CNSE Researcher Explores Using Sapphires for Fiber Optics Sensing

ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 30, 2025) — For nearly 60 years, fiber optic sensors have provided critical data for a host of technologies. Primarily made of silica, fiber optic sensors measure temperature, strain, vibration and other quantities by detecting light signals that respond to physical changes in tight spaces and transmitting them down the fiber line to the other end for real-time, remote monitoring.
And while silica fiber optic sensors are deployed in normal ambient conditions, they will eventually break down at temperatures above around 600 degrees Celsius. That is where College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering Professor Mengbing Huang’s research comes into play.
Utilizing single-crystal sapphire fibers, Huang is exploring the development of optic sensors that could theoretically be capable of withstanding temperatures of more than 2,000 C, making it an ideal source for optic sensing in extremely harsh environments, such as in nuclear reactors or aerospace rockets.
“Sapphire is a very strong material, thermally and chemically,” said Huang, a professor of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at UAlbany. “That’s why researchers are considering sapphire fibers for these harsh environments for sensing.”
Researchers have long held that single-crystal sapphire fibers are a promising platform for fiber optic sensing in harsh environments, due to their capacity for withstanding extremely high temperatures.
The barrier to deploying sapphire has been the lack of an optical cladding that enables light signal transmission within the fiber without loss and is durable under these conditions, Huang explained.
“We know how to do it principle, but there’s still a knowledge gap,” he said. “For instance, when you go from the lab to the actual environment, there will be a lot of vibration. At the same time there will be a lot of heat.”
Huang’s research team at CNSE has developed an innovative technology to enable the formation of buried cladding with excellent high-temperature stability within sapphire fibers. His work has been supported through a recent Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF) award from the State University of New York Research foundation (SUNY RF).
“The TAF award allows us to get the first feedback of the processed fiber, and how it responds to the conditions that are different than the static lab condition and is instead closer to the actual conditions in which the material could be used,” said Huang.
In order to develop his technology, Huang has utilized UAlbany’s unique Ion Beam Lab, where he and his graduate student, Sahyadri Patil, are using high-energy ion beams produced from a charged particle accelerator to create nanostructures within sapphire fibers that can function as an internal optical cladding in the conditions that the single-crystal sapphire fibers might face in extreme environments.
The potential for Huang’s technology is staggering, theoretically providing aerospace, nuclear and electric power industries with advanced sensing capabilities for early warning of potential failures or better control of fuel and energy efficiency.
“These areas represent environments where harsh conditions of extremely high temperature, chemical corrosion and radiation do not permit the use of existing sensing technologies,” explained Huang. “In addition, this solution can be useful for high-power laser delivery needed in other applications like laser-based additive manufacturing and medical surgery.”
Funded by SUNY and managed by the SUNY Research Foundation, TAF helps faculty inventors and scientists turn their research into market-ready technologies, targeting critical research and development milestones—such as feasibility studies, prototyping and testing — which demonstrate that an idea or innovation has commercial potential. The goal is to increase their attractiveness to potential investors.
TAF funding is awarded and administered through an on-campus competitive process run by the Office of Technology Transfer that weighs several factors, including the availability of intellectual property protection, marketability, commercial potential, feasibility and breadth of impact. The Office also provides support for awardees as they complete their project work.
Huang’s research has also been supported by the National Science Foundation and I-Corps.