Special Issue:
"Photonic Sensors in Space" -
Sensors JournalGuest EditorProf. Dr. Caterina CiminelliOptoelectronics Laboratory, Politecnico di Bari
Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica ed Elettronica
Via Re David, 200 70125, Bari, Italy
Tel. + +39 08 0596 3404, Fax + 39 08 0596 3610
E-mail: c.ciminelli@poliba.it;
http://www-dee.poliba.it/Deadline for Paper submission: 31 May 2008
SummaryThe
rapid growth and implementation of photonic devices in both civil and
military systems have reached the stage of applications of the
technology in the space.
Photonics has many already perceived
benefits for applications in space, such us small size, light weight,
high resolution, electromagnetic interference immunity, capability of
operating in harsh environment, multiplexing capability, potentially
low cost.
Among photonic devices, sensors have been extensively
studied in the last decades for different application fields, with
different geometrical configurations, materials and detection schemes,
resulting in a large number of designs and a wide range of performance.
Specific
requirements from the space application field is pushing the
development of new photonic sensors to be used on-board, e.g. for
structural monitoring of space vehicles, for detection of chemical and
biological substances, for high resolution inertial systems, also
integrating the sensing systems to the optical communication networks
with consequent advantage of using the optical transmission circuits as
monitoring ad diagnostic media.
This special issue focuses on
photonic sensors for space applications, with the aim of providing
research advances on the potential of the sensors to the space field.
Keywordsphotonic sensors, fiber optic sensors, sensor arrays, IR sensors, chemical detection, biological detection, inertial platform
Submission
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All papers should be submitted to
sensors@mdpi.org with copy to the guest editors. To be published continuously until the
deadline and papers will be listed together at the special websites.
Please visit the instructions for authors at
http://www.mdpi.org/sensors/publguid.htm before submitting a paper. Open Access publication fees are 1050 CHF
per paper. English correction fees (250 CHF) will be added in certain cases
(1300 CHF per paper for those papers that require extensive additional
formatting and/or English corrections.).
Planned Papers
Title:
"Photonics Nanosensors based on Engenireed Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes : A Review"
Authors: Marco Consales 1, Michele Penza 2, Antonello Cutolo 1, Michele Giordano 3 and Andrea Cusano 1
1 Optoelectronic Division, Engineering Department, University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy
2 Department of Physical Technologies and New Materials, ENEA, Brindisi, Italy
3 Institute for Composite and Biomedical Materials, National Research Council (IMCB-CNR), Portici, Italy
Abstract: This
paper review the use of carbon nanotubes as advanced nanostructured
sensitive coatings integrated with the optical fiber technology for the
development of high performances opto-chemical nanosensors for a wide
range of environmental monitoring applications, ranging from chemicals
detection both in gaseous and liquid phase to cryogenic hydrogen
detection for space applications. The Langmuir-Blodgett technique has
been chosen for the deposition of nanometer-scale thin films of
single-walled carbon nanotubes upon the distal end of standard silica
optical fibers, in order to form a low finesse Fabry-Perot
interferometer working in reflectometric configuration. The principle
of operation of the proposed sensors relies, therefore, on the
measurement of the changes in the intensity of light reflected at the
fiber-film interface occurring as a consequence of the changes in the
optical (complex refractive index) and geometrical features (thickness)
of the sensitive elements. Such modifications are, in turn, caused by
the interaction of the sensing layer with the target analyte molecules
present in the environment.
An extensive investigation of the
structural and morphological characterizations of the LB-SWCNTs films
has been carried out by means of X-ray diffraction and Raman
Spectroscopy analyses, High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy
and Scanning Electron Microscopy observations, which confirmed the
nanometric dimensions of the sensitive overlays as well as their
successful integration with the optical fibers.
The excellent
sensing capabilities of the realized chemical sensors have been
demonstrated against VOCs and other pollutants in different
environments (air and water) and operating conditions (room temperature
and cryogenic temperatures). As matter of fact, ppm and sub-ppm
chemicals detection limits have been obtained in most of the
investigated cases.
Furthermore, the use of carbon nanotubes-based
composites as sensitive fiber optic coatings has also been proposed to
improve their adhesion to the fiber surface. The experimental results
here shown reveal the strong potentiality of such nanocomposite to be
successfully employed for chemical sensing both in liquid and gas
phase. In addition, new advanced sensing configurations based on the
use of hollow-core optical fibers coated and partially filled by carbon
nanotubes have also been presented.
Title:
"Silicon Microspheres for THz Sensing Applications in Space"Authors: Ali Serpengüzel
Koç University, Department of Physics, Microphotonics Research Laboratory, Rumelifeneri Yolu, Sariyer, Istanbul 34450 Turkey
Abstract:
Silicon microspheres possess high quality factor morphology-dependent
resonances, i.e., whispering gallery modes. These whispering gallery
modes can be used in sensing applications in space. In this work,
feasibility of a silicon microsphere with a radius of 500 µm as an
optical sensor at THz frequencies is studied. The high quality factor
morphology dependent resonances have repetitive mode spacing of 1 µm
(30 GHz) at wavelengths of 100 µm (3 THz).
Mr. Matthias BurkhalterAssistant Editor
MDPI Center - Sensors Office
Matthaeusstrasse 11 - CH-4057 Basel / Switzerland
E-mail: sensors@mdpi.org
Tel +41 61 683 7734, Fax +41 61 302 8918
http://www.mdpi.org/sensorsMDPI - Matthias Burkhalter - 4 April 2008