US 5,327,216 A · Apparatus for remote seismic sensing of array signals using side-by-side retroreflectors

Abstract

A remote seismic sensing system is provided which operates as a bipolarized, differential mode, LDI (laser differential interferometry) system to detect electrical signals produced at a remote location. In preferred embodiments, the system is used in seismic surveying to detect array signals. An amplified array signal (the electrical signal is coupled to an array retroreflector apparatus (target). The array signal is obtained from an array of seismic detectors, e.g., geophones or hydrophones. The amplified array signal increases the velocity of a Doppler shifting optical component on the target. The target converts a defused sensing beam into two polarized return sensing signals, both of the return sensing signals having been Doppler shifted by the target to contain frequency components that represent motions, e.g., ground motions and wind motions, that are common to both signals and to contain a difference signal which represents the array signal. The difference signal has a greater deviation from the optical carrier frequency due to the amplification of the signal than the Doppler shifts imposed by the common motions. The return sensing signals are detected by a receiver and combined by electronic and/or by optical heterodyning techniques to cancel any common mode signals on the return sensing signals, thereby leaving a frequency modulated difference signal which, ideally, represents only the frequency modulated array signal. However, the difference signal may also contain turbulent noise due to atmospheric turbulence that causes frequency fluctuations on the sensing beams and the return signals. However, these frequency fluctuations will be much less than the Doppler shifts caused by the amplified signal. The frequency modulated difference signal may then be demodulated to produce a time varying signal which represents the seismic trace of the seismic motions detected by the seismic detectors of the array.

Claims38

Dependent claims

A remote detector apparatus for use with a bipolarized, differential mode, laser differential, interferometry remote sensing system, said apparatus being located at a selected location and adapted to enable the remote sensing system to detect an electrical signal coupled to said remote detector apparatus, comprising:

a casing, the casing being functional to couple motions at the selected location, the motions having directions of movement in any of three orthogonal directions;
and
a means for converting two sensing signals transmitted from the remote sensing system into two polarized return sensing signals, said means being mounted on the casing and having the electrical signal coupled thereto, said means being functional for frequency modulating both of the return sensing signals to contain frequency components that represent common motions coupled to the casing and to contain between the return signals a difference signal which represents the electrical signal.

A method for producing transversely polarized, differential mode signals, said signals having a difference signal between them which represents an electrical signal produced at a remote location, said signals enabling a remote sensing, bipolarized, differential mode, laser differential interferometry system to detect the electrical signal, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting two adjacent and approximately parallel sensing beams to the remote location, the two sensing beams being a first sensing beam and a second sensing beam;
(b) coupling motions at the remote location to a casing;
(c) deflecting the first and second sensing beams to a first sensing path and a second sensing path, said sensing paths being adjacent and parallel;
(d) separating from the first sensing beam a first polarized sensing signal;
(e) separating from the second sensing beam a second polarized sensing signal, the polarity of the second sensing signal being orthogonal to the polarity of the first sensing signal, whereby the two polarized signals are transversely polarized;
(f) Doppler shifting the first sensing beam with some of the motions coupled to the casing while reflecting the first polarized sensing signal back along the first sensing path, the first polarized sensing signal containing Doppler shifted frequency components which represent casing motions which are inline with the first sensing path;
(g) transforming the electorial signal into movements which are inline with the second sensing path;
(h) Doppler shifting the second polarized sensing signal with some of the motions coupled to the casing and with the movements of the converted electrical signal and reflecting the second polarized sensing signal back along the second sensing path, the second polarized sensing signal containing Doppler shifted frequency components which represent the casing motions which are inline with the second sensing path and the movements of the converted electrical signal;
and
(i) deflecting the first polarized sensing signal and the second polarized sensing signal onto return propagation paths which take the transversely polarized signals back to the remote sensing system, the two signals containing between them a difference signal which represents the electrical signal.

