Designing of Optical Fiber Sensing Probe

Evanescent wave configuration has been extensively used in the development of fiber-optic sensor for different biomedical applications. In the present investigation we have theoretically proposed the designing of single-mode and multimode optical fiber sensing probes, which can be prepared by removing a few centimeters of cladding near the distal end of the step index optical fiber. In this theoretical study, we found that the removal of cladding causes V-number mismatching and this has led to the loss of signal acquisition from the sensing region. Therefore, to minimize these losses we have proposed to reduce the radius by step etch and tapering technique. It was found that step etching and tapering enhances the strength and penetration depth of the evanescent wave significantly.     

Enhancement of Optical Fiber Coupling Based on Collimated and Focused Laser Diode Beam with Micro Aspherical Plano-Convex Lens Fabricated by Excimer Laser

In this article, we have proposed and demonstrated experimentally the double plano-convex micro-aspherical lens scheme to amplify an edge-emitting laser diode (LD) to optical fiber coupler. Both microlenses have two different profiles along their x- and the y-axes direction. The optical simulation software Zemax is used to design and optimize the proposed microlens profile and then fabricate by an excimer laser micromachining system. Focal spot size of LD around 9 µm is achieved experimentally. Light coupling efficiency between LD and optical fiber, using this double plano-convex microlens, is 27.57% and 44.23% for single-mode and multi-mode fiber, respectively.     

An Efficient Dispersion Calculation Method for Axially Symmetric Optical Fibers

An efficient numerical modal calculation method for an axially symmetric optical fiber is presented using a numerical Galerkin's method. By decomposing the transverse electric field of a guided wave with Bessel functions of the first kind in cylindrical polar coordinates, we have shown that dispersion characteristics of an optical fiber can be obtained very easily. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of this suggested method, numerical examples are given for a step index fiber, a W-shape depressed inner cladding fiber, and a dispersion-flattened fiber.     

单轴晶体包层光纤Bragg光栅反射谱特性模拟研究

本文推导了包层为单轴各向异性晶体的光纤理想正规模特征方程, 应用中值定理, 结合Matlab的数值求解, 提出了这一超越方程的一种求解算法, 并在此基础上, 对包层为单轴各向异性材料的光纤Bragg光栅的反射谱与包层折射率关系进行了模拟分析. 模拟结果表明, k_cl 对反射谱有很大的影响, 不同的k_cl 可以导致不同的光栅反射率和Bragg波长.     

A multipoint quasi-distributed optical fiber pH sensor

This paper reports the development and characterisation of a multipoint quasi-distributed optical fiber sensor for pH measurement. The system is based on a 170 m length of 200 μm core diameter plastic cladding silica fiber where sections of cladding have been removed and replaced with dye immobilised sol-gel glass to form sensing points. Evanescent wave excitation of a dye, immobilised within 2 mm long sections of cladding, enables the pH value of any spillage material to be determined by optical time domain reflectometry along the length of the fiber. The results suggest a spatial resolution of better than 2.5 meters for this fiber system and indicate that this arrangement could form the basis of a practical sensor/actuator system for chemical spillage, provided that suitable dye/analyte combinations are available.     

Smart City Surveillance Through Low-Cost Fiber Sensors in Metropolitan Optical Networks

Abstract

A continuously growing number of municipalities has optical fiber networks supporting communications at their disposal. These fiber installations can also be utilized to convey low data optical signals from a large number of deployed sensing elements, usually positioned in critical infrastructure locations, providing a variety of useful information. Such information can be used in the context of a “smart city” to provide citizens with higher-level services or even to proactively ensure public security and safety. This work demonstrates a fiber sensing network based on low-cost fiber Bragg grating sensors that are able to appropriately oversee diverse monitoring parameters.     

