Smart Fibres announces its Wx range of FBG interrogators
August 2007
Smart Fibres is proud to announce its new Wx range of high-speed, FBG interrogators. Wx is a compact and highly robust instrument for dynamic measurement of FBG sensors. Applications include the structural health monitoring of aircraft and military platforms.
Wx was conceived to meet the needs of the EU defence research project AHMOS. During this project the intrinsic stability and reliability of the design have been proven through rigorous ground and fast jet flight tests.
The interrogator is based on a highly agile, tuneable laser source (1528 - 1568 nm) that is able to scan at a rate of 2.5 kHz over its full 40 nm range with a short-term repeatability of < 2 pm. By operating the Wx over a restricted wavelength range, higher scan frequencies are possible, for example, 5 kHz over a 20 nm range, 10 kHz over a 10 nm range, or 20 kHz over a 5 nm range. Further, onboard averaging (2, 4 or 8 times) enables the interrogator to operate at a reduced data rate with improved repeatability.
Initially Wx will be available with 1 to 4 optical channels, each channel capable of handling a maximum of 16 FBG sensors. Modular solutions with up to 16 optical channels are currently under development. Further details can be found on the Wx data sheet.