Passive mode locking at harmonics of the free spectral range of the intracavity filter in a fiber ring laser

We report the passive mode-locking at harmonics of the free spectral range (FSR) of the intracavity multi-channel filter in a fiber ring laser. The laser uses a sampled fiber Bragg grating (SFBG) with a free spectral range (FSR) of 0.8 nm, or 99 GHz at 1555 nm, and a length of highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber with low and flat dispersion. Stable picosecond soliton pulse trains with twofold to sevenfold enhancement in the repetition rate, relative to the FSR of the SFBG, have been achieved. The passive mode-locking mechanism that is at play in this laser relies on a dissipative four-wave mixing process and switching of repetition rate is realized simply by adjustment of the intracavity polarization controllers.     

High-speed polygon-scanner-based wavelength-swept laser source in the telescope-less configurations with application in optical coherence tomography

A compact high-speed tuning laser source is demonstrated in two different configurations using a polygonal mirror scanner without a telescope. It is shown that the filter configuration finesse increases by utilizing multiple reflections from the polygon facet(s) and grating illumination(s). Theoretically, the free spectral range (FSR), the instantaneous linewidth, and the finesse of each filter configuration are derived. For single grating illumination, the measured coherence length, FSR, and power were 2.8 mm, 184 nm, and 40 mW at the scanning frequency of 50 kHz, respectively. Coherence length, FSR, and power of the second laser configuration were 6.2 mm, 117 nm, and 35 mW, respectively. Finally, images of a human finger were acquired in vivo using two proposed swept-source configurations.     

Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Optical Source on Photonic Microwave Filter Performance

The filter frequency response and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) capacity of fiber Bragg grating resonator based photonic microwave filter are investigated experimentally by using two lasers with different linewidths as optical sources. The effects of optical source on the photonic microwave filter performance are analyzed. The results show that when the laser linewidth is less than the filter free spectral range (FSR), the filter response is fluctuating and the SNR capacity decreases about 10dB.     

Echelle diffraction grating demultiplexers with a single diffraction passband

Planar multiplexers based on echelle gratings are very popular devices for optical communication applications. However, the available channel number is restricted by the concept of free spectral range (FSR) due to their high operating diffraction order. Now, we can break the restriction of the FSR concept, and most of wavelengths in the operating passband of echelle grating multiplexers can be used based on a variable diffraction order design. We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of the echelle grating multiplexer with a single diffraction passband based on silica platform.     

新型波长解调技术在干涉型光纤传感器输出解调中的应用

提出了一种改进型边缘滤波波长解调技术,解决干涉型或谐振型光纤传感器输出的干涉谱波长的快速解调问题。该波长解调技术基于啁啾光栅和长周期光栅的光谱特点,以啁啾光栅作为矩形滤波器,提取传感器输出干涉谱的一个干涉峰;以长周期作为边缘滤波器,将干涉峰的波长信息转化为光强信息进行检测。该波长解调技术波长解调范围为传感器输出干涉谱的一个自由光谱范围(FSR),解调速度快,克服了当前波长解调技术中存在的测量范围与测量速度难以同时提高的问题,同时还具有系统成本低 ,体积小,能够灵活多路扩展的特点。详细介绍了解调系统的工作原理以及系统结构,并将其实际应用于一种干涉型光纤电流传感器输出干涉谱的波长解调中。通过实验证明电流传感器工作在工频及脉冲电流(脉冲宽度25 μs)情况下,该解调系统对传感器输出干涉谱具有准确、快速的解调效果。该研究对推进干涉或谐振型光纤传感器的实际工程化水平的提高具有重要意义。     

Method for measuring the phase error distribution of a wideband arrayed waveguide grating in the frequency domain

We describe a method for measuring the phase error distribution of an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) in the frequency domain when the free spectral range (FSR) of the AWG is so wide that it cannot be covered by one tunable laser source. Our method is to sweep the light frequency in the neighborhoods of two successive peaks in the AWG transmission spectrum by using two laser sources with different tuning ranges. The method was confirmed experimentally by applying it to a 160 GHz spaced AWG with a FSR of 11 THz. The variations in the derived phase error data were very small at +/-0.02 rad around the central arrayed waveguides.     

