A wireless sensor system based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology has been developed to measure the temperature inside a refractory lining of a metallurgical vessel. The components of the sensor unit are designed for harsh environments to withstand moisture and high temperatures. The sensor signal, which contains an identification number and the temperature, is transmitted through the steel shell of the vessel via a robust cable link from the SAW sensor to the transponder antenna. A continuous wave reader unit interrogates the sensor unit and processes the signal for the recording unit. The sensor unit has been tested in a drying sequence of a castable refractory lining. The design of the sensor unit and the results are presented in this paper.
All-optical transmission switching is realized by solely interfacing laser emissions at 532 nm and 633 nm in thin-film GaAs on glass. Specifically, from the viewpoint of material requirements, the switching concept is extremely undemanding. The results reveal that the inherent application potential of absorbing materials in digital photonics is so far not fully comprehended and thin films may play a part in future all-optical concepts beyond expectations.
Employing pulsed-laser deposition, we formed thin-film GaAs on glass. Using these films as cross media for continuous laser emissions at 532 nm and 633 nm, we realized extremely straightforward low-power absorptive all-optical logic gates whose switch amplitude can be sensitively controlled with the film thickness. The 532 nm irradiation alters the electronic state of the film with such an impact that transmission digitizing up to 20% was achieved at 633 nm. Pump-probe spectroscopy reveals that the electronic state variation takes place within a few picoseconds. The striking simplicity, the picosecond response time and the undemanding core of the concept make laser crossing very promising for smart applications in digital photonics.
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