Measurement and acquisition system with fiber optic data transmission

Abstract

The correct selection of the proper transmission method that is most convenient for a particular data acquisition and measurement system represents an important issue for any application. In this paper is presented a novel implementation approach that relies on the use of optical fiber connection for data transmission between a remote data acquisition board and the PC. The improved data acquisition platform is realized around the PIC 16F877 microcontroller and uses a set of optical transmitters and receivers that ensures the electro-optical conversion of the signals. The communication is bidirectional. The use of fiber optic link for communication with the remote data acquisition board offers the advantages of a very high transmission rate, very good galvanic insulation between the remote acquisition module and the processing computer and also total immunity against the electrical interferences and spurious signals that might affect the measurements. In the practical realized prototype it was used common commercially available fiber-optic components and for this reason the speed was little bit sacrificed in order to obtain a reduced cost of the system. But using optical transceivers and receivers with higher speed, the overall performances of the data acquisition system can be improved. Also, by minor changes the proposed system can be extended in order to acquire the signals from more then one channel