Inventors:
Peter Shajenko - Storrs CT
Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy - Washington DC
International Classification:
G01B 902
Abstract:
Optical sensing devices comprising dual chamber apparatii which use signal and reference light beams together with interferometric methods for detection of physical quantities of interest. The signal part of the chamber experiences the effects of a particular physical quantity to be measured which produces variations in the optical length of the light beam by movement of a mirror, thereby modulating that beam in proportion thereto. Concurrently, the reference beam, of equal pathlength, is passed through an adjacent chamber, isolated from such effects. The modulated signal beam and unmodulated reference beam are then combined to form a fringe pattern, the zero and first order fringes which are superimposed on apertures of an optical fibers, which carry the resultant light beams to a photodetectors for converting the optical signals to proportional electrical signals.