A polarizer is formed with an arrangement of polymer fibers substantially parallel within a polymer matrix. The polymer fibers are formed of at least first and second polymer materials. At least one of the polymer matrix and the first and second polymer materials is birefringent, and provides a birefringent interface with the adjacent material. Light is reflected and/or scattered at the birefringent interfaces with sensitivity to the polarization of the light. In some embodiments, the polymer fibers are formed as composite fibers, having a plurality of scattering polymer fibers disposed within a filler to form the composite fiber. In other embodiments, the polymer fiber is a multilayered polymer fiber. The polymer fibers may be arranged within the polymer matrix as part of a fiber weave.

Reflective polarizers containing polymer fibers

This book, titled Optical Communication, is written for electrical engineers and engineering students and gives an introduction into the field of fiber optical communication. The book deals with optical fibers, semiconductor light sources, photodetectors, and optical communication links; it represents the status of this fastmoving field around 1983. Starting with the material properties of silica, the wave propagation, attenuation, and dispersion of monomode and multimode fibers are treated in great mathematical detail, followed by a few brief remarks about the fabrication of fibers. The chapters on light sources describe light-emission diodes and semiconductor lasers and cover typical construction types and a number of their electrooptical characteristics. Photodiodes and avalanche photodiodes are presented, as well as noise and sensitivity calculations of entire receivers for analog and digital signals. Fiber splices and couplers are mentioned. A brief chapter on applications concludes the book. This book is undoubtedly one of the best introductions to the field  of fiber optical communications available in the German language. It emphasizes mathematical calculations. In this reviewer’s opinion, it takes some effort by the reader to work out the physical principles underlying the various mathematical treatments and to extract the data needed for practical applications. Nonetheless, it i s a careful introduction for students as well as developers of fiberoptical communication systems.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/5/31343/01457334.pdf

Optische nachrichtentechnik

A composite polymer fiber comprises a polymer filler material and a plurality of polymer scattering fibers disposed within the filler material. At least one of the filler material and the scattering fibers is formed of a birefringent material. The refractive indices of the filler material and the scattering fibers can be substantially matched for light incident in a first polarization state on the composite polymer fiber and unmatched for light incident in an orthogonal polarization state. The scattering fibers may be arranged to form a photonic crystal within the composite fiber. The composite fibers may be extruded and may be formed into a yarn, a weave or the like. If the filler material is soluble, it may be washed out of the yarn or weave, and the scattering fibers may then be infiltrated with a resin that is subsequently cured.

Composite polymer fibers

The subject invention is an optical detection assembly (26) for detecting dispensed material (28). The detection assembly (26) includes a housing (38) having a number of optical sensors (42) mounted to the housing (38). A material applicator (30) is mounted within a central opening (44) of the housing (38) and extends through the opening (44) such that the sensors (42) substantially surround the applicator (30) to continuously detect the material (28) being dispensed through the applicator (30). The subject invention also includes the method of detecting the material (28) being dispensed upon a workpiece (32) utilizing a robotic apparatus (20) having an articulated arm (24) with the housing (38) mounted to the arm (24).

Detection assembly for detecting dispensed material

An imaging system for on-line imaging of a component in a gas turbine engine. The imaging system includes a flexible imaging bundle formed by a plurality of optical elements. An imaging end of the optical elements images a component in a hot gas path of the engine during operation of the engine and a viewing end provides an image of the component at a location displaced from the hot gas path. The optical elements are surrounded by a flexible metal sheath that is permeable to air to provide cooling air the optical elements from an air source surrounding the flexible imaging bundle.

Flexible imaging fiber bundle monitoring system for combustion turbines

A process for reconstructing a picture coupled into a fiber optical bundle1) comprising optical fibers (2) is provided. It is immaterial for this process whether the optical fibers (2) are parallel or totally random in the fiber optical bundle (1). The prerequisite is that the launching sided and output sided coordinates of each optical fiber (2) are known. The picture coupled into the launching side (3) is reconstructed with the aid of the gray tones passed on by the optical fibers (2) to the output side (4). To this end a grid (5), comprising grid field (6) that are connected together without any gaps, is laid over the launching sided arrangement of the optical fibers (2). Assigned to each grid field (6) is a gray tone, which comprises through addition fractions of the output sided, average gray tones of all of the optical fibers (2), which are at least partially overlapped by the grid field (6), whereby such a fraction corresponds to the percentage of the area of the optical fiber overlapped by the grid field (6) to the total cross sectional area of the optical fiber (2). The grid (5) provided with gray tones is finally reproduced on a video screen.

Process for reconstructing a picture coupled into a fiber optical bundle made of optical fibers

A process for applying fiber optical bundles comprising optical fibers forisual and measurement-related purposes is provided, in which process light is coupled into the fiber optical bundle on a launching side and is extracted from said fiber optical bundle on an output side. In so doing, the individual optical fibers are labelled on the output side, and following separation of the optical fibers, their output-sided representation of the coordinates are determined through threshold formation. Then the optical fibers determined on the output side are defined on the launching side; and their coordinates are also defined. Finally the position of the individual optical fibers at the output end are converted to the coordinates of the respective optical fiber at the launching end.

Process for the application of fiber optical bundles comprising optical fibers

Fiber-optic reflex sensors for industrial applications

For image transmission in endoscopes or similar devices, optical fibres which are arranged in parallel have been used until now. The production of this type of optical fibre bundles necessitates a complex procedure. Bundles of this type have a reduced flexibility. They permit, if need be with high outlay, an integration of additional optical fibres. To remedy these disadvantages, a method is provided of using optical fibre bundles, made up of non-parallel light-guiding fibres, for visual and measurement purposes, the light being coupled (launched) at a coupling-in side into the optical fibre bundles and being coupled out (extracted) therefrom at a coupling-out side. In this process, the individual light-guiding fibres are marked at the coupling-out side and their coordinates are determined. The light-guiding fibres established at the coupling-out side are then determined at the coupling-in end and their coordinates are likewise determined. Finally, the positions of the individual light-guiding fibres at the coupling-out end are converted into the coordinates of the corresponding light-guiding fibres at the coupling-in end.

Method for the use of optical fibre bundles of non-parallel light-guiding fibres

The realization of an intelligent internal thread sensor is described, including different analog and digital modules as well as a fiberoptic measuring system. The electronics have a multisensor module conception. This allows communication to take place in a multisensor module system by means of a software-controlled fieldbus interface. The result of the evaluation of the protocoled signal is a scaled sectional view of the internal thread.

Eckard Eikelmann

Papers

Process for reconstructing a picture coupled into a fiber optical bundle made of optical fibers

Process for the application of fiber optical bundles comprising optical fibers

Fiber-optic reflex sensors for industrial applications

Method for the use of optical fibre bundles of non-parallel light-guiding fibres

Construction of a multisensor module system exemplified by an intelligent internal thread sensor