Functional Optical Fiber Sensors Detecting Imperceptible Physical/Chemical Changes for Smart Batteries

The battery technology progress has been a contradictory process in which performance improvement and hidden risks coexist.Now the battery is still a“black box”,thus requiring a deep understanding of its internal state.The battery should“sense its internal physical/chemical conditions”,which puts strict requirements on embedded sensing parts.This paper summarizes the application of advanced optical fiber sensors in lithium-ion batteries and energy storage technologies that may be mass deployed,focuses on the insights of advanced optical fiber sensors into the processes of one-dimensional nano-micro-level battery material structural phase transition,electrolyte degradation,electrode-electrolyte interface dynamics to three-dimensional macro-safety evolution.The paper contributes to understanding how to use optical fiber sensors to achieve“real”and“embedded”monitoring.Through the inherent advantages of the advanced optical fiber sensor,it helps clarify the battery internal state and reaction mechanism,aiding in the establishment of more detailed models.These advancements can promote the development of smart batteries,with significant importance lying in essentially promoting the improvement of system consistency.Furthermore,with the help of smart batteries in the future,the importance of consistency can be weakened or even eliminated.The application of advanced optical fiber sensors helps comprehensively improve the battery quality,reliability,and life.

Quantitative Identification of Delamination Damage in Composite Structure Based on Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors and Model Updating

Delamination is a prevalent type of damage in composite laminate structures.Its accumulation degrades structural performance and threatens the safety and integrity of aircraft.This study presents a method for the quantitative identification of delamination identification in composite materials,leveraging distributed optical fiber sensors and a model updating approach.Initially,a numerical analysis is performed to establish a parameterized finite element model of the composite plate.Then,this model subsequently generates a database of strain responses corresponding to damage of varying sizes and locations.The radial basis function neural network surrogate model is then constructed based on the numerical simulation results and strain responses captured from the distributed fiber optic sensors.Finally,a multi-island genetic algorithm is employed for global optimization to identify the size and location of the damage.The efficacy of the proposed method is validated through numerical examples and experiment studies,examining the correlations between damage location,damage size,and strain responses.The findings confirm that the model updating technique,in conjunction with distributed fiber optic sensors,can precisely identify delamination in composite structures.

Optical micro/nanofiber enabled tactile sensors and soft actuators:A review

As a combination of fiber optics and nanotechnology,optical micro/nanofiber(MNF)is considered as an important multifunctional building block for fabricating various miniaturized photonic devices.With the rapid progress in flexible optoelectronics,MNF has been emerging as a promising candidate for assembling tactile sensors and soft actuators owing to its unique optical and mechanical properties.This review discusses the advances in MNF enabled tactile sensors and soft actuators,specifically,focusing on the latest research results over the past 5 years and the applications in health monitoring,human-machine interfaces,and robotics.Future prospects and challenges in developing flexible MNF devices are also presented.

Giant Asymmetric Transmission and Optical Rotation of a Three-Dimensional Metamaterial

We show that giant asymmetric transmission and optical rotation for linear polarizations can be achieved by a chiral three-dimensional metamaterial composed of L-shaped and C-shaped metallic particles. Numerical calcu- lations on the electric field distributions indicate that the coupling between the electric dipolar and quadrupolar resonances in the L- and C-shaped metallic particles contributes to these effects.

A method for phase reconstruction in optical three-dimensional shape measurement

In optical three-dimensional shape measurement, a method of improving the measurement precision for phase reconstruction without phase unwrapping is analyzed in detail. Intensities of any five consecutive pixels that lie in the x-axis direction of the phase domain are given. Partial derivatives of the phase function in the x- and y-axis directions are obtained with a phase-shifting mechanism, the origin of which is analysed. Furthermore, to avoid phase unwrapping in the phase reconstruction, we derive the gradient of the phase function and perform a two-dimensional integral along the x- and y-axis directions. The reconstructed phase can be obtained directly by performing numerical integration, and thus it is of great convenience for phase reconstruction. Finally, the results of numerical simulations and practical experiments verify the correctness of the proposed method.

