Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors for Harsh Environments.docVIP

Sensors 2012, 12, 1898-1918; doi:10.3390/s120201898 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Review Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors for Harsh Environments Stephen J. Mihailov Communications Research Centre Canada, 3701 Carling Avenue, P.O. Box 11490, Station H, Ottawa, ON K2H 8S2, Canada; E-Mail: stephen.mihailov@crc.gc.ca; Tel.: +1-613-998-2721; Fax: +1-613-993-7139 Received: 16 January 2012; in revised form: 3 February 2012 / Accepted: 8 February 2012 / Published: 10 February 2012 Abstract: Because of their small size, passive nature, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and capability to directly measure physical parameters such as temperature and strain, fiber Bragg grating sensors have developed beyond a laboratory curiosity and are becoming a mainstream sensing technology. Recently, high temperature stable gratings based on regeneration techniques and femtosecond infrared laser processing have shown promise for use in extreme environments such as high temperature, pressure or ionizing radiation. Such gratings are ideally suited for energy production applications where there is a requirement for advanced energy system instrumentation and controls that are operable in harsh environments. This paper will present a review of some of the more recent developments. Keywords: fiber Bragg grating; sensor; optical sensing; harsh environment sensing 1. Introduction Sensing technologies based on optical fiber have several inherent advantages that make them attractive for a wide range of industrial sensing applications. They are typically small in size, passive, immune to electromagnetic interference, resistant to harsh environments and have a capability to perform distributed sensing. Because of their telecommunication origins, fiber optic-based sensors can be easily integrated into large scale optical networks and communications systems. Although developed initially for the telecommunicati