Publications

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

The purpose of this LDRD was to study the effect of steady-state neutron and gamma irradiation on the transmission of waveguides designed to operate well in the near- or mid-IR region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this context, near-IR refers to the region between 1.3 {mu}m and about 2.4 {mu}m, and mid-IR between 3.0 {mu}m and 4.5 {mu}m. Such radiation environments could exist in nuclear power plants or nuclear weapons. Pulsed and steady-state radiation effects had been extensively studied on silica-based optical fibers because they have been the most readily available, most widely used in communications and sensing, and the least expensive. However, silica-based fibers do not transmit well beyond about 1.8 {mu}m and they are virtually opaque in the mid-IR. The mid-IR, as defined above, and beyond, is where vibrational spectroscopy is carried out. This type of sensing is one important application of infrared optical fibers.

Abstract not provided.

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In this paper, we discuss the primary characteristics and pitfalls associated with the use of Bragg Gratings for distributed temperature sensing, with particular attention to time-division multiplexing (TDM). Two pitfalls are intrinsic to a serial array of such gratings that use TDM: spectral shadowing and crosstalk. Two others involve strain in the fiber that masquerades as temperature and that could affect other methods of interrogating the gratings, in addition to TDM.

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An optical method of detecting a liquid level is presented that uses fluorescence radiation generated in an impurity-doped glass or plastic slab. In operation, the slab is inserted into the liquid and pump light is coupled into it so that the light is guided by the slab-air interface above the liquid and escapes into the liquid just below its surface. Since the fluorescence is generated only in that section of the slab above the liquid, the fluorescence power will monotonically decrease with increasing liquid level. Thus, a relationship can be established between any signal proportional to it and the, liquid level. Because optical fibers link the pump source and the detector of fluorescence radiation to the sensor, no electrical connections are needed in or near the liquid. Their absence vastly decreases the hazard associated with placing a liquid level sensor in a potentially explosive environment. A laboratory prototype, consisting of a methyl styrene slab doped with an organic dye, has been built and successfully tested in water. Its response to liquid level when pumped by a tunable argon-ion laser at 476, 488, and 496 nm, and by a blue LED, is presented and shown to be consistent with theory. The fluorescence spectra, optical efficiency, temperature, and other effects are also presented and discussed.

This report describes work performed for the development of a fiber-optic shock position sensor used to measure the location of a shock front in the neighborhood of a nuclear explosion. Such a measurement would provide a hydrodynamic determination of nuclear yield. The original proposal was prompted by the Defense Nuclear Agency`s interest in replacing as many electrical sensors as possible with their optical counterparts for the verification of a treaty limiting the yield of a nuclear device used in underground testing. Immunity to electromagnetic pulse is the reason for the agency`s interest; unlike electrical sensors and their associated cabling, fiber-optic systems do not transmit to the outside world noise pulses from the device containing secret information.