Smart fiber optic magnetometer
US6433543B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 4, 2002 |
| Grant date | Aug 13, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 4, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R33/0327
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A smart magnetometer which includes at least one cantilevered magnetostrictive/optical fiber structural bonded composite in a vibrationally isolated housing allowing an optical signal to be transmitted and detected from one optical fiber to another such that fluctuations of the surrounding magnetic field H will cause fluctuating mechanical torque on the composite magnetostrictive beam which will be applied to the bonded cantilevered optical fiber to deflect or misalign and cause modulation of the optical signal transmitted between the two fibers. This modulation can be calibrated to the dynamic variation of strength of a neighboring magnetic field to a precision and sensitivity of less than 1 fT and 1 fT/sqrtHz. The system is smart to selectively filter out any neighboring magnetic field with average strength smaller or greater than a certain critical value. The system is also smart enough to switch from one magnetic field average strength and/or direction to another with different average strength and/or direction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.