A slab-coupled optical fiber sensor (SCOS) falls into a narrow class of all-dielectric optical fiber electric field sensors, which makes it a perfect candidate for measurements of high electric fields in environments where presence of conductors is highly perturbing to the system under test. Its nonlinear response to high fields requires a new nonlinear calibration technique. A nonlinear calibration method is explained and demonstrated to successfully measure high electric fields, as well as high voltages with dynamic range up to 50 dB. Furthermore, a SCOS can be fitted into narrow spaces and make highly localized measurements due to its small size. This allows a SCOS to be integrated inside a standard high voltage coaxial cable, such as RG-218. Effects of partial discharge and arcing is minimized by development of a fabrication method to avoid introduction of impurities, especially air-bubbles, into the cable during SCOS insertion. Low perturbation of the measured voltage is shown by simulating the introduced voltage reflections to be on the order of −50 dB. It is also shown that a SCOS can be inserted into other cables without significant perturbation to the voltage.A complete high voltage and high electric field measurement system is built based on the high-voltage modifications of the SCOS technology. The coaxial SCOS is enhanced for robustness. Enhancements include packaging a SCOS into stronger ceramic trough, strengthening the fiber with kevlar reinforced furcation tubing and protecting the sensor with metal braces and protective shells. The interrogator is protected from electromagnetic interference with an RF-shielded box. Reduction in power losses introduced by the new PANDA-SCOS technology allows interrogator bandwidths to be increased up to 1.2 GHz. The whole measurement process is streamlined with dedicated software, developed specifically for high voltage and electric field measurements with support for the nonlinear calibration.

Nos dias de hoje o controle e monitoração de sistemas biológicos relacionados ao controle ambiental tem sido considerado importante para o diagnóstico e biorremediação de sistemas aquosos como rios e lagos. A eficácia dos processos de controle está diretamente relacionada aos processos de medição \"in-situ\" em tempo real. Nesse sentido o presente trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento de sistemas multiespectrais portáteis para monitoramento, \"in-situ\" e em tempo real, da dinâmica do crescimento microbiano utilizados em processos de biorremediação. Assim, para este fim foram desenvolvidos dois sistemas, um para monitorar a concentração de oxigênio dissolvido (OD) em meio aquoso e outro para monitorar a absorção óptica do meio de cultura. O sensor óptico para monitorar a concentração de OD está baseado em uma fibra óptica na qual em uma de suas pontas (extremidades) foi depositado um filme fino de Poli (cloreto de vinila) (PVC) dopado com moléculas de octaetilporfirina de platina (PtOEP) como parte sensível do dispositivo. O sensor mostrou resposta linear em regiões entre 4 e 18 mg/L de OD em meio aquoso, tendo como tempo de resposta de 8 s e tempo de recuperação de 236 s. O sistema de medida de absorção óptica do meio de cultura foi projetado e fabricado utilizando-se um fotodetector multiespectral e um diodo LED (600nm) como fonte de excitação. A aquisição, controle e processamento de sinais deste sistema está baseado em uma placa de aquisição NI modelo myRIO-1900 fabricado pela National Instruments, utilizando-se tecnologia Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Os resultados obtidos com este sistema mostram ter o mesmo nível de desempenho se comparado ao de um sistema biofotométrico comercial na faixa de concentração entre 1,13 mg/ml à 2,11mg/ml. / Nowadays, the controlling and monitoring biological systems related to environmental control has been considered important for the diagnosis and bio-remediation of aqueous systems like rivers and lakes. The effectiveness of this control processes are directly related to \"in-situ\" and real-time measurement processes. In this sense the present work presents the development of portable multispectral systems for monitoring, \"in-situ\" and in real time, the dynamics of microbial growth used in bio-remediation processes. So, for this purpose were fabricated two systems, one to monitor the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) in aqueous medium and another to monitor the optical absorption of culture medium. The optical sensor to monitor the DO is based on an optical fiber in which in one of its ends was deposited a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) thin film doped with Platinum octaethylphorphyrin molecules (PtOEP) as part of the device. The sensor showed linear response in regions between 4 and 18 mg/L of DO in aqueous medium, with response time of 8s and the recovery time of 236s. The system of measurement of optical absorption of culture medium was designed and manufactured using a multispectral photodetector and a diode LED (600nm) as a source of excitation. The acquisition, signal processing and control of this system are based on an acquisition card NI myRIO-1900 model manufactured by National Instruments, using FPGA technology. The results obtained with this system shows to have the same level of performance to that of a commercial biophotometric system in the concentration range of 1.13 mg/mL to 2.11 mg/mL.