7 more elements

A remote sensing apparatus for detecting an electrical signal produced at a selected location by using bipolarized, differential mode, laser differential interferometry, comprising:

a laser, the laser being functional for producing a laser beam of substantially monochromatic frequency;
a beamsplitter, the beamsplitter being functional for splitting the laser beam into a sensing beam and a reference beam;
a first Bragg cell, the Bragg cell being functional for changing the frequency of the reference beam to produce a frequency offset between the frequency of the sensing beam and the frequency of the reference beam;
a first polarizing beamsplitter, the first polarizing beamsplitter being functional for splitting the reference beam into two polarized reference signals, a first reference signal and a second reference signal, the polarity of the first reference signal being orthogonal to the polarity of the second reference signal;
a casing, the casing being functional to couple to motions at the selected location;
a means mounted on the casing which is functional for converting two adjacent portions of the sensing beam into two transversely polarized, return sensing signals, each said return sensing signal having common mode frequency components which represent common motions on the casing and the two signals have between them a difference signal which represents the electrical signal, said means separating the return sensing signal from the two portions of the sensing beam such that the polarities of said two return sensing signal are orthogonal with respect to each other, said means transforming the electrical signal into movements which Doppler shift one of the two return sensing beams, and said means also utilizing some of the motions coupled to the casing to contribute common mode Doppler shifted frequency components to both polarized return sensing signal;
a return beam detector, the return beam detector being functional for detecting the two return sensing signals;
a second polarizing beamsplitter, the second polarizing beamsplitter being functional for deflecting the return sensing signals onto separate paths, thereby one of the return sensing signals becoming a first return signal and another of the return sensing signals becoming a second return signal, the polarity of the first return signal being orthogonal to the polarity of the second return signal and having the same polarity as the first reference signal;
a first photodetector, the first photodetector being functional for combining in an optical heterodyning process the first reference signal with the first return signal to produce a first channel signal having a center frequency approximately at the frequency offset;
a second photodetector, the second photodetector being functional for combining in an optical heterodyning process the second reference signal with the second return signal to produce a second channel signal having a center frequency approximately at the frequency offset, the first channel signal and the second channel signal being two channel signals;
an oscillator, the oscillator being functional to produce a signal having a frequency which when heterodyned with one of the two channel signals reverses the polarity of the channel signal and shifts the channel signal frequency;
a means for combining the oscillator signal with said one of the two channel signals to produce a polarity reversed channel signal;
a means for combining the polarity reversed channel signal with a remaining channel signal of the two channel signals in a heterodyning process to cancel any common mode signals that were on the two polarized return sensing signals, the means for combining also producing a frequency modulated difference signal which represents the electrical signal.

10 more elements

A method for detecting an electrical signal produced at a selected location using bipolarized, differential mode, laser differential interferometry, comprising the steps of:

(a) producing a laser beam of substantially monochromatic frequency;
(b) splitting the laser beam into a sensing beam and a reference beam;
(c) changing the frequency of the reference beam to produce a frequency offset between the frequency of the sensing beam and the frequency of the reference beam;
(d) splitting the reference beam into two polarized reference signals, a first reference signal and a second reference signal, the polarity of the first reference signal being orthogonal to the polarity of the second reference signal;
(e) directing the sensing beam to the selected location;
(f) coupling motions at the selected location to a casing;
(g) converting two adjacent portions of the sensing beam at the casing into two transversely polarized, return sensing signals, each return sensing signal having common mode signals which represents common motions on the casing and the two return sensing signals having a difference signal between them which represents the electrical signal by separating the two polarized sensing signals from the two portions of sensing beam, said two sensing signals having polarities which are orthogonal with respect to each other, by transforming the electrical signal into movements which Doppler shift one of the return sensing signals, and by utilizing some the motions on the casing to contribute Doppler shifted frequency components to the two polarized return sensing signals, the Doppler shifted frequency components contributed by casing motions being the common mode signals;
(h) detecting the two return sensing signals;
(i) deflecting the two return sensing signals into separate paths, thereby one of the two return sensing signals becoming a first return signal and another return sensing signal becoming a second return signal, the polarity of the first return signal being orthogonal to the polarity of the second return signal and having the same polarity as the first reference signal;
(j) combining in an optical heterodyning process the first reference signal with the first return signal and the second reference signal with the second return signal to produce a first channel signal and a second channel signal, each channel signal having a center frequency approximately at the offset frequency;
(k) reversing the polarity of either channel signal;
(1) canceling the common mode signals that were on the two return sensing signals by combining a reversed channel signal with a remaining channel signal in a heterodyning process to produce a frequency modulated difference signal;
and
(m) demodulating the deference signal to produce a time varying signal which represents the electrical signal.

