FBG

Application

 Fiber Bragg Grating sensors

In 1989, a new in-fiber spectral filter called Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) has been presented [1], and
shown to be simultaneously strain-, temperature- and pressure-sensitive. This device, obtained by
photo-writing the core of an optical fibre using a UV laser light, led the way to many applications [2].
For instance, in the 1.55 µm window (C-band), spectral sensitivities of FBGs with respect to strain,
temperature and pressure are respectively ~ 1.2 pm/(µm/m), ~ 12 pm/K, and ~ 5 pm/MPa, slightly
depending on fibre properties.

 
 
Principe of miltiplexed Fiber Bragg Grattings (depiced in case of strain measurment)

 Growing use of Optical Fiber Sensors could be attributed to several advantages due to
intrinsic properties of fibres:

 Electromagnetic interference (EMI) immunity,

 Light weight,
 Small size,
 Very low losses (long-span, some tens of km),
 High temperature and ionising radiation tolerance,
 Stability and durability against harsh environments,
 No local electrical power required at measurement points.

 And to the optoelectronic system:

 Good metrological performances

 Multi parameter measurement and data fusion into a single parameter (wavelength)
 Multiplexing capability (several sensors multiplexed on the same fibre)
 Several fibres interrogated in real time
 Absolute measurement
 Immunity to optical power light fluctuations
 Temperature-compensated measurement
 Flexible sensing topology

All these advantages are clearly of primary importance in quasi-distributed measurements. Today,
Optical Fiber Sensor Networks (OFSNs) are increasingly used anywhere where security or safety is
concerned. To highlight the argument, let us list some examples: temperature and pressure sensors
devoted to process control or safety are now advocated by the oil & gas industries; in civil engineering
as well as in composite material applications. So, the concept of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
based on FBG becomes more and more a matter of concern for end users.

Concerning FBG-based instrumentation, one important way of innovation for end-users is linked to the
possibility to get better, faster and cheaper solutions. In such context, research studies are being
carried out, and particularly consist in enhancing performances of measurement systems. This relates
to all of the way (materials & software) leading to a better understanding of the real-time monitoring of
concerned structures. So, to become more and more acceptable for end-users and widely used, FBG-
based measurement system able to remotely and accurately determine Bragg wavelengths reflected
by a large number of FBG-based sensors need to be improved both in terms of scanning speed and
spectral range. Tunable VCSEL seems to be the best technological way to address these items.

 High power (> 1 mW), useful to enhance S/N ratio and in turn resolution, as well as to allow a
very long remote measurement (multikilometric sensing)
 High tuning speed (> 10 kHz). State-of-the-art of FBG systems is in a range of hundredth of
Hz. New tuneable systems based on VCSELs able to scan 100 times faster than previous
solutions will clearly open new market shares
 Tuning range (> 50 nm), State-of-the-art is limited to the C band (30 nm). Doubling this
spectral range will allow to address a larger number of sensors per optical fiber, lowering from
the same ratio the cost per measurement point
 Small size and low electrical power supply will open the embedded instrumentation sector to
Optical Fiber Sensors
 Low cost. Last but not least a drastic reduction of source price will allow optical fiber systems
to compete with traditional measurement technologies 

 Background

Laser-based gas sensing exploits the interaction of light with molecules for the realization of high-
performance gas monitoring systems. Each gaseous species has a unique absorption spectrum,
generally made of narrow lines at specific wavelengths (colors). At these wavelengths, a portion of the
light that propagates through a sample is absorbed. The amount of light absorbed at a particular
wavelength depends on the number of molecules present in the sample, thus on the gas
concentration. This property is exploited to determine the gas concentration.

 Laser spectroscopy

The use of a laser in gas sensing is extremely attractive since this type of light source emits a pure
wavelength (color). The exact emitted wavelength can be slightly tuned by changing the laser
temperature or drive current. In this way, a single absorption line of the target gas can be accurately
probed, which drastically reduces (or even suppresses) the problem of spectral interference, i.e. the
contribution of other species present in the sample compared to other types of gas sensors (incl. non-
laser infrared detectors). 

The near-infrared is the region of the electro-magnetic spectrum encompassed between 0.7 and 2 µm.
It is often the preferred spectral region for compact and cost-effective gas sensing at ppm (1 ppm =
10-6) to % concentration due to the large availability of high-performance semiconductor laser sources
and detectors arising from the optical telecommunication technology. These lasers operate at room-
temperature, have a very small size and require low electrical consumption.

 Properties of laser-based gas sensors

The main features provided by laser-based gas sensors compared to other types of gas sensors (e.g.
chemical sensors) are:

 non-contact measurement;
 high sensitivity, i.e. a detection limit at ppm level or lower is generally achievable;
 high selectivity, i.e. the possibility to measure the target species in presence of several other
gases (the most common for sensors operating in air are O2, N2, H2O and CO2);
 real time measurement with a fast response time;
 high dynamic range;
 no maintenance and no sampling required.

 Benefits of largely tunable VCSELs for gas sensing

The tunable MEMS-VCSEL technology developed in the project offers some advantages compared to
standard near-infrared semiconductor lasers used in gas sensing applications:

 Multi-gas capability: whereas gas sensors based on standard lasers can usually detect a
single species only due to their limited tuning range, the large tunability provided by the new
technology enables the simultaneous detection of several species with the same laser, which
is attractive in some applications. For instance, a 60 nm tunable MEMS-VCSEL would enable
the detection of CO, CO2, NH3, C2H2 and HI in the 1.52-1.58 µm range or CO2, H2O, NH3
and HBr in the 1.95-2.01 µm range.
 Spectroscopic thermometry: sensing two different absorption lines of a molecule enables to
determine the temperature of the gas sample. This is of great interest in applications where
standard temperature sensors (e.g. thermocouples) can not operate, such as for combustion
process monitoring. The broad tuning range of the MEMS-VCSEL offers a much wider choice
for the pair of lines to be used, thus improving the performances of this technique.
 The large tuning range of the MEMS-VCSEL also offers new possibilities in sensing more
complex molecules with a broad unresolved absorption spectrum that must be measured on a
large spectral range for accurate identification and quantification of the species.