident on the fiber at a particular time, at a particular reflector pair A, at a particular wavelength λ _L of electromagnetic radiation falling within wavelength range b, shown in FIG. This electromagnetic radiation then passes through a particular reflector pair A, through the rest of the fiber, and through all of the other reflector pairs (the present invention uses another reflector pair, BC etc. In order to make all the other reflected wavelength bands of the different so that), the incident radiation wavelength λ _L is transmitted through the Fabry-Perot interferometer 30 to the photodetector 31 and the incident radiation wavelength λ _L is represented by Whenever it is spectrally concentrated at 15 specific transmission peaks, and also this specific transmission peak is spectrally concentrated at the transmission peak of the Fabry-Perot interferometer 30, hereafter referred to as the analytical Fabry-Perot interferometer. When they match, the maximum strength is transmitted.

For example, for reflector pair B, the optical distance T _R ≈ (n) (Z) between the reflectors is such that reflector pair B has S _R in a particular wavelength region between λ _1D and λ _2D. It is defined to generate a transmission peak of. if

[0059]

[Equation 8] Then this happens.

In the same wavelength region between λ _1D and λ _2D , the analytical Fabry-Perot interferometer 30 produces a transmission peak of S _A if the following equation holds.

[0061]

[Equation 9] Where T _A is the optical distance between the reflectors of the analytical Fabry-Perot interferometer 30.

As already explained, if the signal is detected, for example, by an optical fiber energy sensor arranged between a pair B of limited length Bragg reflectors, the region of pair B of FIG. The transmission peak of b shows the spectral shift in region b, Δλ _SR . By adjusting the relative values of S _A and S _R using equations (IX) and (X), the invention is combined in the resulting FIG. 14, pair B and analytical interferometer. By making the transmission spectrum shift of Δλ _SA of 30 as follows, this spectrum shift of Δλ _SR is actually amplified.

[Equation 10] Where U is an amplification coefficient, which is given by, for example,

[0063]

[Equation 11] However, S _A = (f) (S _R ) ± 1 and S _A and S _R are larger than 2 and f is a positive integer. One implementation of the device of FIG. 14 with the addition of an energy sensor placed in pair 25 as previously described in order to better describe the demodulator and to show less obvious limitations to consider for its completion. An example will be explained step by step through two laser scanning intervals. The laser scan begins at λ _1, which does not fall into any of the reflected wavelength bands of pair 25. As the laser output wavelength eventually scans, it eventually begins to scan over a particular pair A transmission peak. At this time, the reference interferometer 28 transmits the pulse of the laser beam to the photodetector 29, which in turn applies an electrical pulse to the time demodulator 33. This electrical reference pulse is used in the time demodulator 33 to reset and start the electrical clock. The time demodulator 33 also counts the reference pulses in one scan interval, and the number of these pulses causes one of the electrical outputs corresponding to the particular reflector pair whose transmission peak is being scanned. Transmit the last output of the electrical clock to. Such electronic circuits are readily available from the products currently on the market.

With reference to one embodiment of this device, the laser output is now beginning to scan the transmission peak of pair A. When the laser output wavelength is within the first peak of pair A at λ ₂ , the laser beam passes through pair A and all other pairs and eventually propagates to analytical interferometer 30. For illustration purposes, assume that the apparatus of FIG. 14 is designed to give an amplification factor U = 100 using equation XII with S _R = 10. Also, for simplicity, the spacing between λ _1D and λ _2D of equation X and equation XI in each reflector pair in the example device is spectrally determined in each reflector pair in region b of FIG. Assume they match. Therefore, for U = 100 and S _R = 10, S _A = 99.

Similarly, assume that the analytical interferometer 30 has a peak that spectrally matches the first peak of pair A. Therefore, when the laser beam is transmitted to the photodetector 31, the photodetector 31 produces an electrical output which, when applied to the time demodulator 33, pauses the electrical clock and its last output is at the clock. An electrical signal corresponding to time is applied to the conductor or lead marked A. Finally, as the laser continues to scan, its output wavelength approaches the transmission peak of pair B. Again, the reference interferometer 28 transmits a pulse of light which causes the photodetector 29 to generate a pulse which resets or activates the clock to lead or lead B to the last output of the clock. To prepare.

