PRESENT SENSOR TECHNOLOGY HAS NOT KEPT PACE WITH THE DATA ACCUMULATION AND REDUCTION CAPABILITY OF MODERN MICROELECTRONICS.

PRESENT SENSOR TECHNOLOGY HAS NOT KEPT PACE WITH THE DATA ACCUMULATION AND REDUCTION CAPABILITY OF MODERN MICROELECTRONICS. AVAILABLE SENSORS ARE BULKY, COSTLY, AND READILY COMPATIBLE WITH DIGITAL MICROPROCESSING ELECTRONICS.ANY NEWLY DEVELOPED, HIGH-ACCURACY, WIDE RANGE PARAMETER SENSOR SHOULD NOT ONLY OVERCOME THE AFOREMENTIONED DRAWBACKSBUT ALSO BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS SUCH AS NUCLEAR REACTOR AND SPACE ENVIRONS. WITH THE RECENT, RAPID ACCELERATION IN THE GROWTH OF FIBER OPTIC TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS, IT SEEMS LOGICAL THAT ALL-OPTICAL SENSORS WILL BE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SENSORS--NOT JUST FOR TEMPERATURE OR PRESSURE, BUT FOR A VARIETY OF PARAMETERS. TO DEMONSTRATE THE OPTICAL SENSOR CONCEPT A TEMPERATURE SENSOR WILL BE DESIGNED AND FABRICATED FOR APPLICATION IN SPACE-BASED NUCLEAR POWER. THE SENSOR CONSISTS OF A BROADBAND LIGHT SOURCE COUPLED INTO AN OPTICAL FIBER WHICH TRANSMITS THIS BROADBAND SPECRRUM TO THE REMOTE SENSOR ELEMENT. THE SENSORELEMENT IS A VARIABLE GAP FEBRY-PEROT CAVITY WHICH MODULATESTHE REFLECTED SPECTRUM ACCORDING TO GAP DIMENSION. THE REFLECTED SPECTRUM IS FIBER-TRANSMITTED BACK TO A MICROPROCESSOR BASED, COLOR DEMODULATION SYSTEM. THIS COLORDEMODULATION IS ACCOMPLISHED BY PRISM DISPERSION OVER A CHARGE COUPLED DEVICE (CCD). THE MICROPROCESSOR USES KALMANFILTERING TO ANALYZE AND CONVERT THE SPECTRAL DATA TO TEMPERATURE.