Submitted by MARLON RODRIGUES GARCIA null (marlon92319@aluno.feis.unesp.br) on 2016-04-18T18:04:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Final - Marlon.pdf: 6766003 bytes, checksum: 4849566caadd0c8935bb400de40fb690 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Felipe Augusto Arakaki (arakaki@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-04-19T14:54:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 garcia_mr_me_ilha.pdf: 6766003 bytes, checksum: 4849566caadd0c8935bb400de40fb690 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-19T14:54:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 garcia_mr_me_ilha.pdf: 6766003 bytes, checksum: 4849566caadd0c8935bb400de40fb690 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Neste trabalho aborda-se a utilização de um sensor de deslocamento angular em fibra óptica para a caracterização de líquidos utilizando-se ondas de Lamb e o modo quase Scholte (QSCH) propagados em placa metálica. O sensor reflexivo compreende duas fibras ópticas, uma emissora e outra receptora, uma lente positiva, uma superfície reflexiva, um laser e um fotodetector. Primeiramente, realiza-se um breve estudo sobre a propagação de ondas mecânicas guiadas em placas metálicas imersas em fluidos. Nesse estudo, são obtidas as curvas de dispersão para a velocidade de fase e para a velocidade grupo em função do produto frequência-semiespessura da placa, tanto para as ondas de Lamb quanto para o modo QSCH, considerando diferentes fluidos. Posteriormente, aborda-se o modelamento matemático do sensor reflexivo, obtendo-se as curvas características estáticas para quatro diferentes configurações. Em seguida, descreve-se o processo de montagem do sensor reflexivo, com todos os seus detalhes construtivos. Já na parte experimental, aplicando-se um pulso senoidal de envoltória gaussiana em um transdutor, investiga-se primeiramente a excitação do modo fundamental simétrico da onda de Lamb, S0. Captando-se simultaneamente os sinais da onda propagada na placa pelo sensor reflexivo e por uma piezocerâmica em modo de recepção, obtêm-se os valores experimentais da velocidade de grupo. Comparando-se os valores experimentais com os valores teóricos previstos pelas curvas de dispersão, percebe-se que o sensor reflexivo pode ser utilizado para se medir modos simétricos da onda de Lamb.Visando-se a caracterização de líquidos, imerge-se parcialmente uma placa de alumínio em um fluido sob teste, e excita-se o modo fundamental antissimétrico da onda de Lamb, A0. O modo A0 converte-se em modo QSCH na interface ar-fluido, o qual sofre reflexão na borda da placa e se reconverte em modo A0 na interface fluido-ar. Utilizando-se o sensor reflexivo, pode-se medir a velocidade de propagação do modo QSCH. Sabendo-se que a velocidade do modo QSCH é diferente para diferentes fluido, verifica-se que o sensor pode ser utilizado para medir porcentagens de misturas de fluidos. Adicionalmente, medem-se também os deslocamentos lineares gerados pelo modo A0 na placa de alumínio na direção out-of-plane, comparando-se os resultados com as medições realizadas por um interferômetro de Michelson. / In this work one approaches the use of an angular displacement optical fiber sensor for characterization of liquids using Lamb waves and quasi-Scholte waves (QSCH) propagated in a metal plate. The reflective sensor comprises two optical fibers, one emitting and another receiving, a reflective surface, a laser and a photodetector. Firstly, one develops a brief study about the propagation of mechanical waves in metal plates imbibed in fluids. In this study, one obtains the dispersion curves for the phase velocity and the group velocity as a function of the frequency-halfwidth product for both Lamb waves and QSCH mode, considering different fluids. Subsequently, it one approaches the mathematical modeling of the reflective sensor, obtaining the static characteristic curves for four different configurations. Next, one describes the assembly process of the reflective sensor, with all the construction details. In the experimental part, one investigates the excitement of the symmetrical fundamental mode of the Lamb wave applying a sinusoidal pulse of gaussian envelope. Catching up simultaneously the wave propagated signals by the reflective sensor and by a piezoceramic, one obtains the experimental values of the group velocity. Comparing the experimental