The realization of an optical fibre sensor applied to cryogenic temper
ature measurement in harsh environments is presented. The measurement
principle is based on the analysis of the decay-time of the fluorescen
ce emitted by special doped crystals, the excited state lifetimes of w
hich are greatly dependent on temperature, The sensor is intended to w
ork in the presence of strong perturbations encountered on the testing
benches of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen turbo-pumps of the A
riane 5 Vulcan engine developed by 'la Societe Europeenne de Propulsio
n (SEP)'. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.