Ultrasensitive fiber strain sensor

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OZ Optics together with Queens researchers will design and build a prototype sensor system with unprecedented sensitivity. The instrument is suited for strain and vibration measurements in artificial and natural structures, i.e. it is equally suited for monitoring the structural health of planes, bridges, buildings, and roads as it is for e.g. seismic monitoring. The sensor head consists of an optical cavity incorporated into standard telecom fiber which is interrogated by a newly developed active optical feedback circuit. In previous work the sensor was shown to perform with a sensitivity that was limited only by the thermodynamic phase fluctuations of the fiber material (Science, 330, 6007 (2010) 1081) and was found to be far superior, with regards to dynamic range and sensitivity, to any previously developed strain sensor. In the current joint development the emphasis lies on an inexpensive, ruggedized adaptation of the same concept. In addition we will develop a start-up protocol that permits unattended boot-up of the system. This is essential for future commercial development of the system, but has never been attempted. Upon completion of the project we will have built a sensor system that permits strain and frequency measurements at nanostrain levels within a frequency range from DC to >200 kHz. The instrument fills a gap in the fiber-optic sensing portfolio offered by OZ Optics.