values with the values proposed by the dispersion curves, one notices that the reflective sensor can be used to measure the symmetric modes of the Lamb waves. Aimed at the characterization of liquids, one immerges partially an aluminum plate in a fliud under test, and one excites the fundamental antisymmetric mode of the Lamb wave, A0. The A0 mode becomes QSCH in the air-fluid interface, which reflects in the edge of the plate and is reconverted into A0 mode in the fluid-air interface. Using the reflective sensor, one can measure the QSCH mode propagation velocity. Knowing that the QSCH velocity is different for different fluids, one verifies that the sensor can be used to measure percentages of fluid mixtures. One measures also the linear displacements generated by the A0 mode in the aluminum plate in the out-of-plane direction, comparing the results with the measurements made by a Michelson interferometer.

Nos dias de hoje o controle e monitoração de sistemas biológicos relacionados ao controle ambiental tem sido considerado importante para o diagnóstico e biorremediação de sistemas aquosos como rios e lagos. A eficácia dos processos de controle está diretamente relacionada aos processos de medição \"in-situ\" em tempo real. Nesse sentido o presente trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento de sistemas multiespectrais portáteis para monitoramento, \"in-situ\" e em tempo real, da dinâmica do crescimento microbiano utilizados em processos de biorremediação. Assim, para este fim foram desenvolvidos dois sistemas, um para monitorar a concentração de oxigênio dissolvido (OD) em meio aquoso e outro para monitorar a absorção óptica do meio de cultura. O sensor óptico para monitorar a concentração de OD está baseado em uma fibra óptica na qual em uma de suas pontas (extremidades) foi depositado um filme fino de Poli (cloreto de vinila) (PVC) dopado com moléculas de octaetilporfirina de platina (PtOEP) como parte sensível do dispositivo. O sensor mostrou resposta linear em regiões entre 4 e 18 mg/L de OD em meio aquoso, tendo como tempo de resposta de 8 s e tempo de recuperação de 236 s. O sistema de medida de absorção óptica do meio de cultura foi projetado e fabricado utilizando-se um fotodetector multiespectral e um diodo LED (600nm) como fonte de excitação. A aquisição, controle e processamento de sinais deste sistema está baseado em uma placa de aquisição NI modelo myRIO-1900 fabricado pela National Instruments, utilizando-se tecnologia Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Os resultados obtidos com este sistema mostram ter o mesmo nível de desempenho se comparado ao de um sistema biofotométrico comercial na faixa de concentração entre 1,13 mg/ml à 2,11mg/ml. / Nowadays, the controlling and monitoring biological systems related to environmental control has been considered important for the diagnosis and bio-remediation of aqueous systems like rivers and lakes. The effectiveness of this control processes are directly related to \"in-situ\" and real-time measurement processes. In this sense the present work presents the development of portable multispectral systems for monitoring, \"in-situ\" and in real time, the dynamics of microbial growth used in bio-remediation processes. So, for this purpose were fabricated two systems, one to monitor the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) in aqueous medium and another to monitor the optical absorption of culture medium. The optical sensor to monitor the DO is based on an optical fiber in which in one of its ends was deposited a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) thin film doped with Platinum octaethylphorphyrin molecules (PtOEP) as part of the device. The sensor showed linear response in regions between 4 and 18 mg/L of DO in aqueous medium, with response time of 8s and the recovery time of 236s. The system of measurement of optical absorption of culture medium was designed and manufactured using a multispectral photodetector and a diode LED (600nm) as a source of excitation. The acquisition, signal processing and control of this system are based on an acquisition card NI myRIO-1900 model manufactured by National Instruments, using FPGA technology. The results obtained with this system shows to have the same level of performance to that of a commercial biophotometric system in the concentration range of 1.13 mg/mL to 2.11 mg/mL.

