Demonstration of photonic temperature sensor for RTM-6 composite manufacturing process (180°C) integrated with PMOC system

Abstract

We demonstrate a sensing platform for composite manufacturing (RTM-6) process based on silicon photonics, being controlled by novel Process Monitoring Optimization Control (PMOC) system. The photonic multi-sensor is based on bragg grating components, allowing measurements of temperature, pressure and refractive index, and is packaged employing a ball lens fiber-to-chip interface. We present results of the packaged temperature photonic sensor regarding bandwidth, linearity and thermo-optic efficiency, being controlled by our PMOC system. We experimentally achieve 0.074 nm/C with R^2 = 0.995 linearity for temperature up to 180°C (RTM-6 compatible) with 1 kHz data acquisition and 0.2°C accuracy.

Photonic Integrated Circuit Based Temperature Sensor for Out-of-Autoclave Composite Parts Production Monitoring

“…The first was the calibration of the sensors in a lab environment. As presented in [ 17 ], a sensitivity of ≈0.078 nm/°C is measured, with the response being highly linear. The second phase, involving optical sensors in the composite tool, was conducted at the premises of Loiretech Ingénierie, and as mentioned above, they were composed of heating cycles reaching up to 180 °C.…”

“…Upon receiving the fabricated PICs, they are diced and packaged. The photonic sensors are tested, both in a laboratory setting, as shown in [ 16 , 17 ], and inside a composite tool.…”

“…The applied sensor is a Bragg grating structure, based on an integrated photonics platform, consisting of a periodic corrugation of the refractive index, namely, the waveguide width [ 16 , 17 ]. This exact periodicity in the structure’s geometry causes a selectivity in the spectrum, acting as a band-pass filter.…”

“…Upon receiving the fabricated PICs, they are diced and packaged. The photonic sensors are tested, both in a laboratory setting, as shown in [16,17], and inside a composite tool. In detail, for testing of the photonic structures, compatibility with established fibre Bragg infrastructure is warranted.…”

Design of a miniaturized MID-IR spectroscopy solution, based on a 400 nm SiPh platform, for the detection of CO2 and CH4

“…Figure 1 presents the range for the width and the etch depth (left) that will define the total effective refractive index. To calculate the effective refractive index for each propagation mode, we employed the Finite Difference Eigenmode (FDE) simulation solver, commercially available by Lumerical [5]. The effective refractive index is composed of the real part that will be utilized to calculate Bragg resonance wavelength, as well as the imaginary part indicating waveguide propagation losses.…”