Mesoscale Integrated Photonic Systems for Structural Health Monitoring
Abstract
The structural integrity of safety-critical aerospace and naval structures is ofenduring concern to the navy. Intelligent Structural Health Management (ISHM)systems can help prevent structural failure of safety-critical future naval structuresthat cannot be allowed to fail in service. As part of the diagnostic system for SHM,photonic sensors (especially fiber-optic) have attracted considerable attention inlong-term structural health monitoring. Photonic sensors have proven to be veryversatile in terms of their ability to measure multiple parameters, and have otherattractive properties including: light weight; immunity to EMI; and massivemultiplexability of several hundreds of sensors on a single optical fiber. One majorproblem, however, continues to plague photonic sensors. Optical fibers are fragileespecially at connectorization and ingress/egress points, and are subject to ratherstringent alignment requirements. Therefore, while optical fiber sensors haveperformed very well in laboratory settings, their performance on real structuresover extended durations remains questionable. Photonics integration is emergingas a key enabling technology to overcome these limitations.In this project, we propose to develop Mesoscale Integrated PhotonicSystems (MIPS) aimed at making photonic sensor systems robust enough to beintegrated into real structures. This proposal makes a case for mesoscale (betweenwafer-level PICs and free-space) integration as the enabling technology that canmake photonic sensors robust enough for SHM applications. We propose to developpolymer waveguide-based rigid and flexible MIPS and demonstrate their utility infiber-optic strain sensor demodulation systems and in chemical sensing systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 23, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141613021
Entities
People
- Sridhar Krishnaswamy
Organizations
- Northwestern University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy