Radiation tolerant fiber optic thermo-hygrometers for aerospace applications

Abstract

Spacecraft monitoring is a very critical topic for the development of successful space missions and many sensors are required to provide information concerning the spacecraft itself. The space radiation environment can lead to extremely harsh operating conditions for on-board electronics and systems. For these reasons, it is very important to select the correct devices for the on-orbit health monitoring of the structure. In this paper we present investigations carried out by our research group concerning the use of optical thermo-hygrometers based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) for high energy physics (HEP) environments. Presented results, collected during experimental test campaigns performed at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), demonstrate the radiation tolerance capability of the proposed technology opening intriguing future exploitation in the CERN experiments as well as in all the applications linked to high radiation environments.