Position Sensing By Coupling And Detecting Light In Lossy Waveguides

Michel F. Sultan; Michael J. O 'Rourke

doi:10.1117/12.963067

13 February 1990 Position Sensing By Coupling And Detecting Light In Lossy Waveguides

Michel F. Sultan, Michael J. O 'Rourke

Proceedings Volume 1169, Fiber Optic and Laser Sensors VII; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.963067
Event: OE/FIBERS '89, 1989, Boston, United States

Abstract

A new class of contactless optical position sensors is presented. These sensors are low cost, easy to fabricate and have wide applications. The sensing mechanism consists of injecting a light beam into a lossy waveguide at the position to be sensed. The coupled light divides equally into two guided waves that attenuate as they propagate in opposing directions towards the extremities of the guide. The ratio of the detected signals is a monotonic function of the position to be sensed. Two prototype sensors were tested. The first sensor consists of a fluorescent strip where external light is actively captured by absorption and reemission at the fluorescence wavelength. The second sensor is a surface-roughened polymer waveguide where light is passively coupled by scattering at the surface irregularities. Both sensors exhibited linear responses over their respective ranges of 10 and 12 centimeters.

Citation Download Citation

Michel F. Sultan and Michael J. O 'Rourke "Position Sensing By Coupling And Detecting Light In Lossy Waveguides", Proc. SPIE 1169, Fiber Optic and Laser Sensors VII, (13 February 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.963067

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