Fiber optic sensor medical application field to ultra-small development

With the information age, to obtain accurate and reliable information in the field of natural and modern production, the help of sensors is needed to monitor the changes in the parameters in the production process in real time, so that the equipment reaches a normal state.

Fiber sensor is more sensitive

With the development of sensitive, accurate, adaptable, small and intelligent sensors, fiber optic sensors have also emerged. The basic working principle of the fiber sensor is to send light from the light source to the modulator through the fiber, so that the parameter to be measured interacts with the light entering the modulation area, resulting in the optical properties of the light (such as the intensity, wavelength, frequency, phase of the light, A change in the normal state, etc., is called a modulated signal light, which is sent to the photodetector through the optical fiber and demodulated to obtain the measured parameter.

Compared with traditional sensors, fiber optic sensors are more sensitive, and their geometry is adaptable to high voltage, electrical noise, high temperature, corrosion, or other harsh environments. It is inherently compatible with fiber optic telemetry. Sex.

Fiber optic sensor demand is strong and promising

According to ElectronCast, in 2011-2016, the consumption value of fiber optic sensors will grow at an average annual growth rate of 20.5% from $1.34 billion to $3.39 billion. Among them, the global fiber internal sensor consumption value is expected to grow at an average annual rate of nearly 20.7%; the use of optical fiber interface external sensors is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 18.15%.

Therefore, we can say that fiber optic sensors have a large market demand, not to mention long-term, at least in the next five years, fiber optic sensors will have broad prospects for development.

The role of fiber optic sensors in the medical field

The high sensitivity and adaptability of fiber optic sensors make them more widely used, and naturally have great market potential. At present, optical fiber sensors are used in medical, mineral, petroleum and other industries to have an important detection role.

From the current point of view, the application of fiber optic sensors in health care has a very broad development prospect. For example, bed sensors, respiratory sensors, BCG sensors, pressure sensors, textile sensors, etc. are common devices in homes and medical institutions.

In recent years, manufacturers in the United States and other developed countries have developed a variety of new fiber optic biosensor products. Some sensors are very small in size. For example, the smallest sensor produced in the United States can even pass through the needle eye of a sewing needle. This product is suitable for probes in microwave or radio spectrum analyzers and as an interchangeable accessory for endoscopes. A US company recently announced that it has developed a new low-cost disposable fiber optic sensor that can be used in a variety of endoscopes, and can be removed after each use, eliminating the need for sterilization.

Fiber optic sensor ultra-small trend

With the latest developments in ultra-small fiber optic sensors, there are many times when fiber optic sensing applications need to reduce device size. Small sizes tend to have the advantages of fast response and the ability to detect small targets, and have less impact on target detectors. In order to reduce the size of the traditional fiber-optic sensor device, there are generally two steps: first, the fiber taper is used to reduce the diameter; then, various micro-machining technologies are used to realize various micro-versions of the conventional fiber-optic device, and even some conventional fibers are difficult to realize. Structure and function.

At present, there are many technologies for microfabricating optical fibers, such as carbon dioxide laser, femtosecond laser, HF acid etching, arc and focused particle beam, which are the technical crystallization of the ultra-minimization trend of optical fiber sensors.