ULTRA-SENSITIVE OPTICAL FIBER MAGNETIC FIELD SENSOR

WE PROPOSE A PROTOTYPE ULTRA-SENSITIVE, FAST, COMPACT, AND RELIABLE FIBER OPTIC BASED MAGNETIC FIELD SENSOR PARTICULALY SUITED FOR OPERATION IN ENVIRONMENTS APPROPRIATE FOR NUCLEAR WEAPON SIMULATION AND TESTING. THE DESIGN WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AN INNOVATIVE WHICH WILL PERMIT REMOTE MEASUREMENTS OF MAGNETIC FIELDS WITH SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED SENSITIVITY AND RELIABILITY OVER PREVIOUS DEVICES. ALTHOUGH THE RECENT LABORATORY DEMONSTRATIONS OF FIBER OPTIC MAGNETIC FIELD SENSORS HAVE PROMISED UNIQUELY DISTINCT ADVANTAGES SUCH AS ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD IMMUNITY, A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS HAVE RESTRICTED THEIR WIDE APPLICABILITY. WE PROPOSE A FIBER OPTIC MAGNETIC FIELD SENSOR BASED ON AN INNOVATIVE CONCEPT AND WHICH WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR EXPERIENCE ACCUMULATED IN THE MANUFACTURABILITY OF OTHER FIBER OPTIC SENSORS AND HIGH DATA RATE COMMUNICATION LINKS. THE DESIGN WILL BE FOCUSED ON THE ASSEMBLY OF A DEVICE WHICH WILL BE INEXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE AND WILL HAVE HIGH SURVIVABILITY UNDER HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS.