title: Design of a test system for fast time response fibre optic oxygen sensors.
abstract: A test system has been developed that can be used to calibrate and determine the time response, linearity and temperature sensitivity of a fibre optic oxygen sensor. The simple system obviates the need for precision gas standards and the requirement to generate a true square wave step response, which is seldom achievable. The sensor is mounted in a small chamber containing air or a known fraction of oxygen. By means of a computer-controlled switch, the absolute pressure within the chamber can be changed rapidly to a new steady state value. The partial pressure of oxygen changes in direct proportion to the absolute pressure, and so the accuracy and linearity and response time of the PO(2) calibration are limited only by those of the absolute pressure sensor. The temperature sensitivity of a commercial sensor and a means of correction are also described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saied
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Edgington
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gale
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palayiwa
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Belcher
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Farmery
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: C E W
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010092:Oximetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014159:Transducers