A Robust Optical Encryption Method for Three-Dimensional Object Based on the Fresnel Transform

An optical encryption of three-dimensional (3D) object with digital holography was implemented. In the process of encryption, two holograms involved recording key information and 3D object were obtained. In the process of decryption, the 3D object was reconstructed from the two holograms by extracting the object and key information, followed by multiplication of the two holograms and inverse Fresnel transform numerically. The robustness of the method was also tested for different occlusions attacks and Gaussian noises. The results showed that the method was able to encrypt and decrypt the 3D object while being robust under different occlusions attacks and Gaussian noises.

High Optical Magnification Three-Dimensional Integral Imaging of Biological Micro-organism

A high optical magnification three-dimensional imaging system is proposed using an optic microscope whose ocular （eyepiece） is retained and the structure of the transmission mode is not destroyed. The elemental image array is captured through the micro lens array. Due to the front diffuse transmission element, each micro lens sees a slightly different spatial perspective of the scene, and a different independent image is formed in each micro lens channel. Each micro lens channel is imaged by a Fourier lens and captured by a CCD. The design translating the stage in x or y provides no parallax. Compared with the conventional integral imaging of micro-objects, the optical magnification of micro-objects in the proposed system can enhanced remarkably. The principle of the enhancement of the image depth is explained in detail and the experimental results are presented.

Temperature sensor based on polymer thin film optical waveguide

Based on attenuated total reflection （ATR） and thermo-optic effect, the polymeric thin film planar optical waveguide is used as the temperature sensor, and the factors influencing the sensitivity of the temperature sensor are comprehensively analyzed. Combined with theoretical analysis and experimental investigation, the sensitivity of the temperature sensor is related to the thicknesses of the upper cladding layer, the waveguide layer, the optical loss of the polymer material and the guided wave modes. The results show that the slope value about reflectivity and temperature, which stands for the sensitivity of the polymer thin film temperature sensor, is associated with the waveguide film thickness and the guided wave modes, and the slope value is the highest in the zero reflectance of a certain transverse electric （TE） mode. To improve the sensitivity of the temperature sensor, the sensor＇s working incident light exterior angle α should be chosen under a certain TE mode with the reflectivity to be zero. This temperature sensor is characterized by high sensitivity and simple structure and it is easily fabricated.

AN OPTICAL FIBER SENSOR TECHNIQUE BASED ON SLIGHT DISTURBANCE RADIATION LOSS OF STOCHASTIC WALL

This paper presents an optical sensor technique used in the damage evaluation which is formed by structurally integrated fiber optic reticulate sensors embedded in the composite materials. The fibers are processed by chemical method and their outsides are peeled to form particles of irregular distribution and they differ in size, so the slight disturbance range of stochastic wall are formed in fibers. According to the characteristics of power loss of waveguide mode caused by slight disturbance of stochastic wall and radiative mode transmission, the range of slight disturbance of stochastic wall may be served as the sensitive range of the sensor. On the basis of theory of slight disturbance of stochastic wall of planar optical waveguide, the relation between the corrosion time and the opposite power loss by experiments is investigated. In this paper, the measurement results of object of SIFORS are also presented. The results show that the optical sensor technique may be used in the damage evaluation of an aircraft.

Three-Dimensional Ocean Sensor Networks:A Survey

The past decade has seen a growing interest in ocean sensor networks because of their wide applications in marine research,oceanography,ocean monitoring,offshore exploration,and defense or homeland security.Ocean sensor networks are generally formed with various ocean sensors,autonomous underwater vehicles,surface stations,and research vessels.To make ocean sensor network applications viable,efficient communication among all devices and components is crucial.Due to the unique characteristics of underwater acoustic channels and the complex deployment environment in three dimensional(3D) ocean spaces,new efficient and reliable communication and networking protocols are needed in design of ocean sensor networks.In this paper,we aim to provide an overview of the most recent advances in network design principles for 3D ocean sensor networks,with focuses on deployment,localization,topology design,and position-based routing in 3D ocean spaces.

Cyclodextrin Polymer Films Optical Waveguide Sensor for Volatile Organic Gas Detection

A sensitive optical waveguide（OWG） sensor which can be used to detect volatile organic compounds（VOCs） was presented.The sensing device（element） was fabricated by means of the immobilization of polyvinyl pyrrolidone（PVP）-cyclodextrin（CD） composite film over a single-mode potassium ion exchanged glass OWG via spin-coating method.The sensor shows higher response to styrene gas than to other VOCs and displays a linear response to styrene gas in a range of 1―1000 μL/L.

