Ruggedized MEMS-VCSELwith High Speed Data Acquisition for Fiber Optic Sensing System

Our phase I effort validated the abilitynbsp;of a properly designed micro-electromechanical systems vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (MEMS-VCSEL) to sense fiber bragg gratings at a distance of several meters, using reasonable Analog to Digital (A-D) converter rates of a few hundred MHz. In addition, we demonstrated that our electrically pumped MEMS-eVCSELs can be packaged with an amplifier in anbsp;single 14-pin butterfly package, which remains robust through vibration testing at peak accelerations exceeding 10g, using a standard MIL-SPECnbsp; vibration spectrum. These results form the foundation for our phase II effort, in which we will re-design the laser cavity to further reduce noise and enablenbsp;fiber bragg grating sensing at gt;10meters. This work will progress through 5 objectives. In objective 1, we will develop a low-noise optically pumped device designed for gt;10meter sensing. Our subcontractor Sensuron will validate this device and develop detection electronics in objective 2. Objective 3 will duplicate objective 1 performance in a ruggedized electrically pumped version, which our subcontractor will integratenbsp;into a ruggedized sensing system under objective 4. In objective 5 we will develop an ultra-low noise MEMS-VCSEL source capable of sensing tens of meters.nbsp;