Optical Sensors Technology Developments and Growth Opportunities

Technical Advances Encourage Adoption in Various Fields

Photonic sensors, signal processors, and communication technologies continue to make headway as viable alternatives to electronics. Fiber optic sensors have advanced to an extent that they can readily find many applications in manufacturing and detection segments. Recent innovations in fiber optic instruments and their cost advantages have boosted their utility and demand in several sectors. Environmental and atmospheric monitoring, industrial chemical processing and biotechnology, as well as defense and security are some of the areas that find use for optic sensors.

This Technical Insights study examines the optical sensors market. It highlights recent technical advances achieved in the different types of fiber optic sensors, components used in optical fiber sensing, sensor design and analysis, distributed sensing scenarios, and the role of integrated optics in sensing.

Exciting New Devices Find Application in Diverse Markets

The optical sensing area is a field in which new technologies are being developed and tested continuously, states the analyst. A variety of emerging and exciting uses for optical sensors includes predicting ozone contamination and forecasting severe lightning storms. With increasing emphasis on safeguarding the environment, optical sensors are being employed to measure pollutant levels and contamination in the environment in real time. Scientists are also working on the application of the technology in microbial ecology as well as in veterinary and human clinical diagnostics, remarks the analyst.

The U.S. Navy's Sensors Branch investigates new applications such as precise time and position determination, environmental characterization, and surveillance. Health monitoring sectors have also cashed in on the developments in optical fiber sensors as they offer the advantages of low cost, amenability to multiplexing, and high sensitivity over conventional systems. Numerous optical sensors under development include chemical, temperature, laser, strain, electric, and magnetic sensors. Vertical and edge-emitting semiconductor laser diodes and arrays are also being researched for further improvements.

Several Industries to Benefit from Use of Optic Sensors

Some industries that will benefit from optical sensors include certain processing industries that can use sensors for controlling chemical formulations and temperatures. In the medical industry, the sensors will facilitate the development of novel imaging systems. The sensors will help the construction industry monitor the structural health of different buildings, bridges, and tunnels and facilitate the environmental industry in monitoring pollutants and contamination.

The multiplexing capability of optical sensors makes them an excellent candidate for structural health monitoring in aerospace applications where weight is a major consideration, notes the analyst. Degradable polymer sensors are used to deliver antiviral drugs, pain and chemotherapy medications, and contraceptives. Universities and companies can use simulation equipment for their research and teaching needs. A range of basic and applied research programs are being conducted in aeropropulsion, space sciences, photonics, and materials technology.

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 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  Overview and Perspective
      1. Light and Optoelectronics
      2. Light's Advantages
      3. Definitions and Descriptions
      4. What Optical Sensors Measure
  Key Findings
      1. Commercial Prospects for Optical Sensors
      2. Current Uses and Potential Applications
  Technical Marketplace Assessment
      1. Trends and Developments
      2. Growth in Healthcare
      3. Challenges and Issues
  Methodology and Definitions
      1. Methodology
      2. Definitions and Descriptions
  2 TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
  Principles behind Optical Sensing
      1. Generating Information
      2. Lasers
      3. The Role of Light
      4. True Photonics
  The Impact of Photonics
      1. Advantages of Optical Systems
      2. Types of Optical Sensors
  Types of Optical Sensors
      1. Chemical Sensors
      2. Temperature and Strain
      3. Biosensors and Medical Sensors
      4. Laser Sensors
      5. Magnetics and GMR
      6. Rotation
      7. Rotation and Displacement
      8. Acoustics
      9. Distributed Sensing
  3 APPLICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS
  Optical Imaging
      1. Three-Dimensional Lensless Imaging
      2. Hostile Environmental Imaging
      3. Lightning Determination
  Optical Sensing
      1. Environmental Sensing
      2. Chemical Sensing
      3. Porous Silicon Sensing
      4. Biocompatible Sensing
      5. Temperature Sensing
      6. Aerogel-Based Oxygen Sensor
      7. Distributed Sensing
      8. Biomedical Sensing and Diagnostics
      9. Detecting Neutral Analytes
      10. Optimizing Optical Sensors
      11. Bio Sensing
  Monitoring Devices
      1. Monitoring Structural Strain
      2. Monitoring pH
  Optical Tracking
      1. Position Tracking
      2. Optical Guidance and Tracking
  Measurement Systems
      1. Measuring Inorganic Carbon Levels
      2. Measuring Humidity and Temperature
      3. Measuring Print Quality of Paper
  4 US RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT
  Academic Research
      1. Georgia Institute of Technology
      2. Ohio State University
      3. University of California at Los Angeles
      4. University of California at San Diego
      5. University of Illinois
      6. University of Houston
      7. University of North Carolina
      8. University of Washington
  Government Research
      1. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
      2. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
      3. Los Alamos National Laboratory
      4. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
      5. National Renewable Energy Laboratory
      6. Naval Research Laboratory
      7. Oak Ridge National Laboratory
      8. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  5 GLOBAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT
  Academic Research
      1. Dublin City University
      2. Dublin Institute of Technology
      3. Friedrich-Schiller University
      4. Nanyang Technological University
      5. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
      6. Universidad Publica de Navarra
      7. Universities of Joensuu and Oulu
      8. University of Graz
      9. University of Santo Tomas
      10. University of Southampton
      11. Universiteit Twente
      12. Warsaw University of Technology
  Government Research
      1. Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology Center
      2. National Research Council Canada
  6 COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS
  US-Based Companies
      1. Droplet Measurement Technologies
      2. Honeywell
      3. Optrand Inc.
      4. Physical Sciences Inc.
      5. Sentec Corp.
      6. Systems Planning and Analysis Inc.
      7. Other Developers
  International Companies
      1. Austrian Research Centers Seibersdorf Research GmbH
      2. ELMOS Semiconductor AG
      3. BAE Systems
      4. Gotting KG
      5. Lios Technology GmbH
      6. TDK Corp.
      7. Other Developers
  7 PATENTS; BIBLIOGRAPHY; AND TECHNICAL INSIGHTS AWARDS
  Patents and Bibliography
      1. Patents
      2. Bibliography
  Technical Insights' 2003 Science and Technology Awards
      1. Technology Innovation
      2. Technology Leadership