11 more elements

A remote sensing apparatus for detecting an electrical signal produced at a selected location using bipolarized, differential mode, laser differential interferometry, comprising:

a laser, the laser being functional for producing a laser beam of substantially monochromatic frequency;
a casing, the casing being functional to couple to motions at the selected location;
a means mounted on the casing which is functional for converting two adjacent portions of the sensing beam into two transversely polarized, return sensing signals, each said return sensing signal having common mode frequency components which represent common motions on the casing and the two signals have between them a difference signal which represents the electrical signal, said means separating the return sensing signal from the two portions of the sensing beam such that the polarities of said two return sensing signal are orthogonal with respect to each other, the means transforming the electrical signal into movements which Doppler shift one of the two return sensing beams, and the means also utilizing some of the motions coupled to the casing to contribute common mode Doppler shifted frequency components to both polarized return sensing signal;
a return sensing signal detector, the return sensing signal detector being functional for detecting the two return sensing signals;
a polarizing beamsplitter, the polarizing beamsplitter being functional for deflecting the return sensing signals onto separate paths, thereby one of the return sensing signals becoming a first return signal and another of the return sensing signals becoming a second return signal, the polarity of the first return signal being orthogonal to the polarity of the second return signal;
a means for changing the frequency of the first return signal to produce a frequency offset between the frequency of the first return signal and the second return signal;
a means for rotating the polarity of the second return signal such that it has the same polarity as the first return signal;
and
a photodetector, the photodetector being functional for combining in an optical heterodyning process the first return signal with the second return signal to cancel any common mode signals which were on the two return sensing signals and to produce a channel signal having a center frequency approximately at the frequency offset, the channel signal being the frequency modulated difference signal which represents the electrical signal.

6 more elements

A method for detecting an electrical signal produced at a selected location using bipolarized, differential mode, laser differential interferometry, comprising the steps of:

(a) producing a laser beam of substantially monochromatic frequency;
(b) directing the sensing beam to the selected location;
(c) coupling motions at the selected location to a casing;
(d) converting two adjacent portions of the sensing beam at the casing into two transversely polarized, return sensing signals, each return sensing signal having common mode signals which represents common motions on the casing and the two return sensing signals having a difference signal between them which represents the electrical signal by separating the two polarized sensing signals from the two portions of sensing beam, said two sensing signals having polarities which are orthogonal with respect to each other, by transforming the electrical signal into movements which Doppler shift one of the return sensing signals, and by utilizing some the motions on the casing to contribute Doppler shifted frequency components to the two polarized return sensing signals, the Doppler shifted frequency components contributed by casing motions being the common mode signals;
(e) detecting the two return sensing signals;
(f) deflecting the two return sensing signals into separate paths, thereby one of the two return sensing signals becoming a first return signal and another return sensing signal becoming a second return signal, the polarity of the first return signal being orthogonal to the polarity of the second return signal;
(g) changing the frequency of the first return signal to produce a frequency offset between the frequency of the first return signal and the frequency of the second return signal;
(h) reversing the polarity of the second return signal;
(i) canceling any common mode signals that may have been on the two return sensing signals by combining in an optical heterodyning process the first return signal with the second return signal to produce a channel signal, the optical heterodyning producing a frequency modulated difference signal which represents the electrical signal;
(j) demodulating the deference signal to produce a time varying signal which represents the electrical signal.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus for remote seismic sensing of array signals using side-by-side retroreflectors

Life of this patent

Apparatus for remote seismic sensing of array signals using side-by-side retroreflectors

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims38