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Feature Papers in Optical Sensors 2024

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 1614

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, IMM Institute, via P Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
Interests: optical fiber sensors; fiber optic communications; lasers; optical amplifiers; integrated optics; photonics and optoelectronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Photonics Research Centre, Technological University Dublin, Grangegorman, Dublin D07 ADY7, Ireland
Interests: optical sensing; whispering gallery mode effects in microfibre based resonators for chemical and bio-sensing; smart optical sensors for engineering applications; sensing of volatile organic compounds in environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics and industrial control; optics and applications of liquid crystals in photonics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical sensors are the subject of a huge number of studies and applications. Many well-established technologies, including free-space optics, integrated photonics, and fiber optics approaches, have been developed in recent decades to fabricate and develop increasingly more efficient optical sensors for applications ranging from industrial control to monitoring the environment, as well as biomedical use and even the Internet of Things.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish a set of papers that typify the most insightful and influential original articles, through which our section’s EBMs are able to discuss key topics in the field, particularly review contributions that demonstrate the advancement of optical sensing technology and successfully present new and consolidated application areas. Areas of interest include the evaluation of new sensors, new sensing principles, new applications, and new technologies, as well as review papers on the state of the art of well-established technologies for sensing. Topics of interest include group IV photonic sensors, optomechanical sensors, fiber-optic sensors, silicon photonics, plasmonic sensors, metasurfaces, and other related topics.

Dr. Gabriele Bolognini
Prof. Dr. Yuliya Semenova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photonic sensors
  • optomechanical sensors
  • fiber-optic sensors
  • silicon photonics
  • plasmonic sensors.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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18 pages, 7020 KiB  
Article
Instability Compensation of Recording Interferometer in Phase-Sensitive OTDR
by Konstantin V. Stepanov, Andrey A. Zhirnov, Tatyana V. Gritsenko, Roman I. Khan, Kirill I. Koshelev, Cesare Svelto and Alexey B. Pnev
Sensors 2024, 24(11), 3338; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24113338 - 23 May 2024
Viewed by 296
Abstract
In the paper, a new method of phase measurement error suppression in a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometer is proposed and experimentally proved. The main causes of phase measurement errors are identified and considered, such as the influence of the recording interferometer instabilities [...] Read more.
In the paper, a new method of phase measurement error suppression in a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometer is proposed and experimentally proved. The main causes of phase measurement errors are identified and considered, such as the influence of the recording interferometer instabilities and laser wavelength instability, which can cause inaccuracies in phase unwrapping. The use of a Mach–Zender interferometer made by 3 × 3 fiber couplers is proposed and tested to provide insensitivity to the recording interferometer and laser source instabilities. It is shown that using all three available photodetectors of the interferometer, instead of just one pair, achieves significantly better accuracy in the phase unwrapping. A novel compensation scheme for accurate phase measurements in a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometer is proposed, and a comparison of the measurement signals with or without such compensation is shown and discussed. The proposed method, using three photodetectors, allows for very good compensation of the phase measurement errors arising from common-mode noise from the interferometer and laser source, providing a significant improvement in signal detection. In addition, the method allows the tracking of slow temperature changes in the monitored fiber/object, which is not obtainable when using a simple low-pass filter for phase unwrapping error reduction, as is customary in several systems of this kind. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Optical Sensors 2024)
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13 pages, 1516 KiB  
Article
Environmental Surveillance through Machine Learning-Empowered Utilization of Optical Networks
by Hasan Awad, Fehmida Usmani, Emanuele Virgillito, Rudi Bratovich, Roberto Proietti, Stefano Straullu, Francesco Aquilino, Rosanna Pastorelli and Vittorio Curri
Sensors 2024, 24(10), 3041; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24103041 - 10 May 2024
Viewed by 457
Abstract
We present the use of interconnected optical mesh networks for early earthquake detection and localization, exploiting the existing terrestrial fiber infrastructure. Employing a waveplate model, we integrate real ground displacement data from seven earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from four to six to simulate [...] Read more.
We present the use of interconnected optical mesh networks for early earthquake detection and localization, exploiting the existing terrestrial fiber infrastructure. Employing a waveplate model, we integrate real ground displacement data from seven earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from four to six to simulate the strains within fiber cables and collect a large set of light polarization evolution data. These simulations help to enhance a machine learning model that is trained and validated to detect primary wave arrivals that precede earthquakes’ destructive surface waves. The validation results show that the model achieves over 95% accuracy. The machine learning model is then tested against an M4.3 earthquake, exploiting three interconnected mesh networks as a smart sensing grid. Each network is equipped with a sensing fiber placed to correspond with three distinct seismic stations. The objective is to confirm earthquake detection across the interconnected networks, localize the epicenter coordinates via a triangulation method and calculate the fiber-to-epicenter distance. This setup allows early warning generation for municipalities close to the epicenter location, progressing to those further away. The model testing shows a 98% accuracy in detecting primary waves and a one second detection time, affording nearby areas 21 s to take countermeasures, which extends to 57 s in more distant areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Optical Sensors 2024)
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11 pages, 3296 KiB  
Article
Distributed Temperature Sensing through Network Analysis Frequency-Domain Reflectometry
by Rizwan Zahoor, Raffaele Vallifuoco, Luigi Zeni and Aldo Minardo
Sensors 2024, 24(7), 2378; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24072378 - 8 Apr 2024
Viewed by 624
Abstract
In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a network analysis optical frequency domain reflectometer (NA-OFDR) for distributed temperature measurements at high spatial (down to ≈3 cm) and temperature resolution. The system makes use of a frequency-stepped, continuous-wave (cw) laser whose output light is [...] Read more.
In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a network analysis optical frequency domain reflectometer (NA-OFDR) for distributed temperature measurements at high spatial (down to ≈3 cm) and temperature resolution. The system makes use of a frequency-stepped, continuous-wave (cw) laser whose output light is modulated using a vector network analyzer. The latter is also used to demodulate the amplitude of the beat signal formed by coherently mixing the Rayleigh backscattered light with a local oscillator. The system is capable of attaining high measurand resolution (≈50 mK at 3-cm spatial resolution) thanks to the high sensitivity of coherent Rayleigh scattering to temperature. Furthermore, unlike the conventional optical-frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR), the proposed system does not rely on the use of a tunable laser and therefore is less prone to limitations related to the laser coherence or sweep nonlinearity. Two configurations are analyzed, both numerically and experimentally, based on either a double-sideband or single-sideband modulated probe light. The results confirm the validity of the proposed approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Optical Sensors 2024)
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