NASA Technology Transfer Opportunity: Real-Time Interferometric Fiber Optic Bragg Grating Sensors

Synopsis – Jan 20, 2012
Modification 01 – Posted on Jan 20, 2012

General Information
Solicitation Number: N/A
Reference Number: TTO0951
Posted Date: Jan 20, 2012
FedBizOpps Posted Date: Jan 20, 2012
Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No
Original Response Date: Jun 01, 2012
Current Response Date: Jun 01, 2012
Classification Code: A — Research and Development
NAICS Code: 927110
Set-Aside Code:

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 12, Industry Assistance Office, Hampton, VA 23681-0001

Description

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits interest from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use.
THE TECHNOLOGY:

NASA Langley has demonstrated a powerful technique for real-time fiber optic sensing. This patent pending technology combines a compact in-fiber interferometric network with distributed fiber optic Bragg grating sensors to enable real-time physical monitoring with high accuracy and resolution. The technology offers the ability to simultaneously measure hundreds of discreet fiber sensors without the need for slow and complex data processing. NASA developed the technology to enable real-time monitoring of structural and environmental conditions for vehicle health monitoring. The versatility of this technique offers broad utility in applications where high sensor counts and real-time monitoring of physical parameters are required.

The use of fiber optic-based sensors has enabled robust, low-cost, intrinsically safe measurement of physical parameters like stress, temperature, pressure, and the presence of certain chemicals. Fiber optic sensors can be used for single point detection or, in the case of Bragg grating sensors that are written along the length of a fiber, distributed sensing for large area monitoring. However, the use of distributed Bragg grating sensors usually involves a compromise between the highly desirable characteristics of fast data acquisition, high sensor counts, and high resolution. The new NASA Real-Time Interferometric Fiber Optic Bragg Grating Sensor technology eliminates that compromise.

The new NASA system modifies existing NASA Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry technology (NASA patents US#5,798,521 and US#6,566,648) to eliminate the need for massive data storage, complex algorithm manipulation, and the inherent limitations tied to processor speeds. By constructing a location-matched oscillator to each discrete sensor grating, each Bragg grating spectra can be demodulated and peak-detected without the need for complex digital processing. The resulting system allows hundreds of distributed sensors to be interrogated in real time, which is essential for immediate event detection in safety-critical systems.

To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to Sean Sullivan, Research Triangle International (RTI), at: NASA Langley Research Center, Strategic Relationships Office (SRSO), 17 West Taylor St., Mail Stop 218, Building 1212, Room 110 Hampton, Virginia, E-mail: Sean.D.Sullivan@NASA.gov, or phone: 757-864-5055. Please indicate the date and title of the FBO notice and include your company and contact information.

RTI is responsible for aggregating and acknowledging all responses. These responses are provided to members of NASA Langley’s Innovative Partnerships Office within the SRO for the purpose of promoting public awareness of our technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, SRO will follow the formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register as required. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.

Point of Contact

Name: Sean Sullivan
Title: Media Specialist
Phone: 757-864-5055
Fax: 757-864-8101
Email: sean.d.sullivan@nasa.gov