Investigation of cladding and coating stripping methods for specialty optical fibers

Fiber optic sensing technology is used extensively in several engineering fields, including smart structures, health and usage monitoring, non-destructive testing, minimum invasive sensing, safety monitoring, and other advanced measurement fields. A general optical fiber consists of a core, cladding, and coating layers. Many sensing principles require that the cladding or coating layer should be removed or modified. In addition, since different sensing systems are needed for different types of optical fibers, it is very important to find and sort out the suitable cladding or coating removal method for a particular fiber. This study focuses on finding the cladding and coating stripping methods for four recent specialty optical fibers, namely: hard polymer-clad fiber, graded-index plastic optical fiber, copper/carbon-coated optical fiber, and aluminum-coated optical fiber. Several methods, including novel laser stripping and conventional chemical and mechanical stripping, were tried to determine the most suitable and efficient technique. Microscopic investigation of the fiber surfaces was used to visually evaluate the mechanical reliability. Optical time domain reflectometric signals of the successful removal cases were investigated to further examine the optical reliability. Based on our results, we describe and summarize the successful and unsuccessful methods.     

Microbend fiber optic detection of continuously varying refractive index of chlorinated water

In this paper we report a simple microbend fiber optic sensor using a plastic fiber, LED and photodetector assembly for sensing minute variation of refractive index of chlorinated water. Chlorinated water has slightly higher refractive index and gradual release of chlorine from bleaching powder treated water causes a temporal decrease in refractive index of the solution. The evaporation of chlorine from water and the change in refractive index is found to follow a first order exponential decay function of time. Introducing microbends in an optical fiber is easier and less complex than etching of fiber cladding for traditional optical fiber sensors.     

Theoretical analysis of novel fiber grating pair

A novel fiber grating pair that consists of a conventional long-period fiber grating and a fiber Bragg cladding grating (FBCG) is proposed. The FBCG is a new type of fiber grating in which refractive index modulation is formed in the cladding. Through the coupled-mode theory, we accurately calculate the coupling coefficients between modes supported in the fibers. And some other mode coupling features in the fiber cladding gratings are analyzed in detail. The calculation of the modes involved in this paper is based on a model of three-layer step-index fiber geometry. Then, we have investigated the sensitivity characteristics for variation of the modulation strengths of the fiber Bragg cladding gratings’ resonance peaks and the long-period cladding gratings’ (LPCGs) dual resonant peaks. Finally, the modulation strength sensitivity of the grating pair’s three resonant peaks is demonstrated, and the results indicate that these grating pairs may find potential applications in optical fiber sensing.     

Particle size effect on porous Sol–Gel doped cladding U-shaped optical fiber critical micelle concentration (CMC) sensor

In this paper, a sol–gel derived coating U-shaped optical fiber sensors for measurement of critical micelle concentration of surfactants has been studied. The doped sol–gel cladding fiber was used to construct an active cladding U-shaped optical fiber CMC measurement sensor. The porous sol–gel film was deposited a 1000 m core plastic clad silica fiber after removing the cladding of the fiber at the middle portion nearly 6 cm and bending in U-shaped design. CMC detection is based on an adsorption effect in sample solution of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate. Three different types of particles size of sol–gel porous cladding were tested in our lab. Test results show that the sensitivity of the small particle size porous sol–gel cladding U-shaped optical fiber in sensing region is higher than that of large particle size sol–gel cladding based U-shaped. PACS 42.81.Bm; 42.81.Pa     

基于腐蚀光纤的温度及葡萄糖溶液浓度传感器

提出并制备了一种基于本征倏逝波原理的温度及葡萄糖溶液浓度传感器.通过研究腐蚀包层厚度与透射光谱之间的关系,确定较为合适的腐蚀厚度.将标准单模光纤包层腐蚀至2.4μm,利用光纤倏逝波对外界介质变化敏感的原理,通过测量输出光功率的变化量实现温度及葡萄糖溶液浓度传感.实验结果表明:传感器在1070℃的温度范围内具有9.58×10~(-3) dBm/℃的灵敏度,线性度达到99.36%;在葡萄糖溶液03%的浓度范围内具有0.126dBm/(g/L)的灵敏度,线性度达到97.95%.该传感器的响应时间小于30s,具有操作简便、测量准确度高、重复性好、适用范围广等优点,具备良好的应用价值.     

