Development of a two-dimensional fiber optic position sensor

In this paper, we describe a two-dimensional (2-D) fiber optic position sensor that utilizes the simultaneous measurement of the change in intensity and centroid of image on CCD camera. Both axial and lateral position change can be measured by using this technique. Axial position change is inferred by the change in peak intensity at the CCD camera and lateral position change in centroid of image spot at CCD camera. In the given system, the pitch of the fiber array determines the resolution of lateral position and the sensitivity of axial position is decided by the diameter of optical fiber. This system can be used for position measurement in a 2-D plane for structural health monitoring, alignment monitoring of shafts etc. where the non-contact measurement is needed.