{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/30795"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/30795","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"High-Temperature Displacement Sensor Using a White-Light Scanning Fiber Michelson Interferometer","abstract":"As specialized materials are developed for various applications, it becomes desirable to test them under adverse conditions, such as at elevated temperatures and in harsh environments. It is increasingly important that sensors be developed to meet the growing needs of research and industry. The ability of sapphire to withstand elevated temperatures and many chemically harsh environments has long been recognized. However, currently available sapphire fiber possesses poor optical quality and is not available with a cladding. It has found use in a variety of temperature sensors, but the investigation of sapphire-based strain and displacement sensors has been limited. The primary development of a white-light Michelson interferometer that utilizes a sapphire fiber sensing head is presented in this thesis. Development includes efforts to combat the poor optical quality of the sapphire fiber, minimize polarization mode fading, and preferentially excite the fundamental mode of the sapphire fiber. This thesis demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating a Michelson white-light interferometer capable of measuring displacements in environments ranging from room temperature to 800 degrees Celsius. The sensor developed in this work is capable of measuring displacements exceeding 6.4 millimeters at room temperature, and exceeding 1 millimeter at 800 degrees Celsius. This thesis also presents the application of this sensor to the alignment of a sapphire-fiber based Fabry-Perot sensor. This technique allows the Fabry-Perot sensor to be aligned so that usable fringes are always obtained. Alignment of the sapphire-fiber based Fabry-Perot sensors has been considered prohibitively difficult.","abstract_html":"As specialized materials are developed for various applications, it becomes desirable to test them under adverse conditions, such as at elevated temperatures and in harsh environments. It is increasingly important that sensors be developed to meet the growing needs of research and industry. The ability of sapphire to withstand elevated temperatures and many chemically harsh environments has long been recognized. However, currently available sapphire fiber possesses poor optical quality and is not available with a cladding. It has found use in a variety of temperature sensors, but the investigation of sapphire-based strain and displacement sensors has been limited. The primary development of a white-light Michelson interferometer that utilizes a sapphire fiber sensing head is presented in this thesis. Development includes efforts to combat the poor optical quality of the sapphire fiber, minimize polarization mode fading, and preferentially excite the fundamental mode of the sapphire fiber. This thesis demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating a Michelson white-light interferometer capable of measuring displacements in environments ranging from room temperature to 800 degrees Celsius. The sensor developed in this work is capable of measuring displacements exceeding 6.4 millimeters at room temperature, and exceeding 1 millimeter at 800 degrees Celsius. This thesis also presents the application of this sensor to the alignment of a sapphire-fiber based Fabry-Perot sensor. This technique allows the Fabry-Perot sensor to be aligned so that usable fringes are always obtained. Alignment of the sapphire-fiber based Fabry-Perot sensors has been considered prohibitively difficult.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pedrazzani, Janet Renee"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Electrical and Computer Engineering","degree_department":"Electrical and Computer Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Murphy, Kent A."],"committee_members":["Wang, Anbo","Claus, Richard O."],"year":1996,"date_issued":"1996-04-16","date_published":"1996-04-16","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:07Z","subjects":["sapphire fiber","absolute displacement sensor","Michelson white-light interferometery"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-0104100-092104"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-0104100-092104","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30795","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Murphy, Kent A."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Wang, Anbo","Claus, Richard O."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Electrical and Computer Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pedrazzani, Janet Renee"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:30:04Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:30:04Z","2001-01-08"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1996-04-16"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Electrical and Computer Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["sapphire fiber","absolute displacement sensor","Michelson white-light interferometery"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-0104100-092104"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30795"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["As specialized materials are developed for various applications, it becomes desirable to test them under adverse conditions, such as at elevated temperatures and in harsh environments. It is increasingly important that sensors be developed to meet the growing needs of research and industry. The ability of sapphire to withstand elevated temperatures and many chemically harsh environments has long been recognized. However, currently available sapphire fiber possesses poor optical quality and is not available with a cladding. It has found use in a variety of temperature sensors, but the investigation of sapphire-based strain and displacement sensors has been limited. The primary development of a white-light Michelson interferometer that utilizes a sapphire fiber sensing head is presented in this thesis. Development includes efforts to combat the poor optical quality of the sapphire fiber, minimize polarization mode fading, and preferentially excite the fundamental mode of the sapphire fiber. This thesis demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating a Michelson white-light interferometer capable of measuring displacements in environments ranging from room temperature to 800 degrees Celsius. The sensor developed in this work is capable of measuring displacements exceeding 6.4 millimeters at room temperature, and exceeding 1 millimeter at 800 degrees Celsius. This thesis also presents the application of this sensor to the alignment of a sapphire-fiber based Fabry-Perot sensor. This technique allows the Fabry-Perot sensor to be aligned so that usable fringes are always obtained. Alignment of the sapphire-fiber based Fabry-Perot sensors has been considered prohibitively difficult."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["High-Temperature Displacement Sensor Using a White-Light Scanning Fiber Michelson Interferometer"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Murphy, Kent A."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Wang, Anbo","Claus, Richard O."],"dc:contributor.department":["Electrical and Computer Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Pedrazzani, Janet Renee"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:30:04Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:30:04Z","2001-01-08"],"dc:date.issued":["1996-04-16"],"dc:description.abstract":["As specialized materials are developed for various applications, it becomes desirable to test them under adverse conditions, such as at elevated temperatures and in harsh environments. It is increasingly important that sensors be developed to meet the growing needs of research and industry. The ability of sapphire to withstand elevated temperatures and many chemically harsh environments has long been recognized. However, currently available sapphire fiber possesses poor optical quality and is not available with a cladding. It has found use in a variety of temperature sensors, but the investigation of sapphire-based strain and displacement sensors has been limited. The primary development of a white-light Michelson interferometer that utilizes a sapphire fiber sensing head is presented in this thesis. Development includes efforts to combat the poor optical quality of the sapphire fiber, minimize polarization mode fading, and preferentially excite the fundamental mode of the sapphire fiber. This thesis demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating a Michelson white-light interferometer capable of measuring displacements in environments ranging from room temperature to 800 degrees Celsius. The sensor developed in this work is capable of measuring displacements exceeding 6.4 millimeters at room temperature, and exceeding 1 millimeter at 800 degrees Celsius. This thesis also presents the application of this sensor to the alignment of a sapphire-fiber based Fabry-Perot sensor. This technique allows the Fabry-Perot sensor to be aligned so that usable fringes are always obtained. 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