Theoretical Study of Electro-Optic Effect and Elasto-Optic Effect in Chirped Fiber Grating with Uniaxial Crystal Materials Cladding

A chirped fiber grating with cladding made of uniaxial crystal material whose optical axis is parallel to the axis of grating, i.e., z-axis is proposed. Electro-optic effect and elasto-optic effect in this kind of fiber gratings are theoretically analyzed for the first time. The influences of the electric field and the strain applied to the fiber grating cladding along z-axis on Bragg wavelength λ _B and the reflectivity spectra of this kind of chirped grating are theoretically examined using coupled-mode theory and transfer matrix method. The curves of Bragg wavelength λ _B as a function of an external electric field or the strain are theoretically obtained respectively for three kinds of uniaxial crystal materials as the grating claddings. The calculated results indicate that when the axial electric field applied to the grating cladding varies from 1 × 10⁷ to 8 × 10⁷ V/m, λ _B has the decreases of 0.12 nm, and when the applied strain varies from 0 to 0.04, λ _B has the decreases of 0.45 nm.     

Highly Birefringent Microstructure Fiber with Zero Dispersion Wavelength at 0.64 Micrometer

Abstract

In this article, we have designed a microstructure fiber, which consists of elliptical air holes at the core region. We have investigated its optical properties using finite difference time domain method. The fundamental mode of the proposed microstructure fiber can induce very high birefringence. It has been realized that the value of birefringence is mainly decided by the shape of the air holes present in the first and second rings. The zero dispersion wavelengths of both fast and slow axes have been shifted to 0.64 micrometer. The proposed birefringent microstructure fiber may be useful in optical communication and sensors.     

Optical fiber modulator derivates from hollow optical fiber with suspended core

A fiber optic integrated modulation-depth-tunable modulator based on a type of hollow optical fiber with suspended core is proposed and investigated. We synthesized magnetic fluid containing superparamagnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles and encapsulated it in the hollow optical fiber as the cladding layer of the suspended core by fusing the hollow optical fiber with the multimode optical fibers. The light with a wavelength of 632.8 nm is coupled in and out of the modulating element by a tapering technique. Experimental results show that the light attenuation in the system can be greatly influenced by only 2.0×10(-2) μL of the magnetic fluid under different magnetic field strengths. The saturated modulation depth is 43% when the magnetic field strength is 489 Oe. The response time of the system is <120 ms. Significantly, this work presents information for the development of all-fiber modulators, including other integrated electro-optic devices, such as optical switch, optical fiber filter, and magnetic sensors utilizing the special structure of this hollow optical fiber with suspended core and superparamagnetic magnetic fluid.     

Simultaneous Measurement of Temperature and Refractive Index of Liquid Using Cladding-Etched Double-Core Fiber Bragg Grating

Abstract

This study proposed and demonstrated a fiber Bragg grating sensor for simultaneous detection of the temperature and refractive index of a liquid. The fiber Bragg grating is composed of three index layers: an inner core, an outer core, and a cladding. The cladding was etched for evanescent wave coupling between the outer core mode and an external liquid. The Bragg wavelength of the inner core mode is used for obtaining temperature data, while the refractive index for the liquid was determined by using the difference between the Bragg wavelength of the inner core mode and that of outer core mode.     

空芯带隙型光子晶体光纤整体空气孔包层导光特性研究

 传统光纤包层中仅存在泄漏的倏逝波,能量较小,不利于包层传感的应用。增大包层中的能量,实现整体包层导光是提高光纤传感灵敏度的有效途径。从理论上分析了利用空芯带隙型光子晶体光纤(HC-PCF)包层进行导光的机理。在实验上选用带隙外的冷光源和激光对一种典型结构的HC-PCF进行了空气孔包层的导光实验,并利用折射率引导型光子晶体光纤和单模光纤进行对比实验。结果表明,带隙范围外光波在HC-PCF中传输时将不受禁带效应的约束泄露至包层中重新分布。包层中SiO2与空气孔的周期型结构将光波约束在高折射率介质中,实现HC-PCF整体空气孔包层中光波的稳定传输。PBG-PCF包层的整体导光在传感上有提高灵敏度的潜在价值。     

Optical properties of modified Bragg fiber-optic waveguides

A modified form of optical fibers with varying cross section is proposed. A Bragg optical fiber with an additional conic layer between the core and periodic cladding is considered. Oscillating scattering of light through the side surface of such a fiber is predicted. It is shown that the optical properties of spicules of marine glass sponges Hyalonema sieboldi can be explained by the conic shape of the near-axis layer.     