Orientador: Cláudio Kitano / Resumo: Neste trabalho aborda-se a utilização de um sensor de deslocamento angular em fibra óptica para a caracterização de líquidos utilizando-se ondas de Lamb e o modo quase Scholte (QSCH) propagados em placa metálica. O sensor reflexivo compreende duas fibras ópticas, uma emissora e outra receptora, uma lente positiva, uma superfície reflexiva, um laser e um fotodetector. Primeiramente, realiza-se um breve estudo sobre a propagação de ondas mecânicas guiadas em placas metálicas imersas em fluidos. Nesse estudo, são obtidas as curvas de dispersão para a velocidade de fase e para a velocidade grupo em função do produto frequência-semiespessura da placa, tanto para as ondas de Lamb quanto para o modo QSCH, considerando diferentes fluidos. Posteriormente, aborda-se o modelamento matemático do sensor reflexivo, obtendo-se as curvas características estáticas para quatro diferentes configurações. Em seguida, descreve-se o processo de montagem do sensor reflexivo, com todos os seus detalhes construtivos. Já na parte experimental, aplicando-se um pulso senoidal de envoltória gaussiana em um transdutor, investiga-se primeiramente a excitação do modo fundamental simétrico da onda de Lamb, S0. Captando-se simultaneamente os sinais da onda propagada na placa pelo sensor reflexivo e por uma piezocerâmica em modo de recepção, obtêm-se os valores experimentais da velocidade de grupo. Comparando-se os valores experimentais com os valores teóricos previstos pelas curvas de dispersão, percebe-se que... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this work one approaches the use of an angular displacement optical fiber sensor for characterization of liquids using Lamb waves and quasi-Scholte waves (QSCH) propagated in a metal plate. The reflective sensor comprises two optical fibers, one emitting and another receiving, a reflective surface, a laser and a photodetector. Firstly, one develops a brief study about the propagation of mechanical waves in metal plates imbibed in fluids. In this study, one obtains the dispersion curves for the phase velocity and the group velocity as a function of the frequency-halfwidth product for both Lamb waves and QSCH mode, considering different fluids. Subsequently, it one approaches the mathematical modeling of the reflective sensor, obtaining the static characteristic curves for four different configurations. Next, one describes the assembly process of the reflective sensor, with all the construction details. In the experimental part, one investigates the excitement of the symmetrical fundamental mode of the Lamb wave applying a sinusoidal pulse of gaussian envelope. Catching up simultaneously the wave propagated signals by the reflective sensor and by a piezoceramic, one obtains the experimental values of the group velocity. Comparing the experimental values with the values proposed by the dispersion curves, one notices that the reflective sensor can be used to measure the symmetric modes of the Lamb waves. Aimed at the characterization of liquids, one immerges partially an alumi... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Thanks to their capability of transmitting light with low loss, optical fibers have found a wide range of applications in illumination, imaging, and telecommunication. However, since the light guided in a regular optical fiber is well confined in the core and effectively isolated from the environment, the fiber does not allow the interactions between the light and matters around it, which are critical for many sensing and actuation applications. Specially shaped optical fibers endow the guided light in optical fibers with the capability of interacting with the environment by modifying part of the fiber into a special shape, while still preserving the regular fiber’s benefit of low-loss light delivering. However, the existing specially shaped fibers have the following limitations: 1) limited light coupling efficiency between the regular optical fiber and the specially shaped optical fiber, 2) lack special shape designs that can facilitate the light-matter interactions, 3) inadequate material selections for different applications, 4) the existing fabrication setups for the specially shaped fibers have poor accessibility, repeatability, and controllability. The overall goal of this dissertation is to further the fundamental understanding of specially shaped fibers and to develop novel specially shaped fibers for different applications. In addition, the final part of this dissertation work proposed a microfluidic platform that can potentially improve the light-matter interactions of the specially shaped fibers in fluidic environments. The contributions of this dissertation work are summarized as follows: 1) An enhanced fiber tapering system for highly repeatable adiabatic tapered fiber fabrications. An enhanced fiber tapering system based on a novel heat source and an innovative monitoring method have been developed. The novel heat source is a low-cost ceramic housed electric furnace (CHEF). The innovative monitoring method is based on the frequency-domain optical transmission signal from the fiber that is being tapered. The enhanced fiber tapering system can allow highly repeatable fabrication of adiabatically tapered fibers. 