BR102016019905A2 - SENSING EQUIPMENT OF PHOTOLUMINESCENT MATERIALS FOR THE DETECTION OF PHOTOLUMINESCENT MATERIALS IN SEA WATER - Google Patents

Abstract

photoluminescent material sensing equipment for the detection of photoluminescent materials in marine waters. The present invention relates to a photoluminescent material sensing equipment (10) (300) comprising at least one light source (20) configured to generate a light beam (200) that is transmitted to the outside of the equipment. and focuses on a photoluminescent material (300); a photon counting photodetector (30) configured to receive a response light (400) generated by illuminating the photoluminescent element (300) with the light beam (200) and transforming it into an electrical signal; an electronic signal processing system (70) configured to process the electrical signal; and a signal transmission means (80) configured to transmit the signals generated by the electronic signal processing system (70) out of the equipment.

Description

(54) Title: EQUIPMENT OF

MATERIALS SENSING

PHOTOLUMINESCENT FOR THE DETECTION OF PHOTOLUMINESCENT MATERIALS IN SEA WATERS (51) Int. Cl .: G01V 8/12; G01N 21/64; G01J 1/18; G01R 3/00; H04B 10/50; (...) (73) Owner (s): ALIS SOLUÇÕES EM ENGENHARIA LTDA (72) Inventor (s): LEONE PEREIRA MASIERO; LUIZ CARLOS GUEDES VALENTE (74) Attorney (s): HERMÍNIA LEITÃO MENDES (57) Summary: EQUIPMENT OF

SENSING OF PHOTOLUMINESCENT MATERIALS FOR THE DETECTION OF PHOTOLUMINESCENT MATERIALS IN SEA WATERS. The present invention relates to a sensing equipment (10) of photoluminescent materials (300), which comprises at least one light source (20) configured to generate a light beam (200) which is transmitted to the outside of the equipment. and focuses on a photoluminescent material (300); a photodetector by photon counting (30) configured to receive a response light (400) generated by illuminating the photoluminescent element (300) with the light beam (200) and transforming it into an electrical signal; an electronic signal processing system (70) configured to process the electrical signal; and a signal transmission means (80) configured to transmit the signals generated by the electronic signal processing system (70) to

1/13 “PHOTOLUMINESCENT MATERIALS SENSING EQUIPMENT FOR THE DETECTION OF PHOTOLUMINESCENT MATERIALS IN SEA WATERS”

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to material sensing equipment that exhibits photoluminescence in a specific optical frequency range, particularly employing a method of exciting the material using light and later detecting the light emitted or scattered from the material to be characterized using a photodetector by photon counting. The light emitted from the material and subsequently analyzed can be the result of photoluminescence or Raman scattering or a combination of both.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Currently, the most used methods for the detection of hydrocarbons are based on methods using capacitive properties, photoluminescence with conventional detection (without photon counting), underwater images, processed satellite images, conventional spectroscopy, module or derivative electromagnetic field, and acoustic sensing.

[0003] Some of these known methods are described in U.S. Patent Documents US 4,282,487, US 9,217,317, US 9,146,225, US 9,052,276, US 8,916,816, US 8,445,841, US 9,244,051, US 9,222,892, US 9,298,193, US 8,030,934, US 20150285060, US 20150285060, US 20150241296, US 20150192488, US 20140303895, US 20140288853, US 20140284465, US 20140256055, US 20120059585, US 20120038362 and US 20090014325. [0004] State of the art sensors for use in the detection of oil spills are discussed in the article “Advances in remote sensing for oil spill disaster management: State of the art sensor technology for oil spill monitoring ”by Jha, Levy and Gao (Advances in Remote Sensing for Oil Spill Disaster Management: State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology for Oil Spill Surveillance) published in Sensors magazine in January 2008 (number

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8, pages 236-255).

[0005] The article "0/7 Spill Detection by Satellite Remote Sensing" by Brekke and Solberg, published in March 2005 in the "Remote Sensing of Environment", describes different approaches automatic and manual methods for using satellite sensors to detect oil spills. [0006] One of the techniques commonly used for the detection of hydrocarbons in the sea is photoluminescence. This technique has been used for many years to detect oil stains on the sea surface and, more recently, to detect the presence of oil in mixtures with sea water at great depths. However, the maximum distance between the sensor and the oil leak is very limited due to the low sensitivity of the photodetectors used and the limited power of the light sources.