CdSe/ZnS量子点在倏逝波光纤pH传感中的应用

将新型量子点荧光传感技术与光纤倏逝波传感技术相结合,发展了一种基于量子点荧光效应并结合倏逝波传导进行溶液酸碱度检测的新型传感技术,具有灵敏度高、检测速度快、便于微环境检测、可实现远程探测、实时监测和原位分析等特点。详细介绍了用于倏逝波传感的锥柱组合型光纤荧光探头的制备方法,量子点在光纤探头表面的修饰流程,光谱与强度两种光纤pH传感平台的建立,并分别从响应范围、线性度、重复性和稳定性等方面对CdSe/ZnS量子点应用于光纤pH传感进行了评价。结果表明,在pH值为2~12的范围内,CdSe/ZnS量子点的荧光光谱信号的峰位在强酸和强碱的情况下都会产生红移,且红移量随pH值的变化呈线性关系,其量子点荧光强度信号随pH值的减小呈线性降低关系,通过在强酸和强碱下交替测试的实验表明其具有较好的重复性,利用荧光强度传感平台进行实时监测的实验表明其具有较好的稳定性。因此,将CdSe/ZnS量子点用于倏逝波光纤pH传感具有可行性,在生物化学、环境监测、医学临床、食品安全等领域的pH值测量方面有着广泛的应用前景。     

真空条件下激光诱导光纤损伤特性研究

实验研究并分析了调Q Nd:YAG 脉冲激光诱导光纤损伤特性.设计了在真空条件下全石英光纤传输1064 nm 脉冲激光实验.通过将激光注入光纤端面气压降低到10—100 Pa, 光纤端面击穿阈值提高到大气环境下的185 倍.结合光纤端面损伤形貌分析可知,光纤端面损伤主要是由于激光驻波场和烧蚀共同作用的结果,光纤端面或内部大量的缺陷降低了光纤抗激光损伤的能力.在真空条件下由于光纤端面光学击穿阈值的提高,激光诱导光纤损伤特性又表现出了另外一种损伤模式——光纤初始输入段损伤.它发生在光纤输入段附 关键词： 激光损伤 光束传输 真空 石英光纤     

Modeling and simulation of polarization errors in Sagnac fiber optic current sensor

Sagnac fiber optic current sensor (S-FOCS) is a kind of optical interferometer based on Sagnac structure, optical polarization states of sensing light wave in Sagnac fiber optic current sensor are limited. However, several factors induce optical polarization error, and non-ideal polarized light waves cause the interference signal crosstalk in sensor, including polarizer, quarter-wave retarder, splice angular, birefringence and so on. With these errors, linearly polarized light wave in PM fiber and circularly polarized light wave in sensing fiber become elliptically polarized light wave, then, nonreciprocal phase shift induced by magnetic field of the current is interrupted by wrong polarization state. To clarify characteristics of optical polarization error in fiber optic current sensor, we analyze the evolution process of random optical polarization state, linear optical polarization state and circular optical polarization state in Sagnac fiber optic current sensor by using Poincare sphere, then, build optical polarization error models by using Jones matrix. Based on models of polarization state in Sagnac fiber optic current sensor, we investigate the influence of several main error factors on optical polarization error characteristics theoretically, including extinction ratio in polarizer, phase delay in quarter-wave retarder, splice angular between quarter-wave retarder and polarization maintaining fiber. Finally, we simulate and quantify nonreciprocal phase shift to be detected in fiber optic current sensor related with optical polarization errors. In the end, we demonstrate S-FOCS in test. The results show that transfer matrix errors are induced by inaccurate polarization properties during polarization state conversion, then, the stability and accuracy of the S-FOCS are affected, and it is important to control the polarization properties at each step of the polarization state conversion precisely.