Tapered optical fiber sensing attenuated total reflectance
AssigneeFoster-Miller, Inc.
InventorWilliam A. Stevenson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A radiation transmission fiber for spectroscopic monitoring includes a transmission portion and a sensor portion; the transmission and sensor portions have a continuous core portion and continuous cladding over the core portion throughout the transmission and sensor portions; the sensor portion of the core is of smaller diameter than the transmission portion(s) and is connected to the transmission portion(s) by a conical transition portion(s); and the cladding in the transmission portion is of greater thickness than the cladding in the sensor region.
Claims28
An elongated radiation transmissions fiber for spectroscopic monitoring comprising a transmission portion, a transition portion of tapered configuration and a sensor portion, said transmission, transition, and sensor portions having a continuous core portion and continuous cladding over said core portion throughout said transmission, transition, and sensor portions, and said cladding in said transmission portion being of greater thickness than said cladding in said sensor portion and the thickness of said cladding in said transition portion changing gradually between the thickness of cladding in said transmission portion and the thickness of cladding in said sensor portions.
A spectroscopy system comprising a source of radiation for generating a beam of radiation, spectrum analyzing apparatus, an elongated radiation transmission fiber for disposition in a material of interest comprising a transmission portion, a transition portion of tapered configuration and a sensor portion, said transmission, transition, and sensor portions having a continuous core portion and continuous cladding over said core portion throughout said transmission, transition, and sensor portions, said cladding in said transmission portion being of greater thickness than said cladding in said sensor portion and the thickness of said cladding in said transition portion changing gradually between the thickness of cladding in said transmission portion and the thickness of cladding in said sensor portion, and coupling structure for coupling said transmission fiber to said source to transmit a beam of infrared radiation through said fiber to said sensor portion and for coupling said fiber to said analyzing apparatus for analyzing the absorption medium in which said sensor portion is disposed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.