High channel-count comb filter based on multi-concatenated sampled chirped fiber Bragg gratings

A high channel-count comb filter based on multi-concatenated sampled chirped fiber Bragg gratings(MC-SCFBGs) is proposed and optimally designed by using several chirped gratings with different fundamental grating periods,instead of non-grating sections of SCFBGs.The numerical simulations of the reflection spectra show that the channel spacing and the channel bandwidth in MC-SCFBGs are smaller than those in multi-concatenated chirped fiber Bragg gratings(MC-CFBGs) and that the spectral bandwidth of MC-SCFBGs can be greatly broadened by increasing the cascade number of the grating sections in each sampling period.     

All-fiber add-drop filters based on microfiber knot resonators

We demonstrate an all-fiber add-drop filter composed of a microfiber knot (working as a resonator) and a fiber taper (working as a dropping fiber). The dropping taper can be either parallel or perpendicular to the input port of the filter. A quality factor (Q factor) of 13,000 is obtained from a parallel-coupling 308 microm diameter microknot add-drop filter with a free spectral range (FSR) of 1.8 nm. A Q factor of approximately 3300 is obtained from a cross-coupling 65 microm diameter microknot add-drop filter with a FSR of 8.1 nm. This device is particularly easy to fabricate and to connect to fiber systems.     

阵列波导光栅梳状带通滤波器的传输效率

在光波导模场分布高斯近似条件下,根据星形光波导耦合器的耦合特性,推导出了基于累加运算和卷积运算近似表达的阵列波导光栅梳状带通滤波器光谱响应效率的函数表达式。给出了阵列波导光栅梳状带通滤波器光谱响应效率曲线的半最大值全宽度和阵列波导光栅梳状带通滤波器的通道中心波长的光谱响应度与器件参数的关系。在输入信号光谱分布高斯近似条件下,给出了阵列波导光栅梳状带通滤波器信号通道传输效率的计算表达式和输入信号光谱宽度对阵列波导光栅梳状带通滤波器信号通道输出特性的影响。给出了物理意义明确的函数表达式,它们可为快速分析阵列波导光栅梳状带通滤波器的特性提供理论基础。     

Wavelength-spacing-tunable multichannel filter incorporating a sampled chirped fiber Bragg grating based on a symmetrical chirp-tuning technique without center wavelength shift

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple and flexible scheme for a wavelength-spacing-tunable multichannel filter exploiting a sampled chirped fiber Bragg grating based on a symmetrical modification of the chirp ratio. Symmetrical bending along a sampled chirped fiber Bragg grating attached to a flexible cantilever beam induces a variation of the chirp ratio and a reflection chirp bandwidth of the grating without a center wavelength shift. Accordingly, the wavelength spacing of a sampled chirped fiber Bragg grating is continuously controlled by the reflection chirp bandwidth variation of the grating corresponding to the bending direction, which allows for realization of an effective wavelength-spacing-tunable multichannel filter. Based on the proposed technique, we achieve the continuous tunability of the wavelength spacing in a range from 1.51 to 6.11 nm, depending on the bending direction of the cantilever beam.     

Fiber Grating Based Optical Recirculating Filter with an Optimized Response

A novel optical recirculating filter for RF applications is described, which exploits a specially designed fiber grating with a ramped spectral profile to enable optimization of the filter response. The design overcomes the limitations imposed by loss in conventional fiber recirculating filters. Additionally, a tunable free spectral range is demonstrated by using the device in a grating array. Both theoretical and experimental results are presented and discussed.     

Fiber Grating Based Optical Recirculating Filter with an Optimized Response

A novel optical recirculating filter for RF applications is described, which exploits a specially designed fiber grating with a ramped spectral profile to enable optimization of the filter response. The design overcomes the limitations imposed by loss in conventional fiber recirculating filters. Additionally, a tunable free spectral range is demonstrated by using the device in a grating array. Both theoretical and experimental results are presented and discussed.     

