Research progress in the key device and technology for fiber optic sensor network

Abstract

The recent research progress in the key device and technology of the fiber optic sensor network (FOSN) is introduced in this paper. An architecture of the sensor optical passive network (SPON), by employing hybrid wavelength division multiplexing/time division multiplexing (WDM/TDM) techniques similar to the fiber communication passive optical network (PON), is proposed. The network topology scheme of a hybrid TDM/WDM/FDM (frequency division multiplexing) three-dimension fiber optic sensing system for achieving ultra-large capacity, long distance, and high resolution sensing performance is performed and analyzed. As the most important device of the FOSN, several kinds of light source are developed, including the wideband multi-wavelength fiber laser operating at C band, switchable and tunable 2 µm multi-wavelength fiber lasers, ultra-fast mode-locked fiber laser, as well as the optical wideband chaos source, which have very good application prospects in the FOSN. Meanwhile, intelligent management techniques for the FOSN including wideband spectrum demodulation of the sensing signals and real-time fault monitoring of fiber links are presented. Moreover, several typical applications of the FOSN are also discussed, such as the fiber optic gas sensing network, fiber optic acoustic sensing network, and strain/dynamic strain sensing network.

Biocompatible and Biodegradable Polymer Optical Fiber for Biomedical Application: A Review

“…Since the 1990s, optical fiber systems have been widely used in data transmission due to advancements in laser, optical fiber amplifier, and optical fiber technology [ 1 ]. With advantages such as no radiation, immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), and ease of multiplexing [ 2 ], optical-fiber-based technology is becoming more prevalent in a variety of sectors of our lives, including communication [ 3 , 4 ], microwave generation [ 5 , 6 ], mechanical inspection [ 6 , 7 ], and earthquake early warning [ 7 , 8 ]. Silica optical fiber is the backbone of the global Internet, with wavelengths optimized between 1260 and 1650 nm and typically employing single-mode fiber (SMF) with a core diameter of 4~8 μm [ 9 ].…”

“…Natural materials are the best candidates for biocompatible and biodegradable optical fibers due to their superior optical and mechanical properties, nontoxicity, and intrinsic biodegradability that is proportional to the number of different components. Biocompatible optical fibers have been developed using protein, agarose, silk and spider fiber, cellulose, and cells [ 2 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. In that, the bacteria-cell-based optical fiber exhibits the best biocompatibility and biodegradability due to its tissue-like nature.…”

Review of Optical Fiber Sensor Network Technology Based on White Light Interferometry

“…It has the characteristics of simple wiring, low power consumption, and high efficiency, which is very suitable for working in harsh environment such as high temperature and high pressure [2]. In addition, the optical fiber sensor is very easy to realize the multiplexing technology, which can reduce the cost of single point sensor, greatly improve the cost performance of the sensing system, and make optical fiber sensor have more advantages than the traditional sensor [3]. The multiplexing technology uses the same interrogation system to query the measurement information of multiple sensors, which not only greatly simplifies the complexity of the system, but also ensures the measurement accuracy and reliability of the system [4].…”

Hybrid Silicon-Fiber Tunable Multiwavelength Laser With Switchable Frequency Spacing

“…E MERGING optical systems in dynamic contexts demand for flexible, high-performance laser sources. For instance, application fields such as sensing and gas detection, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) [1], light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and spectrum analysis [2] can largely benefit from highly tunable lasers. Elastic optical networks [3] require flexible coherent transceivers with both tunable data rate and bandwidth, for which multi-wavelength sources with tunability in both center wavelength and frequency spacing are of great interest for dynamic spectral resource allocation.…”