Multifunctional flexible optical waveguide sensor: on the bioinspiration for ultrasensitive sensors development

This paper presents the development of a bioinspired multifunctional flexible optical sensor(BioMFOS)as an ultrasensitive tool for force(intensity and location)and orientation sensing.The sensor structure is bioinspired in orb webs,which are multifunctional devices for prey capturing and vibration transmission.The multifunctional feature of the structure is achieved by using transparent resins that present both mechanical and optical properties for structural integrity and strain/deflection transmission as well as the optical signal transmission properties with core/cladding configuration of a waveguide.In this case,photocurable and polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)resins are used for the core and cladding,respectively.The optical transmission,tensile tests,and dynamic mechanical analysis are performed in the resins and show the possibility of light transmission at the visible wavelength range in conjunction with high flexibility and a dynamic range up to 150 Hz,suitable for wearable applications.The BioMFOS has small dimensions(around 2 cm)and lightweight(0.8 g),making it suitable for wearable application and clothing integration.Characterization tests are performed in the structure by means of applying forces at different locations of the structure.The results show an ultra-high sensitivity and resolution,where forces in theμN range can be detected and the location of the applied force can also be detected with a sub-millimeter spatial resolution.Then,the BioMFOS is tested on the orientation detection in 3D plane,where a correlation coefficient higher than 0.9 is obtained when compared with a gold-standard inertial measurement unit(IMU).Furthermore,the device also shows its capabilities on the movement analysis and classification in two protocols:finger position detection(with the BioMFOS positioned on the top of the hand)and trunk orientation assessment(with the sensor integrated on the clothing).In both cases,the sensor is able of classifying the movement,especially when analyzed in conjunction with preprocessing and clustering techniques.As another wearable application,the respiratory rate is successfully estimated with the BioMFOS integrated into the clothing.Thus,the proposed multifunctional device opens new avenues for novel bioinspired photonic devices and can be used in many applications of biomedical,biomechanics,and micro/nanotechnology.

Highly sensitive digital optical sensor with large measurement range based on the dual-microring resonator with waveguide-coupled feedback

We propose a novel high-performance digital optical sensor based on the Mach-Zehnder interferential effect and the dual-microring resonators with the waveguide-coupled feedback. The simulation results show that the sensitivity of the sensor can be orders of magnitude higher than that of aconventional sensor, and high quality factor is not critical in it. Moreover, by optimizing the length of the feedback waveguide to be equal to the perimeter of the ring, the measurement range of the proposed sensor is twice as much as that of the conventional sensor in the weak coupling case.

Optical temperature sensor based on up-conversion fluorescence emission in Yb^(3+):Er^(3+) co-doped ceramics glass

yb^3＋：Er^3＋ co-doped oxy-fluoride ceramics glass has been prepared. The mechanism of up-conversion emissions about Er^3＋ was discussed, and the temperature properties of green up-conversion fluorescence between 303 and 823 K were investigated. The results show that the sensitivity of this sample reaches its maximum value, about 0.0047 K^-1, when the temperature is 383 K, indicating that this kind of sample can be used as high temperature and high sensitivity optical temperature sensor.

An Optical Pressure Sensor Based on MEMS

An optical fiber pressure sensor has been developed for the measurement in human body.The sensing element is possessed of a membrane structure,which is fabricated by micromachining.The fabrication process includes anisotropic wet etching on the silicon wafer.For the transmitting source and signal light,a multimode optical fiber 50/125 μm (core/clad)in diameter was used.The intensity of the light reflected back into the fiber varies with the membrane deflection,which is s function of pressure.The deflection of the membrane by applied pressure can be mathematically described.

The research of optical windows used in aircraft sensor systems

The optical windows used in aircrafts protect their imaging sensors from environmental effects. Considering the imaging performance, flat surfaces are traditionally used in the design of optical windows. For aircrafts operating at high speeds, the optical windows should be relatively aerodynamic, but a flat optical window may introduce unacceptably high drag to the airframes. The linear scanning infrared sensors used in aircrafts with, respectively, a flat window, a spherical window and a toric window in front of the aircraft sensors are designed and compared. Simulation results show that the optical design using a toric surface has the integrated advantages of field of regard, aerodynamic drag, narcissus effect, and imaging performance, so the optical window with a toric surface is demonstrated to be suited for this application.

An Optical Fiber Sensor Probe Using a PMMA/CPR Coated Bent Optical Fiber as a Transducer for Monitoring Trace Ammonia

Ammonia sensors have broad spectrum of applications for industrial process control as well as for environ-mental monitoring. An optical fiber ammonia sensor probe has been developed by using a bent optical fiber having dual poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/chlorophenol red (CPR) coatings as a transducer. This sen-sor probe was tested for monitoring trace ammonia in gas samples using air as sample matrix. The reaction of ammonia with CPR causes a color change of the reagent, which was detected by using fiber optic evanes-cent wave absorption spectrometry as a sensing signal. By adopting a dual layer coating structure, the sensor probe has faster response compared to a sensor using a broadly accepted sensing reagent-immobilized poly-mer coating structure. The sensor developed in this work is sensitive, has a detection limit of 2.7 ppb NH3 in air, which is the most sensitive among the reported optical fiber ammonia sensors to the best knowledge of the authors. The sensor is also reversible and has a response time of 25 minutes. The features of high sensi-tivity, reversibility and reasonable response time make this sensor technique very attractive for air quality monitoring.

Optical Fiber Grating Sensor for Force Measurement of Anchor Cable

The development of the sensor suitable for measuring large load stress to the anchor cable becomes an important task in bridge construction and maintenance. Therefore, a new type of optical fiber sensor was developed in the laboratory - optical fiber grating sensor for force measurement of anchor cable （OFBFMAC）. No similar report about this kind of sensor has been found up to now in China and other countries. This sensor is proved to be an effective way of monitoring in processes of anchor cable installation, cable cutting, cable force regulation, etc, with the accurate and repeatable measuring results. Its successful application in the tie bar cable force safety monitoring for Wuhan Qingchuan bridge is a new exploration of optical fiber grating sensing technology in bridge tie bar monitoring system.

A Fiber Optic Sensor for 2,4-dichlorophenol Analysis based on Optical Composite Oxygen-sensitive Film

A novel fiber optic sensor based on optical composite oxygen-sensitive film was developed for determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol(DCP).The optical composite oxygen-sensitive film consists of tris(2,2’-bipyridyl)dichloro ruthenium(II)hexahydrate(Ru(bpy)3Cl2)as the fluorescence indicator and iron(III)tetrasulfophthalocyanine(Fe(III)PcTs)as bionic enzyme.A lock-in amplifier was used for detecting the lifetime of the composite oxygen-sensitive film by measuring the phase delay of the sensor head.The different variables affecting the sensor performance were evaluated and optimized.Under the optimal conditions(i e,pH 6.0,25℃,Fe(III)PcTs concentration of 5.0×10^-5 mol/L),the linear detection range,detection limit and response time of the fiber optic sensor are 3.0×10^-7-9.0×10^-5 mol/L,4.8×10^-8 mol/L(S/N=3),and 220 s,respectively.The sensor displays high selectivity,good repeatability and stability,which have good potentials in analyzing DCP concentration in practical water samples.

Application of Optical Hydrogels in Environmental Sensing

The ever-increasing complexity of environmental pollutants urgently warrants the development of new detection technologies.Sensors based on the optical properties of hydrogels enabling fast and easy in situ detection are attracting increasing attention.In this paper,the data from 138 papers about different optical hydrogels(OHs)are extracted for statistical analysis.The detection performance and potential of various types of OHs in different environmental pollutant detection scenarios were evaluated and compared to those obtained using the standard detection method.Based on this analysis,the target recognition and sensing mechanisms of two main types of OHs are reviewed and discussed:photonic crystal hydrogels(PCHs)and fluorescent hydrogels(FHs).For PCHs,the environmental stimulus response,target receptors,inverse opal structures,and molecular imprinting techniques related to PCHs are reviewed and summarized.Furthermore,the different types of fluorophores(i.e.,compound probes,biomacromolecules,quantum dots,and luminescent microbes)of FHs are discussed.Finally,the potential academic research directions to address the challenges of applying and developing OHs in environmental sensing are proposed,including the fusion of various OHs,introduction of the latest technologies in various fields to the construction of OHs,and development of multifunctional sensor arrays.