[0007] In addition to the above reason, low detection sensitivities make the use of optical fibers over long distances prohibitive, due to the high attenuation of optical fibers in the wavelengths of the visible spectrum in which oil fluorescence occurs, that is, in 500nm neighborhood. [0008] One of the ways of identifying a molecule of a given material is through Raman spectroscopy, where a small fraction of the light that falls on the material to be characterized is scattered inelastically with a frequency different from the impacted light. This frequency variation, which happens regardless of the frequency of the light emitted, allows to obtain information about the intrinsic characteristics of the molecule of the analyzed material. However, as the fraction of light scattered inelastically is very small, there is great difficulty in detecting this light.

[0009] Thus, the need for a technical solution that allows the efficient detection of photoluminescent particles (for example, oil) remains in the art even when there is a significant distance between the detector and the particle.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION [0010] It is an objective of the present invention to provide equipment for sensing photoluminescent materials for the detection of

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3/13 photoluminescent materials in marine waters, which has a high sensitivity of detection while allowing the distance between sensor and photoluminescent particle to be increased.

[0011] Another objective of the present invention is to provide photoluminescent material sensing equipment for the detection of photoluminescent materials in marine waters, which allows the use of optical fibers to take the photoluminescence light to detectors located at a great distance from the region. in which photoluminescence is emitted.

[0012] It is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide photoluminescent material sensing equipment for the detection of photoluminescent materials in marine waters, which can be used for the detection of oil in marine or underwater installations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0013] The present invention achieves these and other objectives through photoluminescent material sensing equipment for the detection of photoluminescent materials in marine waters, comprising:

[0014] at least one light source configured to generate a beam of light that is transmitted to the outside of the equipment and focuses on a photoluminescent material;

[0015] at least one photodetector per photon count configured to receive a response light generated by illuminating the photoluminescent element with the light beam and transforming it into an electrical signal; [0016] at least one electronic signal processing system configured to process the electrical signal; and [0017] at least one signal transmission means configured to transmit the signals generated by the electronic signal processing system outside the equipment.

[0018] Preferably, the light source comprises a light emitting device and an electronic driver circuit electrically connected to the light emitting device.

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4/13 [0019] In a first embodiment of the present invention, the equipment comprises a mechanical encapsulation that houses the light source, the photodetector by photon counting and the electronic signal processing system. In this embodiment, the mechanical encapsulation also houses an optical system configured to transmit and receive light between the internal and external sides of the equipment, an optical filter connected to the photodetector; and an optical multiplexer / demultiplexer.

[0020] The optical multiplexer / demultiplexer has a first, a second and a third terminal; the first terminal being connected to the light source, the third terminal being connected to the optical filter, and the second terminal being connected to the optical system, so that light generated by the light source enters through the first terminal and exits through the second terminal, and that a response light signal enters through the second terminal and exits through the third terminal to the optical filter.

[0021] Preferably, the signal transmission medium is an umbilical cable connected to the mechanical encapsulation. The umbilical cable is also used as a power supply.

[0022] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the equipment comprises:

[0023] a first mechanical encapsulation that houses the light source and comprises a first optical light transmission system; and [0024] at least a second mechanical encapsulation that houses the electronic signal processing system, the photodetector by photon counting, an optical filter connected to the photodetector and an optical light receiving system; so that the light generated by the light source passes through the optical light transmission system to fall on the photoluminescent material; and the response light is received by the optical light receiving system and passes through the optical filter to the photodetector.

[0025] In this embodiment, the signal transmission medium is an umbilical cable connected to the first mechanical package and the second mechanical package. Preferably, the umbilical cable is also used as a power supply.

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5/13 [0026] In a third embodiment of the present invention, the sensing equipment comprises:

[0027] at least one peripheral module with a mechanical encapsulation that houses the light source, an optical system configured to transmit and receive light between the internal and external sides of the equipment, an optical filter, and an optical multiplexer / demultiplexer having a first, a second and a third terminal; the first terminal being connected to the light source, the third terminal being connected to the optical filter, and the second terminal being connected to the optical system, so that light generated by the light source enters through the first terminal and exits through the second terminal, and that a response light signal enters the second terminal and exits the third terminal to the optical filter; and [0028] a central module with a mechanical encapsulation that houses an optical signal multiplexer, the photodetector by photon counting, and the electronic signal processing system;

[0029] in which the signal transmission medium is an umbilical cable connected to the central module and the peripheral module, the umbilical cable having optical fibers that transmit the response light from the optical filter to the central module.

