The development of ultra-miniaturized optical fiber sensors

Electronic enthusiasts core tips: fiber optic sensors have high sensitivity, strong adaptability, and can be used in harsh environments; have great market demand; more and more widely used in the medical field; fiber optic sensor applications often need to reduce the device Size, ultra-miniaturization is the latest development trend of optical fiber sensors.

The basic working principle of the fiber optic sensor is to send the light from the light source to the modulator through the fiber, so that the measured parameter interacts with the light entering the modulation area, resulting in the optical properties of the light (such as light intensity, wavelength, frequency, phase, Normality, etc.) changes, called the modulated signal light, which is sent to the photodetector through the optical fiber, and after demodulation, the measured parameter is obtained. Compared with traditional sensors, the sensitivity of fiber optic sensors is higher, and its geometry has many aspects of adaptability. It can be used in high voltage, electrical noise, high temperature, corrosion, or other harsh environments. It is inherently compatible with fiber optic telemetry Sex.

With the development of sensors that are sensitive, accurate, adaptable, small, and intelligent, fiber optic sensors have also emerged.

Strong demand for fiber optic sensors has broad prospects

According to ElectroniCast, from 2011 to 2016, the consumption value of optical fiber sensors will grow at an average annual growth rate of 20.5% from US $ 1.34 billion to US $ 3.39 billion. Among them, the global optical fiber internal sensor consumption value is expected to grow at an average annual rate of close to 20.7%; the use of optical fiber interface external sensors is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 18.15%.

Therefore, we can say that optical fiber sensors have great market demand, not to mention long-term, at least in the next 5 years, optical fiber sensors will have broad development prospects.

The role of fiber optic sensors in the medical field

The high sensitivity and adaptability of fiber-optic sensors make their application range more and more extensive, and naturally have huge market potential. At present, optical fiber sensors are used in medical, mineral, petroleum and other industries have important detection functions.

From the current point of view, the application of optical fiber sensors in medical care has extremely broad development prospects. For example, bed sensors, breathing sensors, BCG (BCG) sensors, pressure sensors, textile sensors, etc. are all commonly used devices in homes and medical institutions.

In recent years, manufacturers in developed countries such as the United States have developed and launched a variety of new fiber-optic biosensor products. Some sensors are very small in size. For example, the smallest sensor produced in the United States can even pass through the eye of the sewing needle. This product is suitable for probes of microwave or radio spectrum analyzers, and as a replaceable accessory product for endoscopes. A US company recently announced that it has developed a new low-cost disposable optical fiber sensor product, which can be used for various endoscopes, which can be removed and discarded after each use, thereby eliminating the trouble of disinfection and sterilization.

Optical fiber sensor ultra-miniaturization trend

The latest development trend of ultra-miniaturized fiber optic sensors, there are many times in the application of fiber optic sensors need to reduce the size of the device. The small size often has the advantages of fast response and detection of small targets, and has little effect on the target detection object. In order to reduce the size of the traditional optical fiber sensor device, there are generally two steps: first taper the optical fiber to reduce the diameter; and then use various micro-processing techniques to realize various miniature versions of traditional optical fiber devices, or even some traditional optical fibers that are difficult to achieve Structure and function.

There are many technologies currently used for micromachining optical fibers, such as carbon dioxide lasers, femtosecond lasers, HF acid etching, arcs, and focused particle beams. These are the technological crystallization of the ultra-miniaturized trend of optical fiber sensors.