All-fiber polarization interference filters based on 45°-tilted fiber gratings

We report all-fiber polarization interference filters, known as Lyot and Lyot-?hman filters, based on alternative concatenation of UV-inscribed fiber gratings with structure tilted at 45° and polarization maintaining (PM) fiber cavities. Such filters generate comb-like transmission of linear polarization output. The free spectral range (FSR) of a single-stage (Lyot) filter is PM fiber cavity length dependent, as a 20 cm long cavity showed a 26.6 nm FSR while the 40 cm one exhibited a 14.8 nm FSR. Furthermore, we have theoretically and experimentally demonstrated all-fiber 2-stage and 3-stage Lyot-?hman filters, giving more freedom in tailoring the transmission characteristics.     

Fabrication of tapered fiber based ring resonator

Tapered fiber based ring resonators are fabricated and its optical characteristic is investigated in detail. The ring resonator is fabricated by coiling the tapered fiber, which is firstly made by heating and stretching a piece of optical fiber, after the polymer protective cladding has been removed The comb filter with a constant free spectral range (FSR) and the maximum extinction ratio of 4.2 dB is achieved by a single-mode fiber based ring resonator. The FSR of ring resonator can be adjusted by controlling the diameter of the ring. The extinction ratio is improved in the polarization maintaining fiber based ring resonator where the maximum extinction ratio of 14 dB is achieved at 1531 nm region.     

Increasing the free spectral range of silica waveguide rings for filter applications

Ring resonators are promising building blocks for developing compact optical filters with arbitrary functions; however, a major challenge for planar waveguide filter implementations is to overcome the limited free spectral range (FSR) for a given core-to-cladding refractive-index difference (D) while maintaining low loss and a large range of coupling ratios. The loss and coupling of rings operating in the whispering-gallery-mode regime were investigated by use of Ge-doped silica waveguides with a low refractive-index difference (D=0.75%) . A FSR of 12 GHz with a loss of 0.36 dB/cm was demonstrated with coupling ratios of 30% (41% optimum).     

Spectral Analysis of Transmission Echelon Grating Filters for Photonic Networks

This paper describes a method of analyzing spectral behavior that allows transmission echelon grating filters to be designed for use in constructing photonic networks. These networks include dense wavelength division multiplexing systems and other such applications. First, the configuration and principle of this filter are described. Then, the transmittance spectrum of the transmission echelon grating filter is considered for incident lights with rectangular, Gaussian, and sinc electric field distributions. Next, a more realistic spectral response is considered by taking reasonable fabrication errors into account. Finally, the group delay and the transmittance of linearly chirped echelon grating filters are analyzed to access their potential for use as a wavelength dispersion equalizer. These analytical results make it possible to design practical echelon grating filters.     

Surface corrugation Bragg gratings on optical fiber tapers created via plasma etch postprocessing

We describe a reflection-based fiber filter fabricated by plasma etching a surface corrugation Bragg grating on a tapered single-mode fiber. The taper waist with the grating forms the functional part of the filter, and the adiabatic taper transition removes unwanted higher-order modes. The spectral response is controlled by varying the taper diameter while maintaining a constant grating period. Reflection spectra have been investigated theoretically and experimentally and found to be in good agreement.     

掠入射平场光栅谱仪消级次重叠技术的实验研究

利用掠入射反射短波截止原理,成功地实现了平场光栅谱仪的无级次重叠摄谱.实验结果表明,利用该方法来消除平场光栅谱仪中短波长的高级谱对所考察波段的一级谱的影响是简便而有效的.实验获得了镁激光等离子体在4.4～5.6nm,5.9～11.8nm,7.0～14.0nm三个不同波段的近似的纯一级谱.     

Transverse grating-assisted narrow-bandwidth acousto-optic tunable filter

An experimental acousto-optic tunable filter that has a narrow spectral bandwidth (0.2 nm at 1550 nm) and a fast (10-micros) tuning capability with a continuous tuning range of approximately 50 nm is described. The tunable filter consists of an acousto-optic beam deflector with a diffraction grating whose grating vector is transverse to the direction of light propagation.