As the signal being detected by the pair A energy sensor changes, the transmission peaks of pair A shift spectrally. Suppose the signal has already shifted the peak by 1/99 (Δλ) sometime before the second laser scan. When the second laser scan is started, the output wavelength becomes λ ₁ again. Shortly after the start of the scan, the laser power again approaches the first transmission peak of pair A and the output wavelength is about λ ₂ + 1 / 99Δλ. However, since this wavelength does not coincide with the peak of the analytical interferometer 30, no light beam is transmitted to the photodetector 31 and the clock is not stopped. However, as the laser continues to scan, its output will later be λ ₂ + 1 / 99Δλ + Δλ, which is the spectral position of the second transmission peak of pair A. According to the above equation for the amplification factor U of the device of this embodiment, λ ₂ + 1 / 99Δλ + Δλ is also the spectral position of the transmission peak of the analytical interferometer 30 and next to its peak located spectrally at λ _2. is there. Therefore, the transmission is made through the analytical interferometer 30 and the photodetector 31 produces a signal that pauses the clock. Even if the transmission peak of the pair A shifts only by 1/99 (Δ λ), the output of the combination of the pair A and the interferometer 30 has a wavelength of the laser output of λ ₂ + 1/99 Δλ + Δλ. The result would not have occurred until a spectral amplification of 100 was reached. The rest of the second scan interval continues as described for the first laser scan interval.

Special attention to the bandwidth of the optical fiber 24 is required to complete the demodulator. The bandwidth must be high enough to preserve the narrow width of the transmission peaks of the returning reflector pair. It should be noted that the optical demodulator can be used whenever it is desired to measure the spectral shift of the Fabry-Perot interferometer fringes with or without optical fiber. It is also recognized that the laser beam can first pass through the analytical Fabry-Perot interferometer and then be transmitted to the Fabry-Perot interferometer which is trying to measure one of its intervals. However, if an optical fiber is used to deliver the laser beam to the Fabry-Perot interferometer being measured, then if the laser beam is first passed to the analytical interferometer, then the beam is transmitted from the analytical interferometer to the Fabry It is necessary to choose an optical fiber with low dispersion for transmission to the Perot interferometer. This ray has a time dependence of additional amplitude, such as that caused by the spectrally periodic transmission of the analytical interferometer. In addition, the functionality of both the analytical interferometer and the sensor interferometer is such that if there are no spectrally exactly matched transmission peaks, there is still sufficient overlap to produce a significant combined output. You have to choose. Finally, the device of the embodiment can be used to determine the spectral shift of the transmission peaks of a pair of reflectors ,. If it can be set to 1 Δλ or more or 1/99 Δλ or less, unclear output is generated.

Finally, the present invention provides that the electrical reference signal can be derived from the same signal that causes the laser to scan. The reference in the reference signal is that it must have a known position in time with respect to the position in time of any particular wavelength of the laser scan. In addition, the criterion for proper laser scanning must first occur frequently enough in the time period for the scanning interval to detect the highest frequency of oscillation in time with the output of the reflector pair and the analytical interferometer combination. Secondly, the output wavelength of the scanning laser must be a well-known function of time.

To eliminate the ambiguity in the excessive transition of peaks, the present invention adds another analytical interferometer 30B shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a subsystem that replaces the subsystem W surrounded by the broken line in FIG. The additional analyzer 30B is configured to provide a lower magnification when used at the same output of a reflector pair, for example according to equation XII. From the above discussion, the binding of lower amplification can give a higher threshold to the shift of the transmission peak, where the obscureness first occurs. Using equation XII to determine the amplification factor U, the spectral shift of the threshold is

[0070]

[Equation 12]

An apparatus using two analytical interferometers, each producing a different amplification, is given by: The first interferometer 30 may have a transmission peak of S _A = 99 between λ _1D and λ _2D as in the previous embodiment of the detector. The reflector pair may have an S _R = 10 peak between λ _1D and λ _2D , and an additional interferometer 30B may have a S _A = 9 peak between λ _1D and λ _2D. . If, for example, the time demodulators 33 and 33B provide analog outputs, the electrical output of the time demodulator 33B corresponding to the pair A at a particular transition Δλ _SR corresponding to the pair A is Will be e.

E ₁ = KΔλ _SR U ₁ (XIV) where K is a constant U ₁ is an amplification factor equal to 10 in S _R = 10 and S _A = 9, and Δλ _SR is the region b in FIG. It is the spectrum shift of the peak of. The output e ₂ of demodulator 33 will be: e ₂ = KΔλ _SR U ₂ = 100KΔλ _SR (XV) Here, 100 is the amplification coefficient U ₂ at S _R = 10 and S _A = 99.

Such a device can of course be expanded to have a large number of such analytical interferometers with different amplifications and can easily be reflected by adding more beam splitters such as 127 '. The output of the pair of instruments may be split between the analytical interferometers. From the above description, the analytical interferometer 30B has a. Note that ambiguity can begin to occur at spectral transitions less than 1 Δλ. However, the analyzer 30, as already explained. It produces a meaningful output in the spectrum shift of 1 Δλ or less. Therefore, one can think of adding an analytical interferometer that will result in either lower or higher amplification than the analytical interferometer already provided in one instrument.