[0030] The response light can be, for example, a photoluminescence light, a Rama inelastic scattering light or an elastic scattering light.

[0031] Preferably, the photodetector by counting photos is selected from an array of photodetectors by counting photons, a photomultiplier, one or more avalanche photodiodes, an array of avalanche photodiodes, a superconducting bolometer or a superconducting nanowire detector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0032] The present invention will be described in more detail below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0033] Figure 1 - is a schematic representation of the sensing equipment according to a first embodiment of this

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6/13 invention;

[0034] Figure 2 - is a schematic representation of the sensing equipment according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and [0035] Figure 3 - is a schematic representation of the sensing equipment according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0036] The present invention will be described below based on examples of three preferred embodiments of the sensing equipment according to the present invention.

[0037] The sensing equipment 10 according to the present invention comprises at least one light source 20, at least one photodetector by photon counting 30, at least one electronic signal processing system 70 and at least one transmission medium of signals 80.

[0038] The light source 20 is used to generate a collimated beam of excitation 200 that is emitted to the external side of the equipment 10, where the photoluminescent element 300 is located. Preferably, the beam 200 is generated by an optical system 50. Thus, the light generated by the light source 20 propagates through a propagation medium 100 towards the optical system 50, which transforms it into the collimated beam of excitation 200. This beam 200 is emitted to the external side of the equipment 200 where it is located the photoluminescent element 300.

[0039] When illuminated by the excitation beam 200, the photoluminescent element 300 emits a response light 400. That response light can be, for example, photoluminescence light, Raman inelastic scattering light or elastic scattering light.

[0040] This light strikes back at equipment 10 and strikes the photodetector by photon counting 30. The equipment of the present invention can be any photodetector based on the principle of photon counting. Preferably, an avalanche silicon photodiode is used, but

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7/13 other devices such as photomultiplier tubes, superconducting bolometers and superconducting nanowire detectors could be used.

[0041] The photodetector by counting photos 30 turns the response light 400 into an electrical signal that is processed in the electronic signal processing system 70.

[0042] The electrical signals are transmitted out of the equipment 10, for example, by an umbilical cable 80. It should be emphasized, however, that the transmission of electrical signals to the outside of the equipment could be performed by any suitable means such as, for example, by other wired transmission means or wireless transmission means.

[0043] Preferably, umbilical cable 80 is also responsible for supplying power to all optoelectronic components of equipment 10. It should be emphasized, however, that equipment 10 could be supplied by any other suitable means, such as, for example, by a battery.

[0044] The components of equipment 10 can be housed in a mechanical encapsulation 90. Thus, when the equipment is installed in a hostile environment, the components are housed in encapsulation 90 and are powered by umbilical cable 80. The same umbilical cable 80 it is used for the transmission of electrical signals generated by the electronic signal processing system 70.

[0045] Figure 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the equipment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the equipment 10 comprises a mechanical encapsulation 90 where a light source 20, a photodetector for photon counting 30, an optical multiplexer / demultiplexer 40, an optical light transmission and reception system 50, an optical filter 60 and and an electronic signal processing system 70, a transmission medium for the light 100 and electrical connections 500. An umbilical cable 80 is connected to the encapsulation 90 for transmission of electrical signals and for supplying the equipment 10.

[0046] Preferably, the light source 20 is composed of a circuit

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8/13 electronic driver 21 and a light-emitting device 22. Both are interconnected by an electrical connection 500. In addition, another electrical connection 500 is established between the electronic circuit of driver 21 and the signal processing system 70.

[0047] The driver electronic circuit 21 is electrically powered by an electrical connection 500. Its purpose is to generate electrical signals at its output that indicate to the light emitting device 22 the temporal characteristics of the light to be emitted.

[0048] The light emitting device 22 is an optoelectronic component, such as a Laser, LED or lamp, which is capable of generating light in the spectral bands of interest (ultraviolet or visible) when electrically stimulated by the driver electronic circuit 21. The light emitting device 22 is capable of generating light in continuous or pulsed mode, depending on the electrical signal emitted by the driver electronic circuit 21. In addition, depending on the electrical signal received, the light emitting device 22 can emit light at different levels of optical power, different pulse emission rates and different pulse widths.

