FIBER COUPLED POSITION SENSORS FOR AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS

Fiber-coupled position sensors promise advantages over their electrical counterparts for aerospace applications such as weight savings, immunity to radiated electrical interference, and improved performance, but so far, no sensor has gained widespread acceptance. This paper describes three fiber-coupled sensors presently under development at the Boeing High Technology Center including a single track analog sensor, a sensor based on weighted number system encoding, and a sensor based on FMCW laser radar techniques. Technical difficulties encountered, customer requirements, and a summary of a standardized WDM sensor interface including a broadband LED source and a compact spectrograph are also discussed.