The time demodulator is an electric device that performs the following two functions. First, an additional pulse, called the ANAL pulse, is the pulse from the photodetector that receives the reference pulse and the electromagnetic radiation from the analytical Fabry-Perot interferometer, for example, due to its amplitude, oscillation frequency, or phase of oscillation. Produces an electrical signal that contains or propagates the time taken during the receipt of the pulse and, secondly, transmits this electrical signal to one particular output line or group of specific output lines That is. There are a number of electrical circuits that can accomplish this, one of which is shown schematically in FIG. Referring to FIG. 18, U1 and U2 are voltage comparators, for example, a National Semiconductor corp. Part # LM311, U4 and U5 are counters, eg part # 74161 from Texas Instruments, U3 is a clock generator, eg part # 74LS124 from Texas Instruments, U6 is a demux. , For example, Texas Instruments part # 74155, and U7, U8 and U9 are latches, for example, Texas Instruments part # 74175 as well.

This circuit operates as follows. U1 and U2, the voltage comparators, operate to convert the reference pulse and additional pulses into a standard TTL logic voltage level for use in the demodulator. The regularly spaced reference pulses, as driven by the clock generator U3, serve to reset the counter U4, which is continuously counting at a rate of approximately 16 times the rate of the reference pulse repetition rate. The resulting output of the counter U4 is the number which starts at 0 when a reference pulse is received and counts up and starts again when it is reset to 0 by another reference pulse and becomes 0 again. Meanwhile, the counter U5 is incremented each time a reference pulse is received. It is set to automatically return to 0 after counting the appropriate number of channels (3 in this case). When an ANAL pulse comes in, it is sent via de mux U6 to the appropriate latch (U7, U8, or U9). The number of counter outputs is latched into the appropriate channel latch and represents the time between the reference pulse and the ANAL pulse. The next ANAL pulse causes the next channel latch to store a number representing the time between these reference pulses and the ANAL pulse, and so on. Each time a new time count is latched, the trailing edge of the latch pulse informs the user that new data is available.

An improved fiber optic energy sensor and method of making the sensor, and an improved optical demodulator are provided, which are particularly responsive to expansion and compression due to the signal energy to be sensed or detected. Cheap.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of a single mode optical fiber.

2 is a highly magnified cross-sectional view of the etched single mode optical fiber of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of a large diameter fiber of core material.

4 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of the large diameter fiber of FIG. 3 after being etched and coated.

5 is an end view of the acoustic energy sensor shown in FIG.

6 is a line 6-6 of the acoustic energy sensor of FIG.
Explanatory drawing in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged explanatory view of a part of the acoustic energy sensor of FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 8 is an end view of another acoustic energy sensor.

9 is a cross-sectional view of the acoustic sensor of FIG. 8 taken along line 9-9.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a mold and single mode optical fiber constructed according to the present invention for manufacturing an optical fiber energy sensor.

11 is a cross-sectional view of only the mold of FIG. 10 after being covered with a protective material.

12 is an illustration of the mold and single mode optical fiber of FIG. 10 after etching and coating.

FIG. 13 is an end view of a collapsible mold that can be used in an etching process.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an optical demodulator provided by the present invention.

15 is an illustration of typical transmission of a pair of 25 reflectors in FIG.

16 is a diagram showing a graph of a laser output suitable for use in the optical demodulator of FIG.

17 is a schematic diagram of a number of analytical interferometer demodulators provided by the present invention as an alternative to the portion of the optical demodulator surrounded by the dashed line W in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a time demodulation circuit according to an embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 17;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-1 core 2-1 glass clad 6 frame 7,7-9 flexible thin film 8,8-9,24 single mode optical fiber 8 ', 201-9 reinforced straddle 9,16' space 16 storage 10,15 opening 11 Protrusion 12 Bladder 14 Tightening Ring 17 End Cap 202-9 Internal Cylinder 257 Cylinder 18 ', 18-12 Type 19' Helical Groove 125 Hole 126 Opening 25 Bragg Reflector Pair with Limited Length 26 Wavelength Scanning Type Laser 127,127 'Beam splitter 28 Reference Fabry-Perot interferometer 29,31,31B Photodetector 30,30B Analytical Fabry-Perot interferometer 33,33B Time demodulator

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Gordon Gould, William Crossman Drive, Great Falls, Virginia, United States 9609

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A means for making a fiber optic energy detector, comprising a mold having a spiral groove around its surface, the mold of a wound optical fiber conforming to the spiral groove on said mold. Is configured to retain a particular end use configuration and has a coating material sprayed with the optical fiber, the coating having a flexible structure that forms a flexible thin film upon curing. Means for etching the selected portion of the optical fiber, the means further comprising an etching liquid container having ultrasonic vibrating means.