SST/Collaborative Research: Development of In-fiber Whitelight Interferometric Sensor for Absolute Distance Measurement and Characterization of Micro/Nano Scale Structures

海鹰黄普渡大学光纤传感器因其体积小、重量轻、远距离操作和抗电磁干扰等优点，已被开发用于位移测量、温度传感、医疗诊断和共焦显微镜。基于长周期光纤光栅模式耦合效应的光纤内白光干涉测距传感器的研制是本课题的主要研究内容。为了从白光条纹光谱中提取绝对距离，将开发一种有效的条纹匹配算法。该距离传感器具有绝对测距、大动态范围、同时测距和测温、自校准高速数据查询等优点。提出的距离传感器将应用于纳米结构的近场表面仿形和MEMS薄膜材料的力学测试。该传感器的成功开发将对纳米技术、微电子机械系统(MEMS)、制造过程监控、材料研究和生命科学等多个学科产生深远影响。本科生和研究生将参与开发工作，获得多个学科的技能，并将为少数族裔外展计划提供暑期项目和演示。这是一个由传感器倡议NSF 05-526支持的项目。

ABSTRACT0528681PI: Haiying HuangPurdue UniversityOptical fiber sensors have been exploited for displacement measurement, temperature sensing, medical diagnosis, and confocal microscopy, due to their compact size, light weight, remote operation, and immunity to electro-magnetic interference. Development of an in-fiber whitelight interferometric distance sensor based on the mode coupling effect of a long period fiber grating is the major research thrust of this project. An efficient fringe-matching algorithm will be developed to extract the absolute distance from the whitelight fringe spectrum. The advantages of the proposed distance sensor include absolute distance measurement, large dynamic range, simultaneous distance and temperature measurement, and self-calibrated high-speed data interrogation. The proposed distance sensor will be applied to the near-field surface profiling of nanoscale structures and mechanical testing of MEMS thin film materials. Successful development of this sensor will have a profound impact on multiple disciplines including nanotechnology, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), manufacturing process monitoring, materials research, and life science. Undergraduate students and graduate students will participate in the development effort, acquiring skills in multiple disciplines and summer projects and demonstrations will be offered for the minority outreach programs. This is a project supported under the Sensor Initiative NSF 05-526.