[0049] The propagation means 100, by which both light emitted by the light source 20 and light originating from the material can be propagated in the external medium 400, can correspond to propagation by vacuum, propagation by air or by means of an optical fiber cable .

[0050] The light emitted by the light source 20 is propagated by a propagation medium 100 until it reaches the terminal 41 of the optical multiplexer / demultiplexer 40.

[0051] The optical multiplexer / demultiplexer element 40 has three terminals 41, 42 and 43. Terminal 41 is connected to light source 20, terminal 43 to optical filter 60, and terminal 42 to optical system 50, all through of a propagation medium 100, which can correspond to a propagation by air or by means of a fiber optic cable. Its purpose is to allow a light signal generated by light source 20 that enters terminal 41 to exit terminal 42, and a fluorescence light signal that enters terminal 42 to exit terminal 43.

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9/13 [0052] There are several ways to implement the optical multiplexer / demultiplexer element 40. If the propagation means 100 consist of vacuum or air, a possible implementation would be a dichroic mirror, which reflects all light in the optical frequency range of the light source 20 and transmits all light in the optical frequency range of the light coming from the material 400 generated by the photoluminescent element 300. Alternatively, if the propagation means 100 consist of fiber optic cables, a wavelength multiplexer can be used (WDM) fiber, an optical circulator or any other optical multiplexing / demultiplexing devices.

[0053] The terminal 42 of the optical multiplexer / demultiplexer element 40 is optically connected via a propagation medium 100 with an optical transmission and reception system 50.

[0054] The optical transmission and reception system 50 is responsible for making the interface between the internal and external means to the mechanical encapsulation 90. This system allows the light generated by the light source 20 to be directed to the exterior of the mechanical encapsulation 90 in the form of an excitation beam 200, as well as allowing fluorescence or scattering Raman 400 light originating in a photoluminescent element 300 to be captured into the mechanical encapsulation 90.

[0055] Preferably, the optical transmission and reception system 50 is composed of optical elements such as lenses, couplers, mirrors and diaphragms. The arrangement of the internal components to the optical system 50 are responsible for parameters such as diameter and divergence of the excitation beam 200, as well as the acceptance angle (numerical aperture) in relation to the fluorescence or Raman 400 scattering light.

[0056] In the presence of an element 300 on which the excitation beam 200 falls, a response light will be generated, such as a photoluminescence and scattering light Raman 400 of different optical frequency at the optical frequency of the excitation beam 200. Part of that light 400 will fall on the optical transmission and reception system 50, which will cause this fraction of light response 400 to be transmitted to the interior

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10/13 of the photoluminescence sensor equipment 10.

[0057] The photoluminescence light and the inelastically scattered light 400 that falls on the optical transmission and reception system 50 is then directed to the terminal 42 of the optical multiplexer / demultiplexer 40 by means of a propagation means 100, to later leave the optical multiplexer / demultiplexer 40 through port 43 towards optical filter 60, after passing through a propagation medium 100.

[0058] The optical filter 60 is an optical device whatever is transparent to the spectral band of photoluminescent light and inelastically scattered 400 but which is, at the same time, opaque to all other frequencies to which the photodetector 30 is sensitive, especially to the band spectral occupied by the light emitted by the light source 20. That is, the optical spectrum of the light reaching the photodetector 30 is confined to the limits determined by the optical filter 60.

[0059] Possible implementations of the optical filter 60 include several configurations of "bandpass" or "lowpass" filters using suitable materials and / or thin film films, as well as FabryPérot cavities or diffraction grids.

[0060] The photoluminescence light and / or the Raman scattering light and filtered by the optical filter 60 is now directed to the photodetector 30 through a propagation medium 100. In turn, the photodetector 30 converts the detected light into an electrical signal , which is sent to the electronic signal processing system 70 via an electrical connection 500.

[0061] The electronic signal processing system 70 formats and extracts relevant information from the analog signals produced by the photodetector 30 and transforms them into digital signals, which are sent to umbilical cable 80 through an electrical connection 500.

