Claims
- 1. A hydrazine detection device comprising:
- a. a power supply interconnected to a light source;
- b. sensor means interconnected with the light source and having an optical fiber coated with a material comprising polyethylene oxide and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde capable of reacting to the presence of hydrazine;
- c. light detecting means; and
- d. alarm means to indicate a change in light transmitted by the optical fiber responsive to the presence of a predetermined level of hydrazine.
- 2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the refractive index of the material coating the fiber optic cable is substantially similar to the refractive index of the cable.
- 3. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the optical fiber is coated to a depth of less than one micron.
- 4. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the material comprises 1% polyethylene oxide by weight and 99% methylene chloride by weight to which is added 4-nitrobenzaldehyde to make a 1.times.10.sup.-4 molar solution.
- 5. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensor means further comprises:
- a. a tungsten-halogen light;
- b. a focusing lens; and
- c. a first X-Y micrometer stage wherein the tungsten-halogen light is focused by the focusing lens into a first end of said optical fiber.
- 6. The device as recited in claim 5, wherein the light detecting means further comprises:
- a. a housing having:
- i. a dichroic mirror;
- ii. a focusing lens;
- iii. a second X-Y micrometer stage; and
- iv. a first and second light filter;
- b. a signal photodiode interconnected with a signal amplifier; and
- c. a reference photodiode interconnected with a reference amplifier.
- 7. The device as recited in claim 6, wherein the first light filter is a beam-pass filter of about 360 nanometer wavelength and the second light filter is a beam-pass filter of about 700 nanometer wavelength.
CONTRACTUAL ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION
The U.S. Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. DE-AC07-76ID01570 between the U.S. Department of Energy and EG&G Idaho, Inc.
US Referenced Citations (12)