improved laser sensors employing doped laser crystals for transducing output proportional to forces impinging upon the sensors . the disclosed sensors are compact , low powered and may be constructed relatively inexpensively from readily available materials . the disclosed sensors eliminate the need for costly , optical power - sapping fiber connections at the laser crystals . according to certain embodiments , the disclosed sensors are configured for local recovery of output signals using conventional digital telemetry . according to other embodiments , the sensors generate output through a dense wavelength division multiplexing laser , thereby allowing remote recovery without the need for frequency division multiplexing and issues involved with preloading the sensors to produce beat frequencies in unique bands .