Multi-purpose sensor measures temperature, vibrations and electric fields with high spatial resolution
Monday, July 6, 2015 - 05:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Glass fibres can do more than transport data. A special type of glass fibre can also be used as a high-precision multi-purpose sensor, as researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) in Erlangen have now demonstrated. The MPL researchers sent a tiny glass bead which can literally sense different physical quantities such as electric field, temperature or vibrations through the inside of this hollow-core photonic crystal fibre. The flying particle detects the quantities to be measured over long distances with a high spatial resolution, even under harsh conditions like those in an aggressive chemical substance or inside an oil pipeline.