Open AccessMultiplexing of fiber-optic ultrasound sensors via swept frequency interferometry
Author(s) -
Haniel Gabai,
Idan Steinberg,
Avishay Eyal
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.018915
Subject(s) - multiplexing , optics , interferometry , demodulation , optical fiber , fiber optic sensor , transducer , detector , modulation (music) , materials science , physics , acoustics , computer science , telecommunications , channel (broadcasting)
The use of fiber-optic sensors for ultrasound (US) detection has many advantages over conventional piezoelectric detectors. However, the issue of multiplexing remains a major challenge. Here, a novel approach for multiplexing fiber-optic based US sensors using swept frequency interferometry is introduced. Light from a coherent swept source propagates in an all-fiber interferometric network made of a reference arm and a parallel connection of N sensing arms. Each sensing arm comprises a short polyimide coated sensing section (~4cm), which is exposed to the US excitation, preceded by a delay of different length. When the instantaneous frequency of the laser is linearly swept, the receiver output contains N harmonic beat components which correspond to the various optical paths. Exposing the sensing sections to US excitation introduces phase modulation of the harmonic components. The US-induced signals can be separated in the frequency domain and be extracted from their carriers by common demodulation techniques. The method was demonstrated by multiplexing 4 sensing fibers and detecting microsecond US pulses which were generated by a 2.25MHz ultrasound transducer. The pulses were successfully measured by all sensing fibers without noticeable cross-talk.