Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer system using polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications

Carlos A.F. Marques; David J. Webb

Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer system using polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications

Carlos A.F. Marques^*
, David J. Webb (Editor)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Universidade de Aveiro

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference output › Conference publication

1 Citation (Scopus)

170 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In the subsea environment, the monitoring of acoustic signals and vibration is crucial for different applications such as in geophysical surveying and security, e.g. the detection of unwanted craft or personnel. Current technology is predominantly based on piezoelectric (PZT) strain sensors but they suffer from some limitations. To solve these problems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are considered as potential alternatives for conventional PZT hydrophones. In this paper, we present our recent experimental studies on FBG based acoustic sensing using polymer optical fiber (POF) in a comparison with the response of silica fiber. Fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI) are widely used for FBG sensor interrogation purpose due to their advantages in terms of high resolution, wide bandwidth, and tunable sensitivity. They are appropriate for dynamic strain measurement applications in the areas of vibration analysis, hydrophones, and acoustic emission studies. The interferometer converts the Bragg wavelength shift of an FBG sensor into a corresponding phase shift in an electrical carrier, which can be demodulated using conventional techniques. In this paper, an interferometric scheme for monitoring low-frequency (few kHz) waves using silica and polymer FBGs is investigated. A heterodyne technique based on an unbalanced interferometric wavelength discriminator is described and the performance of both types of fiber containing FBGs is compared. A considerable sensitivity improvement is achieved using polymer FBG (around 6 times better), and we could explain that considering the lower Young’s modulus of POF. Essentially, and despite the strain sensitivity of silica and POFBGs being very similar, this renders the POF much more sensitive to the applied stress resulting from acoustic signals. Results give noise-limited pressure resolutions of 3.68×10-6 and 1.33 × 10−4 Pa for silica and POF, respectively, each within a 100 Hz bandwidth.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	POF 2016: 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres - proceedings
Editors	David J. Webb, Patricia Scully, Kate Sugden
Place of Publication	Birmingham (UK)
Publisher	Aston University
Pages	46-52
Number of pages	7
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-85449-408-5
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2016
Event	25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres, POF 2016 - Birmingham, United Kingdom Duration: 13 Sept 2016 → 15 Sept 2016

Conference

Conference	25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres, POF 2016
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Birmingham
Period	13/09/16 → 15/09/16

Bibliographical note

© The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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Polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications
© The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Final published version, 1.23 MBLicence: CC BY 3.0

Cite this

@inproceedings{9b22bdb934f344cc9ecf39dd82bda33e,

title = "Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer system using polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications",

abstract = "In the subsea environment, the monitoring of acoustic signals and vibration is crucial for different applications such as in geophysical surveying and security, e.g. the detection of unwanted craft or personnel. Current technology is predominantly based on piezoelectric (PZT) strain sensors but they suffer from some limitations. To solve these problems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are considered as potential alternatives for conventional PZT hydrophones. In this paper, we present our recent experimental studies on FBG based acoustic sensing using polymer optical fiber (POF) in a comparison with the response of silica fiber. Fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI) are widely used for FBG sensor interrogation purpose due to their advantages in terms of high resolution, wide bandwidth, and tunable sensitivity. They are appropriate for dynamic strain measurement applications in the areas of vibration analysis, hydrophones, and acoustic emission studies. The interferometer converts the Bragg wavelength shift of an FBG sensor into a corresponding phase shift in an electrical carrier, which can be demodulated using conventional techniques. In this paper, an interferometric scheme for monitoring low-frequency (few kHz) waves using silica and polymer FBGs is investigated. A heterodyne technique based on an unbalanced interferometric wavelength discriminator is described and the performance of both types of fiber containing FBGs is compared. A considerable sensitivity improvement is achieved using polymer FBG (around 6 times better), and we could explain that considering the lower Young{\textquoteright}s modulus of POF. Essentially, and despite the strain sensitivity of silica and POFBGs being very similar, this renders the POF much more sensitive to the applied stress resulting from acoustic signals. Results give noise-limited pressure resolutions of 3.68×10-6 and 1.33 × 10−4 Pa for silica and POF, respectively, each within a 100 Hz bandwidth.",

author = "Marques, \{Carlos A.F.\} and Webb, \{David J.\}",

note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.; 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres, POF 2016 ; Conference date: 13-09-2016 Through 15-09-2016",

year = "2016",

month = dec,

day = "1",

language = "English",

pages = "46--52",

editor = "Webb, \{David J.\} and Patricia Scully and Kate Sugden",

booktitle = "POF 2016: 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres - proceedings",

publisher = "Aston University",

}

Marques, CAF & Webb, DJ (ed.) 2016, Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer system using polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications. in DJ Webb, P Scully & K Sugden (eds), POF 2016: 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres - proceedings. Aston University, Birmingham (UK), pp. 46-52, 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres, POF 2016, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 13/09/16.

Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer system using polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications. / Marques, Carlos A.F.; Webb, David J. (Editor).
POF 2016: 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres - proceedings. ed. / David J. Webb; Patricia Scully; Kate Sugden. Birmingham (UK): Aston University, 2016. p. 46-52.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference output › Conference publication

TY - GEN

T1 - Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer system using polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications

AU - Marques, Carlos A.F.

A2 - Webb, David J.

A2 - Scully, Patricia

A2 - Sugden, Kate

N1 - © The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

PY - 2016/12/1

Y1 - 2016/12/1

N2 - In the subsea environment, the monitoring of acoustic signals and vibration is crucial for different applications such as in geophysical surveying and security, e.g. the detection of unwanted craft or personnel. Current technology is predominantly based on piezoelectric (PZT) strain sensors but they suffer from some limitations. To solve these problems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are considered as potential alternatives for conventional PZT hydrophones. In this paper, we present our recent experimental studies on FBG based acoustic sensing using polymer optical fiber (POF) in a comparison with the response of silica fiber. Fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI) are widely used for FBG sensor interrogation purpose due to their advantages in terms of high resolution, wide bandwidth, and tunable sensitivity. They are appropriate for dynamic strain measurement applications in the areas of vibration analysis, hydrophones, and acoustic emission studies. The interferometer converts the Bragg wavelength shift of an FBG sensor into a corresponding phase shift in an electrical carrier, which can be demodulated using conventional techniques. In this paper, an interferometric scheme for monitoring low-frequency (few kHz) waves using silica and polymer FBGs is investigated. A heterodyne technique based on an unbalanced interferometric wavelength discriminator is described and the performance of both types of fiber containing FBGs is compared. A considerable sensitivity improvement is achieved using polymer FBG (around 6 times better), and we could explain that considering the lower Young’s modulus of POF. Essentially, and despite the strain sensitivity of silica and POFBGs being very similar, this renders the POF much more sensitive to the applied stress resulting from acoustic signals. Results give noise-limited pressure resolutions of 3.68×10-6 and 1.33 × 10−4 Pa for silica and POF, respectively, each within a 100 Hz bandwidth.

AB - In the subsea environment, the monitoring of acoustic signals and vibration is crucial for different applications such as in geophysical surveying and security, e.g. the detection of unwanted craft or personnel. Current technology is predominantly based on piezoelectric (PZT) strain sensors but they suffer from some limitations. To solve these problems, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are considered as potential alternatives for conventional PZT hydrophones. In this paper, we present our recent experimental studies on FBG based acoustic sensing using polymer optical fiber (POF) in a comparison with the response of silica fiber. Fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI) are widely used for FBG sensor interrogation purpose due to their advantages in terms of high resolution, wide bandwidth, and tunable sensitivity. They are appropriate for dynamic strain measurement applications in the areas of vibration analysis, hydrophones, and acoustic emission studies. The interferometer converts the Bragg wavelength shift of an FBG sensor into a corresponding phase shift in an electrical carrier, which can be demodulated using conventional techniques. In this paper, an interferometric scheme for monitoring low-frequency (few kHz) waves using silica and polymer FBGs is investigated. A heterodyne technique based on an unbalanced interferometric wavelength discriminator is described and the performance of both types of fiber containing FBGs is compared. A considerable sensitivity improvement is achieved using polymer FBG (around 6 times better), and we could explain that considering the lower Young’s modulus of POF. Essentially, and despite the strain sensitivity of silica and POFBGs being very similar, this renders the POF much more sensitive to the applied stress resulting from acoustic signals. Results give noise-limited pressure resolutions of 3.68×10-6 and 1.33 × 10−4 Pa for silica and POF, respectively, each within a 100 Hz bandwidth.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85021436607

M3 - Conference publication

AN - SCOPUS:85021436607

SP - 46

EP - 52

BT - POF 2016: 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres - proceedings

PB - Aston University

CY - Birmingham (UK)

T2 - 25th International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibres, POF 2016

Y2 - 13 September 2016 through 15 September 2016

ER -

Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer system using polymer optical Bragg grating for underwater applications

Abstract

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