2) A lossy mode resonance (LMR) sensor enabled by SnO2 coating on a novel specially shaped fiber design has been developed. The developed LMR sensor has a D-shape fiber tip with SnO2 coating. It has the capability of relative humidity and moisture sensing. The fiber-tip form factor can allow the sensor to be used like a probe and be inserted into/removed from a tight space. 3) Specially shaped tapered fibers with novel designs have been developed for integrated photonic and microfluidic applications. Two novel specially tapered fibers, the tapered fiber loop and the tapered fiber helix have been developed. The tapered fiber loop developed in this work has two superiority that differentiated itself from previous works: a) the mechanical stability of the tapered fiber loop in this work is significantly better. b) the tapered fiber loops in this work can achieve a diameter as small as 15 ?m while still have a high intrinsic optical quality factor of 32,500. The tapered fiber helix developed in this work has a 3D structure that allows it to efficiently deliver light to locations out of the plane defined by its two regular fiber arms. Applications of the tapered fiber helices in both integrated photonic device characterizations and microparticle manipulations have been demonstrated. 4) Developed an acrylic-tape hybrid microfluidic platform that can allow function reconfiguration and optical fiber integration. A low-cost, versatile microfluidic platform based on reconfigurable acrylic-tape hybrid microfluidic devices has been developed. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first time that the fabrication method of sealing the acrylic channel with a reconfigurable functional tape has been demonstrated. The tape-sealing method is compatible with specially shaped fiber integrations.

[pt] A presente tese tem por objetivo estabelecer uma metodologia de caracterização metrológica de redes de Bragg do tipo I, tipo II e tipo regenerada estimando e validando estatisticamente o resultado de medição para medições de altas temperaturas voltadas para aplicações em sensoriamento. Além das telecomunicações, as fibras óticas estão sendo empregadas em aplicações de sensoriamento, visto que, a sílica que as compõem apresenta grande eficiência como meio de transmissão de dados. A crescente demanda por medição em alta temperatura nos processos industriais possibilitou o desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias de medição além das tecnologias tradicionais já utilizadas atualmente. Desta forma, criaram-se as condições necessárias para se introduzir uma nova tecnologia de medição de temperatura com redes de Bragg que apresenta algumas vantagens se comparadas com as tecnologias tradicionais de medição. Apesar de já existirem várias pesquisas a respeito de medição de temperatura com redes de Bragg, nenhuma delas aprofundou as questões metrológicas com as respectivas estimativas das incertezas de medição que envolve todo o processo de medição e caracterização de redes de Bragg em alta temperatura. A adaptação de um sistema tradicional de calibração de instrumentos de medição de temperatura foi projetado e desenvolvido, de tal forma que possibilitou a caracterização dos diferentes tipos de redes. Observou-se que os resultados de medição e as estimativas das incertezas de medição obtidos para todas as redes, se aproximaram satisfatoriamente dos modelos teóricos utilizados, confirmando a adequação dos sistemas de medição de temperatura e sensoriamento ótico. / [en] This thesis aims to establish a methodology for the metrological characterization of Bragg gratings type I, type II and type regenerated statistically thereby estimating and validating the measurement results for high temperature sensing applications. Beyond telecommunications applications, optical fibers are still used for optical sensing, since the silica fiber has great optical efficiency for data transmission. The growing demand for high-temperature measurements in industrial processes has enabled the development of new measurement technologies beyond the traditional technologies already in use today. Thus were created the conditions necessary to introduce a new technology of temperature measurement with Bragg gratings which presents some advantages compared