Patent ID: 6358748
Filing Date: 2002-03-19
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A microbend fiber-optic chemical sensor for detecting an expected chemical in a chemical-bearing sample, comprising:(a) a housing for containing the sample, said housing having a first end and a second end, (b) a light source, disposed outside said housing, for generating and providing light to the sample at a wavelength chosen to excite fluorescence, (c) an optical fiber means, operably connected to said light source, for guiding light through the sample, said optical fiber means comprising at least one optical fiber, said at least one optical fiber having a microbend section disposed inside said housing and defined by at least one microbend of predetermined amplitude permanently formed in said section, and a straight section disposed outside said housing, (d) a means for detecting information about fluorescence radiation returned from the sample, said detecting means being disposed outside said housing and being operably connected to said optical fiber means, and (e) a means for converting detected information to information quantifying the chemical in the sample, said converting means being operably connected to said detecting means, wherein said light source transmits light along said optical fiber means into said housing, and the light out-scatters from said microbend section into the sample, exciting fluorescence radiation upon contacting the chemical to be detected, wherein the fluorescence radiation in-scatters into said microbend section and returns through the sample along said optical fiber means to said detecting means, and wherein said detecting means provides information about the fluorescence radiation to said converting means.