Development of Distributed Brillouin Sensors Using Tapered Polymer Optical Fibers

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25709032
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Measurement engineering
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Mizuno Yosuke 東京工業大学, 科学技術創成研究院, 助教 (30630818)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 光ファイバセンサ / ブリルアン散乱 / ポリマー光ファイバ / プラスチック光ファイバ / 歪・温度分布センサ / 非線形光学 / テーパー加工 / 防災技術

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Optical fiber sensing techniques have been extensively studied all over the world due to their capability of distributed strain and temperature measurement. In this study, we have developed fiber-optic sensing systems using not only standard silica glass fibers but also polymer (or plastic) optical fibers. We have especially focused on the light scattering signal enhanced by fiber tapering, i.e., by diameter reduction via a heat-and-pull process. We have established multiple methods for polymer fiber tapering, and successfully demonstrated polymer-fiber-based distributed strain and temperature sensing for the first time in the world. Besides, we have improved the performance of the distributed sensing system itself, and achieved a world-record ultrahigh-speed operation of distributed strain sensing, opening up a new field of fiber-optic distributed vibration sensing.

Free Research Field

光ファイバセンサ、計測光学、非線形光学、光電子工学