Photonic Sensing for the Energy Business: An Integrated Approach

Abstract

Using photons to sense instead of electrons has many advantages, which is why photonic sensing is slowly maturing from a niche into a fully-fledged mature technology. In the O&G business, photonic sensing has gained ground and in some cases is even becoming the standard. Most of these systems are fiber or free space optics based, though. So far, this has been sufficient, but future demands for high information rate at a low cost will make it very difficult for these systems to be competitive on their own. Analogous to the electronics industry, there is also a drive in the fields of photonics for integration of functionality on integrated circuits, the so-called Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC).In this paper we will present an overview of a novel sensing technology, based on Application Specific Photonic Integrated Circuits (ASPIC) that is suitable and in some cases mature to be deployed for O&G exploration. We will touch on existing and future technologies and also explain the Multi Project Wafer model that is revolutionizing commercial ASPIC development.