Fiber laser switched by a long period grating interferometer as an intra-cavity loss modulator

In this paper we present an actively switched fiber laser with an all-fiber long-period grating-based interferometer used as an intra-cavity loss modulator. The modulator consists of two equal long-period gratings written sequentially in the same piece of a double-clad optical fiber. One of the gratings is fixed onto a piezoceramic cylinder producing fast modulation of the interferometer transmission spectrum. The laser demonstrates a stable regime of pulsed emission at repetition rates in the range of tens of kHz.     

Changing photo-written Bragg wavelengths of fiber gratings via one phase mask and four mirrors

A phase mask interferometer is developed to photo-write long gratings with arbitrary Bragg wavelengths. In this system, the fiber Bragg grating is photo-written by UV interference stripes of 193 nm reflected from two rotatable mirrors and two fixed mirrors, where the phase mask is not only used as a beam splitter, but also initialized the reference quantity of Bragg wavelength; the fixed mirrors are used for reducing the incident angle; the rotatable mirrors are used for adjusting the corresponding photo-written Bragg wavelength. It is worth noting that the photo-written length is fourfold as high as the length in the Talbot interferometer with the same mirror size.     

Talbot effect of a high-density grating under femtosecond laser illumination

The Talbot effect of a high-density grating under femtosecond laser illumination is analyzed with rigorous electromagnetic theory which is based on the Fourier decomposition and the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA). Numerical simulations show that the contrast of the Talbot images steadily decreases as the transmitted femtosecond laser pulses propagate forward and with wider spectrum width of the femtosecond laser pulses. The Talbot images of high-density gratings have much higher sensitivity of the spectrum widths of the incident laser pulses than those of the traditional low-density gratings. In experiments, the spectrums and the pulse widths of the incident pulses are measured with a frequency-resolved optical grating (FROG) apparatus. The Talbot images are detected by using a Talbot scanning near-field optical microscopy (Talbot-SNOM) technique, which are in coincidence with the numerical simulations. This effect should be useful for developing new femtosecond laser techniques and devices.     

Variable Wavelengths Fiber Bragg Gratings Written with A Phase Mask and Four Prisms

Using only one diffractive element, the Talbot interferometer provides a robust and inherently stable method for reproducing fiber Bragg gratings with variable wavelengths, and reduces the complexity of the fiber grating fabrication system. However, the usable length of the grating is limited by the practical length of the mirrors. This paper presents a phase mask with two fixed prisms and two rotational prisms to inscribe fiber Bragg gratings with variable Bragg wavelengths. In this system, the fiber Bragg grating is inscribed by UV interference stripes of 193 nm derived from two rotational prisms and two fixed prisms, where phase mask is used as a beam splitter of ±1 order diffraction light. It is noteworthy that the tunable phase mask interferometer decreases the demand of the length of prism evidently.     

Variable Wavelengths Fiber Bragg Gratings Written with A Phase Mask and Four Prisms

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Absolute metrology by phase and frequency modulation for multiwavelength interferometry

A fiber interferometer for absolute distance measurements is presented whereby wavelength variation is achieved via a sinusoidal strain modulation of a fiber Bragg grating to generate a series of beat wavelengths. The interferometer employs fiber laser sources where the design is based on the use of narrow-bandwidth fiber Bragg gratings. The accuracy of the beat wavelengths is improved compared to the use of multiple wavelengths measured with conventional optical spectrum analyzers or available wavemeters. Initial measurements are presented for beat wavelengths of 254.74 mm and 27.4 m over an optical path difference of 200 mm and 3.8 m, respectively. Combined with a two (or three) wavelength interferometer, this technique has the potential for ultrahigh dynamic range metrology ranging over several meters while preserving subfringe resolution and a low system complexity.     

All-optical square-pulse generation and multiplication at 1.5 mum by use of a novel class of fiber Bragg gratings

A new class of linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings, suitable for all-fiber optical multiplication and reshaping of picosecond pulse trains, is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Repetition-rate multiplication, based on the temporal Talbot effect, is achieved by accurate control of the grating chirp, and a suitable design of the index-modulation depth profile allows for simultaneous square-pulse shaping. A 50-ps squarelike optical pulse train at 10-GHz repetition rate is obtained, starting from a 2.5-GHz Gaussian pulse train emitted by a mode-locked Er-Yb laser.     

利用一块相位掩模和两块棱镜改变光纤光栅的写入Bragg波长

一种相位掩模干涉仪被用于写入不同的Bragg波长的。在该系统中,光纤光栅是由来自两可旋转棱镜所形成的紫外干涉条纹写入的,其中,相位掩模被用作&;#61617;1级衍射光的分束器。并且,当两块顶角由相位掩模的&;#61617;1级衍射角和棱镜折射率确定的棱镜的底部相互平行放置时,该相位掩模给出了Bragg波长的参考值。当Bragg波长的移位为1 nm时,棱镜最大的旋转角为1 degree,最小的旋转角是~2.4 minute。与Talbot干涉仪中平面镜的旋转角~23 second/nm相比,该相位干涉仪中棱镜的旋转精度降低了2~3个数量级。替代了许多具有不同光栅周期的相位掩模,该可调谐相位掩模干涉仪仅用一块相位掩模和两块旋转棱镜就实现了写入具有不同Bragg波长的光栅。     

改变写入Bragg波长的干涉条纹运动的扫描式Talbot干涉仪

一种干涉条纹运动的扫描式Talbot干涉仪被用于改变光纤Bragg光栅的写入Bragg波长。在系统中,光纤光栅是由来自相位掩模的±1级衍射光经平面镜反射后在远场形成紫外干涉条纹写入的,其中,相位掩模被用作±1级衍射光的分束器。值得注意的是通过干涉条纹的运动来扫描写入光纤光栅,有效降低了Talbot干涉仪对写入光源相干性的要求。     

Power-efficient Fourier domain optical coherence tomography setup for selection in the optical path difference sign using Talbot bands

A power-efficient Fourier domain optical coherence tomography fiber system is presented free of mirror terms. The object and reference beams from the interferometer are spatially separated to illuminate different parts of the diffraction grating in the spectrometer according to a method inspired from the use of Talbot bands. In this way, the system is made sensitive to only one sign of the optical path difference in the interferometer.     

