Optical waveguides – Optical waveguide sensor – Including physical deformation or movement of waveguide
Patent
1995-02-09
1997-10-28
Healy, Brian
Optical waveguides
Optical waveguide sensor
Including physical deformation or movement of waveguide
385 12, 385 25, 385 27, 385141, 385147, 356345, 356352, G02B 610, G01B 902
Patent
active
056824475
ABSTRACT:
A novel photomechanical positioning method using optic fibers, and apparatuses that employ the method, is described. The method comprises providing an optic fiber that changes length in response to the transmission of a light beam through the fiber. The optic fiber may be attached to an object capable of movement in response to a change in the fiber's length. An illustrated embodiment of an apparatus employing such method is an interferometer that includes an optic fiber made from a polymeric organic material. A movable mirror forms one arm of the interferometer, and is attached to the optic fiber for movement in response to changes in the length of the fiber. A light source, such as a laser, generates a beam of light that is transmitted through the optic fiber. The system also generally includes a feedback path for transmitting a portion of the light beam into the end of the fiber opposite the end of the fiber to which the object is attached. The polymeric fibers typically have a plurality of fiber lengths corresponding to stable states of length between which the length of the fiber may be changed, either discretely or continuously, by the application of a force. A Fabry-Perot interferometer also is described. The fibers in combination with a light source also can function as tranducers and logic elements.
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Kuzyk Mark G.
Welker David J.
Healy Brian
Washington State University Research Foundation
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