Design and development of a novel level transmitter utilizing lithium niobate (LiNbO3) Mach-Zehnder modulator for hazardous regions

摘要

In the proposed work, a very low-cost transducer and a novel photonic based transmission technique have developed for liquid level measurement. Two copper parallel plates are used to measure the liquid level in the sensing tube. For transmission of the measured quantity to the remote location, electrical (1-5 V DC), as well as optical technique, has been used. A lithium niobate (LiNbO3) based Mach Zehnder interferometer has been used for the optical transmission. In the proposed method 40GHz, Photline made MXAN-LN-40 light intensity Mach-Zehnder modulator was used. The optical output was analyzed with the help of optical spectrum analyzer (MS9710B) as well as optical meter. Optical transmission was not affected by EMI interference and very advantageous in the inflammable regions. With the help of the proposed method, the sensitivity of 7.02 pF/cm. from the sensor and -0.236 dBm/cm. from the modulator were achieved. The output of the sensor, signal conditioning, and optically transmitted data has been analyzed experimentally.