We proposed a new bilayer surface plasmon resonance-based fiber-optic refractive index sensor with silver and an over-layer of TiO2. We numerically investigated the optimal thickness of TiO2 over-layer in the proposed sensor and compared its performance to that based on typical bimetallic layers of silver-and-gold in the aqueous media using finite-difference time domain approach. We show that the use of TiO2 over-layer greatly improves the sensor performance in terms of sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio compared to that with gold as the over-layer. Not only does the TiO2 over-layer offer a cost-effective alternative to gold for overcoming the oxidation problem, but also it allows resonance wavelength-tunability.

This work presented a demonstration of the potential for a fiber based cavity ring-down (CRD) using an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR). The OTDR was used to send the impulses down into about 20 km of a standard single optical fiber, at the end of which the fiber cavity ring-down was placed. The OTDR measured no appreciable losses, so other CRDs multiplexed could be spliced in parallel along the same optical fiber. To demonstrate the behavior and sensitivity of the proposed configuration, a displacement sensor based on a fiber taper with a diameter of 50 μm was placed inside the fiber loop, and the induced losses were measured on the CRD signal — a sensitivity of 11.8 ± 0.5 μs/mm was achieved. The dynamic range of the sensing head used in this configuration was about 2 mm. Finally, this work was also compared with different works published in the literature.

Hydrogen is one of the next generation energies in the future, which shows promising applications in aerospace and chemical industries. Hydrogen leakage monitoring is very dangerous and important because of its low ignition energy, high combustion efficiency, and smallest molecule. This paper reviews the state-of-art development of the fiber optic hydrogen sensing technology. The main developing trends of fiber optic hydrogen sensors are based on two kinds of hydrogen sensitive materials, i.e. palladium-alloy thin films and Pt-doped WO3 coatings. In this review work, the advantages and disadvantages of these two kinds of sensing technologies will be evaluated.

When operating an equipment or a power system at the high voltage, problems associated with partial discharge (PD) can be tracked down to electromagnetic emission, acoustic emission or chemical reactions such as the formation of ozone and nitrous oxide gases. The high voltage equipment and high voltage installation owners have come to terms with the need for conditions monitoring the process of PD in the equipments such as power transformers, gas insulated substations (GIS), and cable installations. This paper reviews the available PD detection methods (involving high voltage equipment) such as electrical detection, chemical detection, acoustic detection, and optical detection. Advantages and disadvantages of each method have been explored and compared. The review suggests that optical detection techniques provide many advantages in the consideration of accuracy and suitability for the applications when compared to other techniques.

An asymmetric fiber (Fabry-Perot, F-P) interferometric cavity with the good linearity and wide dynamic range was successfully designed based on the optical thin film characteristic matrix theory; by adjusting the material of two different thin metallic layers, the asymmetric fiber F-P interferometric cavity was fabricated by depositing the multi-layer thin films on the optical fiber’s end face. The asymmetric F-P cavity has the extensive potential application. In this paper, the demodulation method for the wavelength shift of the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor based on the F-P cavity is demonstrated, and a theoretical formula is obtained. And the experimental results coincide well with the computational results obtained from the theoretical model.

The aluminum alloy structure impact localization system by using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors and impact localization algorithm was investigated. A four-FBG sensing network was established. And the power intensity demodulation method was initialized employing the narrow-band tunable laser. The wavelet transform was used to weaken the impact signal noise. And the impact signal time difference was extracted to build the time difference localization algorithm. At last, a fiber Bragg grating impact localization system was established and experimentally verified. The experimental results showed that in the aluminum alloy plate with the 500 mm*500 mm*2 mm test area, the maximum and average impact abscissa localization errors were 11 mm and 6.25 mm, and the maximum and average impact ordinate localization errors were 9 mm and 4.25 mm, respectively. The fiber Bragg grating sensors and demodulation system are feasible to realize the aviation aluminum alloy material structure impact localization. The research results provide a reliable method for the aluminum alloy material structure impact localization.

