A wireless composite optical bend loss sensor for pressure and shear measurement

Abstract

A composite optical bend loss sensor for the measurement of pressure and shear has been developed. The sensor is composed of two layers of fiberoptic mesh sensors that are molded into a thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. A 3-D displacement map is generated based on bent-induced intensity attenuations in the fibers when the sensor is pressed. The new design overcame some of the coupling and instability problems in our previously reported microfabricated optical bend loss sensor. Here we will report our preliminary study on the sensor including results from the normal and shear load measurement. The paper will also discuss a RF based wireless data acquisition system that we have developed and demonstrate its operation with the composite sensor.