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A new method for fast, high resolution interrogation of an array of photonic sensors is proposed. The technique is based on the integrated Fourier transform (FT) interrogator previously introduced by the authors. Compared to other interferometric interrogators, the FT-interrogator is very compact and has an unprecedented tolerance to variations in the nominal values of the sensors’ resonance wavelength. In this paper, the output voltages of the interrogator are written as a polynomial function of complex variables whose modulus is unitary and whose argument encodes the resonance wavelength modulation of the photonic sensors. Two different methods are proposed to solve the system of polynomial equations. In both cases, the Gröbner basis of the polynomial ideal is computed using lexicographical monomial ordering, resulting in a system of polynomials whose complex variable contributions can be decoupled. Using an NVidia graphics processing card, the processing time for 1 026 000 systems of algebraic equations takes around 9 ms, which is more than two orders of magnitude faster than the interrogation method previously introduced by the authors. Such a performance allows for real time interrogation of high-speed sensors. Multiple solutions satisfy the algebraic system of equations, but, in general, only one of the solutions gives the actual resonance wavelength modulation of the sensors. Other solutions have been used for optimization, leading to a reduction in the cross-talk among the sensors. The dynamic strain resolution is 1.66 nε/√Hz., ImPhys/Optics

In this paper, the design and the characterization of a novel interrogator based on integrated Fourier transform (FT) spectroscopy is presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first integrated FT spectrometer used for the interrogation of photonic sensors. It consists of a planar spatial heterodyne spectrometer, which is implemented using an array of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) with different optical path differences. Each MZI employs a 3_3 multi-mode interferometer, allowing the retrieval of the complex Fourier coefficients. We derive a system of non-linear equations whose solution, which is obtained numerically from Newton's method, gives the modulation of the sensor's resonances as a function of time. By taking one of the sensors as a reference, to which no external excitation is applied and its temperature is kept constant, about 92% of the thermal induced phase drift of the integrated MZIs has been compensated. The minimum modulation amplitude that is obtained experimentally is 400 fm, which is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than the FT spectrometer resolution., ImPhys/Optics, Applied Sciences