Tin oxide thin films were deposited by direct current (DC) reactive sputtering at gas pressures of 0.015 mbar – 0.15 mbar. The crystalline structure and surface morphology of the prepared SnO2 films were introduced by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These films showed preferred orientation in the (110) plane. Due to AFM micrographs, the grain size increased non-uniformly as the working gas pressure increased.

A novel multi-channel distributed optical fiber intrusion monitoring system with smart fiber link backup and on-line fault diagnosis functions was proposed. A 1×N optical switch was intelligently controlled by a peripheral interface controller (PIC) to expand the fiber link from one channel to several ones to lower the cost of the long or ultra-long distance intrusion monitoring system and also to strengthen the intelligent monitoring link backup function. At the same time, a sliding window auto-correlation method was presented to identify and locate the broken or fault point of the cable. The experimental results showed that the proposed multi-channel system performed well especially whenever any a broken cable was detected. It could locate the broken or fault point by itself accurately and switch to its backup sensing link immediately to ensure the security system to operate stably without a minute idling. And it was successfully applied in a field test for security monitoring of the 220-km-length national borderline in China.

This paper proposes the design and research on the high bandwidth linear frequency sweep signal source involved in the readout unit module of the wireless passive pressure sensor in high temperature based on the principle of mutual inductance coupling which is applied widely at present. The operating principle of the linear sweep frequency source based on the direct digital frequency synthesis (DDS) technology is introduced, and the implementation method of the hardware circuit and logic sequential control process required in our system has been realized utilizing this technology. Through the experiments under different conditions of the step value, the sweep range and other related design indicators, the influence on the extraction method of resonance frequency information, extraction accuracy, and others during the readout system of the mutual inductance coupling sensor are analyzed and studied. The design of the linear frequency sweep signal source is realized with a resonance frequency change resolution of 6 kHz, a minimum step value of 1 kHz, and a precision of frequency for 0.116 Hz within the sweep width of 1 MHz – 100 MHz. Due to the use of the integrated commercial chip, the linear sweep frequency source is made small in size, high working frequency, high resolution and low step values for the readout unit modularized of a higher application value.

The smart cable with embedded distributed fiber optical Bragg grating (FBG) sensors was chosen as the object to study a new diagnosis method about broken wires of the bridge cable. The diagnosis strategy based on cable force and stress distribution state of steel wires was put forward. By establishing the bridge-cable and cable-steel wires model, the broken wires sample database was simulated numerically. A method of the characterization cable state pattern which can both represent the degree and location of broken wires inside a cable was put forward. The training and predicting results of the sample database by the back propagation (BP) neural network showed that the proposed broken wires diagnosis method was feasible and expanded the broken wires diagnosis research area by using the smart cable which was used to be only representing cable force.

Two silicon-based ultraviolet (UV) and blue-extended photodiodes are presented, which were fabricated for light detection in the ultraviolet/blue spectral range. Stripe-shaped and octagon-ring-shaped structures were designed to verify parameters of the UV-responsivity, UV-selectivity, breakdown voltage, and response time. The ultra-shallow lateral pn junction had been successfully realized in a standard 0.5-μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process to enlarge the pn junction area, enhance the absorption of UV light, and improve the responsivity and quantum efficiency. The test results illustrated that the stripe-shaped structure has the lower breakdown voltage, higher UV-responsicity, and higher UV-selectivity. But the octagon-ring-shaped structure has the lower dark current. The response time of both structures was almost the same.

Micro-displacement measurement based on self-mixing interference using a fiber laser system was demonstrated. The sinusoidal phase modulation technique was introduced into the fiber laser self-mixing interference measurement system to improve the measurement resolution. The phase could be demodulated by the Fourier analysis method. Error sources were evaluated in detail, and the system was experimentally applied to reconstruct the motion of a high-precision commercial piezoelectric ceramic transducer (PZT). The displacement measurement resolution was well beyond a half-wavelength. It provides a practical solution for displacement measurement based on all optical-fiber sensing applications with high precision.