STTR PHASE II, TITLE: A HIGHLY INTEGRATED MULTI-PARAMETER DISTRIBUTED FIBER-OPTIC INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM. P…

Public award description

STTR PHASE II, TITLE: A HIGHLY INTEGRATED MULTI-PARAMETER DISTRIBUTED FIBER-OPTIC INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM. PROPOSED EFFORT: THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS EFFORT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY INTEGRATED, FIELD-PORTABLE MULTI-PARAMETER DISTRIBUTED FIBER-OPTIC INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM WHICH WILL ENABLE HIGH-SPATIAL RESOLUTION INTERROGATION OF FBG ARRAYS FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION, STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING, WING SHAPE MONITORING, AND OTHER APPLICATIONS. KEY TO THE MINIATURIZATION EFFORT IS THE ADOPTION OF A COMPACT LASER SOURCE, INTEGRATION OF THE EXISTING OPTICAL NETWORK INTO A PIC, AND ELECTRONIC DESIGN FOR SIGNAL CONDITIONING, SAMPLING, MEMORY, AND AN FPGA-BASED CPU TO CONTROL THE VARIOUS SUBSYSTEMS AND PERFORM HIGH-SPEED DATA PROCESSING. DURING THE PHASE I, LUNA DEMONSTRATED THE VIABILITY OF A MINIATURIZED, HIGH-SPEED INTERROGATOR THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUMEROUS RELEVANT SUBSYSTEMS. THE PHASE I CULMINATED IN A DEMONSTRATION OF 30 HZ SENSING WITH 60 FBGS, AND A RECOMMENDED DESIGN CONCEPT FOR PHASE II. DURING THE PHASE II EFFORT, THE DEVELOPMENT WILL PROCEED ALONG THE OUTLINED DESIGN PATH. THE PHASE II EFFORT WILL CULMINATE IN A COMPLETE INTEGRATION OF THE LASER SOURCE, PIC, AND SAMPLING/PROCESSING ELECTRONICS INTO A FULLY INTEGRATED INTERROGATOR. PHASE III WILL RESULT IN TECHNOLOGY MATURATION AND TRANSITION TO MANUFACTURE OF THE INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM. THROUGH ITS PREVIOUS COMMERCIALIZATION SUCCESS WITH DISTRIBUTED FIBER-OPTIC INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEMS, LUNA INNOVATIONS HAS READY ACCESS TO PRODUCTION FACILITIES AND AN ESTABLISHED SALES FORCE AND DISTRIBUTION NETWORK FOR THE INSTRUMENT. TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS EFFORT, LUNA WILL LEVERAGE ITS CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE WITH OFDR SYSTEM DESIGN TO ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES: 1 OBJECTIVE 1: DEVELOP A HIGHLY INTEGRATED OFDR UNIT 2 OBJECTIVE 2: DEMONSTRATE 1 KHZ SENSING 3 OBJECTIVE 3: ASSESS PERFORMANCE OF SENSORS IN TERMS OF THE APPLICATION ENVIRONMENT. THE KEY ADVANCEMENTS ARISING FROM THE PHASE II DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE: 1) THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND FIRMWARE THAT ACHIEVES THE PERFORMANCE, SIZE, AND WEIGHT TARGETS OF THE EFFORT; 2) A SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION IN THE COST TO MANUFACTURE THE INSTRUMENTATION, OPENING SIGNIFICANT COMMERCIAL MARKETS; AND 3) THE DEVELOPMENT OF DETAILED EXPERIMENTAL DATA THAT CONFIRMS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SENSORS IN THE EXPECTED APPLICATION ENVIRONMENTS.