with traditional technologies of measurement. Although there are several prior studies none of those examined the by others about temperature measurement with Bragg gratings, metrological issues, and is particular, the estimate of the measurement uncertainties surrounding the whole process of measurement and characterization of Bragg gratings at high temperature. The adaptation of a traditional system of calibration instruments for temperature measurement was developed and designed in such a way that allowed the characterization of different types of gratings. It was observed that the measurement results and the estimated uncertainties of the measurements obtained for all gratings, successfully approached the theoretical models used, confirming the adequacy of the measurement of temperature and optical sensing.

Thanks to their capability of transmitting light with low loss, optical fibers have found a wide range of applications in illumination, imaging, and telecommunication. However, since the light guided in a regular optical fiber is well confined in the core and effectively isolated from the environment, the fiber does not allow the interactions between the light and matters around it, which are critical for many sensing and actuation applications. Specially shaped optical fibers endow the guided light in optical fibers with the capability of interacting with the environment by modifying part of the fiber into a special shape, while still preserving the regular fiber’s benefit of low-loss light delivering. However, the existing specially shaped fibers have the following limitations: 1) limited light coupling efficiency between the regular optical fiber and the specially shaped optical fiber, 2) lack special shape designs that can facilitate the light-matter interactions, 3) inadequate material selections for different applications, 4) the existing fabrication setups for the specially shaped fibers have poor accessibility, repeatability, and controllability. The overall goal of this dissertation is to further the fundamental understanding of specially shaped fibers and to develop novel specially shaped fibers for different applications. In addition, the final part of this dissertation work proposed a microfluidic platform that can potentially improve the light-matter interactions of the specially shaped fibers in fluidic environments. The contributions of this dissertation work are summarized as follows: 1) An enhanced fiber tapering system for highly repeatable adiabatic tapered fiber fabrications. An enhanced fiber tapering system based on a novel heat source and an innovative monitoring method have been developed. The novel heat source is a low-cost ceramic housed electric furnace (CHEF). The innovative monitoring method is based on the frequency-domain optical transmission signal from the fiber that is being tapered. The enhanced fiber tapering system can allow highly repeatable fabrication of adiabatically tapered fibers. 2) A lossy mode resonance (LMR) sensor enabled by SnO2 coating on a novel specially shaped fiber design has been developed. The developed LMR sensor has a D-shape fiber tip with SnO2 coating. It has the capability of relative humidity and moisture sensing. The fiber-tip form factor can allow the sensor to be used like a probe and be inserted into/removed from a tight space. 3) Specially shaped tapered fibers with novel designs have been developed for integrated photonic and microfluidic applications. Two novel specially tapered fibers, the tapered fiber loop and the tapered fiber helix have been developed. The tapered fiber loop developed in this work has two superiority that differentiated itself from previous works: a) the mechanical stability of the tapered fiber loop in this work is significantly better. b) the tapered fiber loops in this work can achieve a diameter as small as 15 ?m while still have a high intrinsic optical quality factor of 32,500. The tapered fiber helix developed in this work has a 3D structure that allows it to efficiently deliver light to locations out of the plane defined by its two regular fiber arms. Applications of the tapered fiber helices in both integrated photonic device characterizations and microparticle manipulations have been demonstrated. 4) Developed an acrylic-tape hybrid microfluidic platform that can allow function reconfiguration and optical fiber integration. A low-cost, versatile microfluidic platform based on reconfigurable acrylic-tape hybrid microfluidic devices has been developed. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first time that the fabrication method of sealing the acrylic channel with a reconfigurable functional tape has been demonstrated. The tape-sealing method is compatible with specially shaped fiber integrations.

