TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Radiation Effects Compensation for Optical Fiber Sensors

TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY
Radiation Effects Compensation for Optical Fiber Sensors
Enhancing fiber optic sensing in radiation environments through real-time active compensation, mitigating the challenges of sensor drift and bolstering the reliability of reactor technologies.
 

Opportunity:   Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), offers the opportunity to explore a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this Radiation Effects Compensation for Optical Fiber Sensors technology. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses, and, ultimately, an improved way of life for the American people.
Overview:        Optical fiber-based sensors experience macroscopic changes due to neutron and gamma irradiation, including changes in refractive index and geometric structure. The three well-known mechanisms behind these shifts are radiation-induced attenuation (RIA), radiation-induced compaction (RIC), and radiation-induced emission (RIE). This change in sensor properties limits their functionality in radiation environments. Traditional approaches have aimed to minimize these changes; however, Idaho National Laboratory introduces a novel method that corrects for these changes in real-time.
Description:    Idaho National Laboratory's innovative technique measures macroscopic properties of optical fibers in real-time and actively corrects for sensor drift. This strategy addresses the inherent problem of drift due to radiation in optical fiber sensors. By measuring the properties of the fiber that change due to the environment, such as the index of refraction and compaction of the glass, and applying these measurements through a model, sensor drift due to property change can be efficiently corrected. This method emerged during an LDRD project aimed at developing a fiber optic sensor for fission gas measurement.
Benefits:          
•    Active real-time compensation of sensor drift enhances measurement accuracy.
•    Minimizes the need to control or know parameters like dose, dose rate, temperature during irradiation, temperature history, glass composition, and glass impurities.
•    Enables autonomous operation of microreactors.
•    Facilitates many more measurements in a single lead, enabling 10 to 1000's of data points per fiber depending on the sensors used.
Applications:    
•    Enhanced reliability for companies developing reactor technology, especially those developing microreactors for autonomous operation.
•    Improved precision for fiber optic sensors in microreactor designs.
•    Licensing support for new nuclear technologies through more comprehensive operational data.
Development Status: TRL 2: Early concept phase and in need of further testing.   
IP Status:        US Patent Application No. 18/334,577, “Apparatuses Including Sensor Devices, and Related Methods and Systems,” BEA Docket No. BA-1282.   
INL seeks to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Added value is placed on relationships with small businesses, start-up companies, and general entrepreneurship opportunities.
Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. 
Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Andrew Rankin at td@inl.gov.