Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 66: Vacuum Science Technology: Theory and Applications

O 66.4: Talk

Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 16:15–16:30, H8

Aluminum fiber optical vacuum feedthroughs for challenging environments — •Christoph Bartlitz, Kristian Kirsch, Marco John, Marcel Hannemann, Andreas Trützschler, and Klaus Bergner — VACOM Vakuum Komponenten & Messtechnik GmbH, In den Brückenäckern 3, 07751 Großlöbichau, Germany

Fiber optical components are used in a wide variety of places, both in scientific experiments and in production processes in vacuum systems. In principle, these components enable interference-free transmission of the finest measurement signals over long distances, robust sensor technology and maximum transmission speed. Hermetic optical fiber feedthroughs based on stainless steel, ceramics and quartz glass have become established for coupling light signals to vacuum- and process chambers.

We designed and tested a novel optical fiber feedthrough whose metallic components are made entirely of aluminum.

These technologies enable the application of optical fibers as in-vacuum diagnostic within challenging environments. Thereby, the diagnostic is driven by fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in the optical fiber itself. The application of FBGs as an in-vacuum temperature sensor is demonstrated, where an optical fiber containing a bunch of several FBGs becomes a compact, stable, robust, and flexible network of local sensors at different positions in vacuum with up to km-length signal path.

Keywords: optical fiber; vacuum feedthrough; sensing; aluminum; process monitoring