[0062] Preferably, the signal processing system (70) consists of an electronic circuit capable of correlating electrical signals received by the electronic driver 21 and the photodetector 30 to extract information such as the propagation time of the excitation light 200 until the photoluminescent element 300, the distance between photodetector 30 and the

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11/13 photoluminescent element 300, the rate of decay of the photoluminescence light or Raman 400 scattering to estimate concentration and the type of element 300, or any other information that can be extracted from the photon count data and propagation times.

[0063] Umbilical cable 80 is responsible for transmitting electrical signals to the outside of mechanical encapsulation 90, especially in cases where the photoluminescence sensor equipment 10 is in an environment hostile to other forms of transmission of electrical signals, such as example, in an underwater environment. In addition, umbilical cable 80 is responsible for supplying all optoelectronic components inside the mechanical encapsulation 90.

[0064] The mechanical encapsulation 90 can have a cylindrical, cubic, parallelepiped shape or any geometric shape that includes the constituent elements of the sensor. The encapsulation 90 may consist of metal, polymers or any other material resistant to high pressures under which the sensor will be exposed on the seabed.

[0065] Figure 2 illustrates a second embodiment of the equipment of the present invention.

[0066] In this configuration, a sensor equipment 10 is composed of at least two mechanical encapsulations 90a, 90b disjoint, forming two distinct modules M1, M2. The first M1 module consists of a light source 20, an optical light transmission system 51, an umbilical cable 80, a mechanical encapsulation 90, a transmission medium for light 100 and electrical connections 500. The second module M2 has a photodetector by photon counting 30, an optical light receiving system 52, an optical filter 60, an electronic signal processing system 70, an umbilical cable 80, a mechanical encapsulation 90, a means of transmitting light 100 and electrical connections 500. The interaction between the sensor equipment 10 and the element 300 is identical to that described in the first embodiment.

[0067] In this embodiment, the optical light transmission and reception system 50 of the first implementation was replaced by two distinct optical systems, the optical transmission system 51 and the optical reception system

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52, both identical to the optical light transmission and reception system 50 described above. For this reason, the optical multiplexer / demultiplexer 40 of the first embodiment becomes unnecessary.

[0068] The advantage of this second embodiment is the possibility of spatially adjusting the light transmission and reception modules in different arrangements. This is especially advantageous if the region of the space to be measured is very well defined and if there is prior evidence that the light from material 400 is not emitted in an isotropic manner. [0069] Furthermore, this implementation in different modules allows an arrangement to be created where several photo detection modules (M2) can be connected, via umbilical cable 80, with the light emission module (M1).

[0070] Figure 3 illustrates a third embodiment of the equipment of the present invention.

[0071] In this embodiment, the sensor equipment 10 consists of two or a central module 600 and one or more peripheral modules 700. Each peripheral module 70 consists of a light source 20, an optical multiplexer / demultiplexer 40, a system optical transmission and reception light 50, an optical filter 60, an umbilical cable 80, a mechanical encapsulation 90, a transmission medium for the light 100 and electrical connections 500. The central module 600 has an optical signal multiplexer 610, a photodetector by photon counting 30, an electronic signal processing system 70, an umbilical cable 80, a mechanical encapsulation 90, a transmission medium for light 100 and electrical connections 500.

[0072] In this embodiment, the interaction between the photoluminescence sensor equipment 10 and the photoluminescent element 300 is identical to that described in the first embodiment.

[0073] This embodiment allows several peripheral modules 700 to be connected to a central module 600.

[0074] Thus, the 610 optical signal multiplexer of the central module can be implemented by an optical switch activated by effect

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13/13 electromechanical, electro-optical, acusto-optical or non-linear optics, so that a single photodetector or a set of photodetectors 30 can be connected to a set of optical fibers which, in turn, are connected to the umbilical cables of each one of the 700 peripheral modules.

[0075] The advantage of this embodiment is that it allows only one photodetector to be used to detect light signals from photoluminescence from different geographical points, which may or may not be distant from each other. For example, photoluminescence measurements at great depths in the ocean could be performed while the photodetector is on the surface.

[0076] Thus, the equipment according to the third embodiment of the present invention could be configured for application in fluorescence sensing in an underwater environment, such as, for example, for detecting the presence of oil on the seabed. In this application, the central module 600 would be located in a central position, which is not necessarily below sea level, while the one or more peripheral modules would be submerged in the locations where it is desired to measure the presence of oil. Thus, having described three examples of embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention covers other possible variations of the described inventive concept, being limited only by the content of the appended claims, including the possible equivalents therein.

