Application of a Sagnac interferometer for flow, magnetic field and rotation sensing /
This work is targeted at designing sensing devices based on the Sagnac interferometer principle. We have used a Sagnac interferometer to develop an ultra sensitive flow meter capable of measuring in real time volumetric flow rates as low as a few nanoliters per second. The achieved sensitivity is se...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1998.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=732838681&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | This work is targeted at designing sensing devices based on the Sagnac interferometer principle. We have used a Sagnac interferometer to develop an ultra sensitive flow meter capable of measuring in real time volumetric flow rates as low as a few nanoliters per second. The achieved sensitivity is several orders of magnitude higher than the best volumetric flow sensors existing nowadays. This device can find applications in a variety of areas such as biology, chemistry. Further, we have developed a new automatic alignment system in order to make the flow meter practical, especially for the applications where air flow is to be monitored. A possibility of using the automatic alignment for coherent domain refractometry has been addressed. We next used an in-line Sagnac interferometer to make a high speed magnetic field sensor. Noise performance has been evaluated and a number of design configurations have been proposed and demonstrated to reduce the noise in the system. We also investigated the scale factor stability of a low bandwidth gyro based loop current sensor in order to reduce the sensitivity of the scale factor to any errors associated with the optical elements, quarter wave plates, in particular. To reduce the cost of medium grade gyro systems we designed a new signal processor which is comparable in performance with the best (more expensive) systems, but more robust and has fewer electronic components, and easier to tune. We have built and demonstrated the performance of such a signal processor in the laboratory. Finally, a new principle of a low cost gyroscope based on the interference of the modes in the two mode fiber has been demonstrated and several problems associated with the design have been addressed in order to make the gyro competitive. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. |
| Physical Description: | xi, 94 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references: pages 88-91. |