Bragg grating recording in low-defect optical fibers using ultraviolet femtosecond radiation and a double-phase mask interferometer

The fabrication of Bragg reflectors in fluorine depressed cladding silicate glass and SMF-28 fibers by employing a double-phase mask interferometer and 248 nm, 500 fs laser radiation is demonstrated here. The maximum refractive index changes obtained were of the order of 6 x 10(-4) for pulse intensities of 220 GW/cm(2) and accumulated energy densities of 3.5 kJ/cm(2). The Bragg gratings fabricated in the F-doped fiber endured temperatures greater than 700 degrees C, while those inscribed in the standard telecom fiber demarcated at 900 degrees C. The experimental results presented depict that the combination of the two phase mask interferometer and the 248 nm photon at sub-TW/cm(2) intensities constitute an efficient route in the fabrication of Bragg gratings in low-defect silicate glass optical fibers.     

部分相干光栅衍射效应和干涉术

本文提出一种新的部分相干照明的光栅衍射干涉仪.先分析了光栅的介于Talbot和Lan效应之间的部分相干衍射效应.部分相干干涉图的特点是条纹由频率成倍的两种光栅状载波所表征.调整光源狭缝,系统在两相干性极端分别转成Talbot和Lau干涉仪.理论分析采用了模糊函数方法.最后给出了实验.     

Use of steel substrates in diffractive optics: Near field of high surface quality steel tape gratings

Steel tape is used in optical applications due to its mechanical properties. However, roughness of steel surfaces affects to wave propagation. The effect can be observed using diffraction gratings with low periods. In such a case, self-images of the grating appear at certain periodic distances from the grating (Talbot planes). When standard steel is used, the contrast of Talbot self-images strongly decreases with the distance from the grating. In this work, we prove that controlling the surface quality of steel, it is possible to improve its optical behavior and, as a consequence, high quality surface steel represents a good choice for diffractive optics when the use of chrome-on-glass masks is not indicated. As an example, we have manufactured a diffraction grating over a high quality steel surface by means of an ablation process with a nanosecond pulsed laser. The contrast of the self-images for these gratings decreases very slowly with the distance, in comparison with the self-images obtained with standard steel tape gratings.     

Switchable multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser based on cascaded polarization maintaining fiber Bragg gratings in a Sagnac loop interferometer

A switchable multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber (EDF) ring laser based on cascaded polarization maintaining fiber Bragg gratings (PMFBGs) in a Sagnac loop interferometer as the wavelength-selective filter at room temperature is proposed. Due to the polarization hole burning (PHB) enhanced by the PMFBGs, stable single-, dual-, three- and four-wavelength lasing operations can be obtained. The laser can be switched among the stable single-, dual-, three- and four-wavelength lasing operations by adjusting the polarization controllers (PCs). The optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) is over 50 dB.     

Collimation method using fourier imaging and moire techniques

Two techniques are proposed for beam collimation with the Talbot interferometer. One is called the mismatch method in which two gratings with slightly different periods are used. In the other method (called the grating shift method), one of two gratings of the same period is shifted in its plane in the direction perpendicular to the grating lines.     

Fiber interferometer for simultaneous multiwavelength phase measurement with a broadband femtosecond laser

We present a fiber interferometer for the simultaneous measurement of phase at multiple wavelengths from a single broadband femtosecond laser. Narrow-bandwidth fiber Bragg gratings isolate a particular frequency from the broad-bandwidth laser pulse produced. The multiwavelength phase data permit the unambiguous measurement range to be significantly increased compared with the wavelengths used in the interferometer. Preliminary experimental results are presented for a two-frequency sensor with an absolute range of 0.13 mm and associated dynamic range of 43,000:1.     

Ring fibre laser with interferometer based in long period grating for sensing applications

This work presents two distinct configurations based on phase-wavelength conversion using a ring fibre laser with two different long period gratings interferometer topologies. The sensors are interrogated by analysing the wavelength change of the emission laser, which is directly dependent on the interferometer phase change. The first configuration integrates a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which is based on a pair of long period gratings and is used as sensing head for bending radius and longitudinal strain measurement. The second configuration, comprehends a Michelson interferometer, which is based on a single LPG and a fibre end mirror and is used as a liquid level sensor or as an optical refractometer.     

Optical Texture Super-Lattices Produced by Talbot Effect at Superimposed Gratings

Fresnel diffraction on periodic gratings results in a two-dimensional periodic distribution of light intensity, also known as the Talbot effect. Here this approach is extended to the family of superimposed structures with translational symmetry, which consist of superposed spatial harmonics. The Talbot effect is demonstrated to be valid for superimposed gratings. The considered superimposed gratings provide a wide range of textures of optical super-lattices. These texture super-lattices represent a Talbot carpets with a complex motif, which can be varied by choosing structure parameters. These results provide a new functionality for structuring optical lattices and can find potential applications in a wide range of light–matter interactions.     

模糊函数和任何光学系统中的Talbot-Lau效应

本文用模糊函数处理了光栅的Talbot和Lau效应,并推广到任何光学系统中。得到了十分简洁的通用表达式,它能够直接描述干涉条纹的空间分布,并只与系统的传递矩阵有关。同时也讨论了Talbot和Lau效应中的相位关系。