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Claims (10)

1. Sensing equipment (10) for photoluminescent materials (300) for the detection of photoluminescent materials in marine waters, characterized by comprising: at least one light source (20) configured to generate a beam of light (200) which is transmitted to the outside of the equipment and focuses on a photoluminescent material (300); at least one photodetector per photon count (30) configured to receive a response light (400) generated by illuminating the photoluminescent element (300) with the light beam (200) and transforming it into an electrical signal: at least one electronic signal processing system (70) configured to process the electrical signal; and at least one signal transmission means (80) configured to transmit the signals generated by the electronic signal processing system (70) outside the equipment. 2. Sensing equipment (10) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the light source (20) comprises a light emitting device (21) and a driver electronic circuit (22) electrically connected to the device light emitting (21). 3. Sensing equipment (10), according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that it also comprises a mechanical encapsulation (90) that houses the light source (20), the photodetector by photon counting (30) and the electronic signal processing system (70); the mechanical encapsulation also housing an optical system (50) configured to transmit and receive light between the internal and external sides of the equipment (10). 4. Sensing equipment (10), according to claim 3, characterized by the fact that the mechanical package (90) also houses: an optical filter (60) connected to the photodetector (30); and an optical multiplexer / demultiplexer (40) having has a first (41), a second (42) and a third (43) terminals; the first terminal (41) Petition 870160047416, of 29/08/2016, p. 23/29 2/3 being connected to the light source (20), the third terminal (43) being connected to the optical filter (60), and the second terminal (42) being connected to the optical system (50), so that light generated by light source (20) enter through the first terminal (41) and exit through the second terminal (42), and that a response light signal (400) enter through the second terminal (42) exit through the third terminal (43) to the filter optical (60). 5. Sensing equipment (10), according to claim 4, characterized by the fact that the signal transmission means (80) is an umbilical cable (80) connected to the mechanical encapsulation (90), in which the umbilical cable ( 80) is also used as a power source. 6. Sensing equipment (10), according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that it also comprises: a first mechanical encapsulation (90a) which houses the light source (20) and comprises a first optical light transmission system (51); at least a second mechanical package (90b) that houses the electronic signal processing system (70), the photodetector by photon counting (30), an optical filter (60) connected to the photodetector (30) and an optical reception system light (52); so that light generated by the light source (20) passes through the optical light transmission system (51) to fall on the photoluminescent material (300); and the response light (400) is received by the optical light receiving system (52) and passes through the optical filter (60) to the photodetector (30). 7. Sensing equipment (10) according to claim 6, characterized by the fact that the signal transmission means (80) is an umbilical cable (80) connected to the first mechanical package (90a) and the second mechanical package ( 90b), where the umbilical cable (80) is also used as a power supply. 8. Sensing equipment (10), according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that it comprises: at least one peripheral module (700) with a mechanical encapsulation that houses the light source (20), an optical system (50) configured to transmit and receive light between the internal and external sides of the equipment (10), Petition 870160047416, of 29/08/2016, p. 24/29 3/3 an optical filter (60), and an optical multiplexer / demultiplexer (40) having a first (41), a second (42) and a third (43) terminals; the first terminal (41) being connected to the light source (20), the third terminal (43) being connected to the optical filter (60), and the second terminal (42) being connected to the optical system (50), so that light generated by the light source (20) enters through the first terminal (41) and exits through the second terminal (42), and that a response light signal (400) enters through the second terminal (42) exits through the third terminal (43) for the optical filter (60); and a central module (600) with a mechanical encapsulation that houses an optical signal multiplexer (610), the photon detector by photon counting (30) and the electronic signal processing system (70); wherein the signal transmission means (80) is an umbilical cable (80) connected to the central module (600) and the peripheral module (700), the umbilical cable (80) having optical fibers that transmit the response light (400 ) from the optical filter (60) to the central module (600). Sensing equipment (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by the fact that the response light (400) is any one selected from photoluminescence light, Raman inelastic scattering light or elastic scattering light . 10. Sensing equipment (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by the fact that it is a photodetector by counting photos (30) is one selected from an array of photodetectors by counting photons, a photomultiplier, a or more avalanche photodiodes, an array of avalanche photodiodes, a superconducting bolometer or a superconducting nanowire detector. Petition 870160047416, of 29/08/2016, p. 25/29 1/3