kuituoptiikkasensorien

Fiber‑optic sensors, known in Finnish as kuituoptiikkasensorien, are devices that use light transmitted through optical fibers to sense physical, chemical, or biological parameters. The basic principle relies on the interaction between the propagating light and changes in the sensing environment, which alter the intensity, phase, wavelength, or polarization of the light emerging from the fiber. By monitoring these optical changes, the sensor can provide quantitative measurements of temperature, strain, pressure, vibration, gas concentration, or biochemical markers.

These sensors offer several advantages over conventional electronic sensors. Because they are made of glass or plastic, they are inherently immune to electromagnetic interference and suitable for high‑temperature or high‑radiation environments. Their small size and flexible form factor allow embedding within structures such as bridges, aircraft, or biomedical implants. Additionally, the long‑range interrogation possible with fiber optics enables distributed sensing over kilometers, making them ideal for structural health monitoring and pipeline inspection.

Common fiber‑optic sensing techniques include distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), Brillouin scattering for temperature and strain, Rayleigh scattering for distributed temperature sensing, interferometric methods for high‑resolution strain measurements, and fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) that reflect specific wavelengths. Each method has distinct sensitivities, dynamic ranges, and deployment requirements.

Applications span civil engineering, where real‑time monitoring of bridge integrity reduces maintenance costs, to aerospace, where fiber‑optic sensors track fuselage strain and temperature gradients. In industrial process control, they provide safe monitoring of piping systems without electrical noise. Biological sensing utilizes functionalized fibers that detect specific molecules or cell types. As semiconductor and manufacturing technologies advance, the cost and integration complexity of fiber‑optic sensors continue to decrease, broadening their adoption across many sectors.