This thesis reports an in-fiber magnetic field sensor that is able to detect magnetic fields as low as 2 A/m at a spatial resolution of 1 mm. The small sensor consists of a magneto-optic slab waveguide, bismuth-doped rare earth iron garnet (Bi-RIG) that is coupled to an optical fiber. By coupling light from the fiber to the slab waveguide, it becomes an in-fiber magnetic field sensor. This is due to the Magneto-Optic Kerr effect; a change in refractive index is proportional to the applied magnetic field. When an AC field is applied, an AC component in the output power can be detected by a spectrum analyzer. The novelties of Magneto-Optic Slab Coupled Optical Sensor (MO-SCOS) devices include their small compact nature and a dielectric structure allowing low electromagnetic interference. Due to their compact size they are capable of placement within devices to measure interior electromagnetic fields immeasurable by other sensors that are either too large for internal placement or disruptive of the internal fields due to metallic structure. This work also reports progress on EO SCOS development. The EO sensor has found application in new environments including the electromagnetic rail gun, and a dual-axis sensor.

Este trabalho teve por objetivo desenvolver e caracterizar um sensor de força utilizando uma fibra óptica modificada pelo processo conhecido como Fiber tapering. A fibra quando modificada deixa exposto o campo evanescente, o que a torna sensível a influências externas, e a luz guiada na fibra pode vir a sofrer reflexão interna total frustrada ao entrar em contato com materiais. Ao envolver a região modificada por um material elastomérico, a área de contato e consequentemente a atenuação torna-se uma função da intensidade da força aplicada, possibilitando então relacionar a força a atenuação da luz. Baseando-se nesse efeito, foi criado um sensor de dimensões reduzidas, de rápida resposta, linear, altamente sensível e de boa repetibilidade. Foi criado também um circuito eletrônico utilizando amplificadores operacionais para a aquisição e processamento do sinal proveniente da fibra e selecionado um sensor comercial comum para a realização de experimentos e comparações. Ambos os sensores foram posicionados sobre uma balança de precisão e submetidos a diversos esforços obtendo-se dados sobre a resposta estática. Em seguida utilizando um shaker eletrodinâmico foram medidos os tempos de resposta a uma entrada degrau, e realizando esforços repetitivos foram analisados os desvios das medidas lidas pelos sensores. / The aim of this research was to develop and characterize a force sensor using a modified optical fiber by a process known as Fiber tapering. The modified fiber leaves the evanescent field exposed and prone to external influences and the guided light may suffer frustration of total internal reflection upon contact with materials. When covering the modified fiber section with an elastomeric material, the contact area and therefore the attenuation becomes a function of the applied pressure, making it possible to relate force to attenuation in light intensity. Based on this effect, a small sensor was created, having a quick response time, with high linearity, high sensitivity and good repeatability. Along with the sensor, an electronic circuit using operational amplifiers was designed for acquisition and processing of the signal obtained from the optical fiber. In addition, in order to perform experiments and comparisons, a standard force sensor was chosen. Both sensors were placed over a precision weighing scale and had different intensities of force applied on them, and after that, data regarding static measurements was gathered. The response time was obtained using an electrodynamic shaker and applying a step input. Furthermore, data was gathered about the deviations on the measurements by performing a repetitive set of compressions.