CAREER: Multi-Functional, High-Sensitivity Optical Sensors in Microstructured Fibers

最近发明的微结构光纤将光纤光学带入了一个新时代。使用气孔的柔性纤维设计使许多令人兴奋的应用成为普通纤维无法实现的。在这个职业研究项目中，PI建议充分利用微结构光纤设计的灵活性，开发具有前所未有的功能和性能的光纤传感器。通过控制微结构光纤中纤芯、气孔和填充材料的形状、几何形状和组成，可以显著提高有源和无源光纤传感器的灵敏度、频率响应和功耗。通过该项目开发的多功能传感器和使能技术有望极大地扩展光纤传感器的应用范围，使其超越传统的角色。PI认识到光子器件在现代技术中的深远潜力，并为所有工程专业的学生提出了跨学科培训计划。它包括一门普通的光学工程课程，以及关于光子产品创新和制造自动化的具有工业动机的高级设计项目。通过本科生的机器人课外活动，拟议的外联活动旨在吸引更多女性和代表性不足的少数族裔学生在大学学习工程学。总体而言，该项目将培养受过跨学科培训的工程师，他们将理解并使用光子学作为终身工程创新事业的一部分。这是2007财年DMMI/ENG的职业津贴。

The recent invention of microstructured optical fibers has brought fiber optics into a new era. Flexible fiber designs using air holes have enabled many exciting applications unattainable with normal fibers. In this CAREER research project, the PI proposes to fully exploit microstructured fiber design flexibility and to develop fiber sensors with unprecedented functionalities and performance. By controlling shapes, geometry, and compositions of the fiber core, air holes, and filling materials in microstructured fibers, major enhancement in sensitivity, frequency response, and power consumption for both active and passive fiber sensors can be achieved. Multi-functional sensors and enabling technology developed from this project is expected to dramatically expand the applications of fiber sensors beyond their traditional roles.The PI recognizes the far-reaching potential of photonic devices in modern technology and proposes an interdisciplinary training plan for all engineering students. It includes a general optical engineering course and industrial motivated senior design projects on photonic product innovation and manufacturing automation. Through undergraduate extracurricular activities in robotics, the proposed outreach activities aim to attract more female and under-represented minority students to study engineering in colleges. Overall, this program will foster interdisciplinary-trained engineers, who will understand and use photonics as part of life-long career of engineering innovation. This is a FY07 CAREER grant of DMMI/ENG.