PHOSFOS: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:28, 14 August 2011

Revision as of 09:28, 14 August 2011

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[[File:PhosFos_flexible_skin_demo.jpg‎|thumbnail|right|400px|Figure 2: Photograph of a real flexible skin with embedded sensors made at the University of Gent]]

The PHOSFOS (Photonic Skins For Optical Sensing) project<ref>http://www.phosfos.eu/<eng/refPhosfos/About-us/Project-Summary> is developing flexible and stretchable foils or skins that integrate optical sensing elements with optical and electrical devices as well as onboard signal processing and wireless communications, as seen in Figure 1. This flexible skins can be wrapped around, embedded in, attached and anchored to irregularly shaped and/or moving objects or bodies and will allow quasi-distributed sensing of mechanical quantities such as deformation, pressure, stress or strain<ref>http://spie.org/x38859.xml?highlight=x2406&ArticleID=x38859</ref>. This approach potentially gives a significant advnatage over conventional sensing systems because of the portablility of the resulting systems and the extended measurement range.

The sensing technology is based around sensing elements called [[Fiber Bragg Grating]]s (FBGs) that are fabricated in standard single core silica fibers, highly birefringent [[Microstructured fiber]]s (MSF) and [[Plastic optical fiber]]s (POF). The silica MSFs are designed to exhibit almost zero temperature sensitivity to cope with the traditional temperature cross-sensitivity issues of conventional fiber sensors. These specialty fibers are being modeled, designed, fabricated within the programme. FBGS written in POF fibers will also be used since these fibers can be stretched up to 300% before breaking. This allows them to be used under conditions that would normally result in catastrophic failure of other types of strain sensors.