A cheap and practical FBG temperature sensor utilizing a long-period grating in a photonic crystal fiber

A whole temperature sensor in one package utilizing a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) made in a conventional single-mode fiber and which uses a long-period grating (LPG) made in a photonic crystal fiber is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The function of the interrogation is that the wavelength change of the FBG with environmental temperature is transferred to the intensity of the output via the LPG. Utilizing the temperature-insensitivity of the LPG in the PCF, the interrogation is stable and enables a cheap and practical temperature measurement system with a wide dynamic range.     

Dynamic characteristics of nonlinear Bragg gratings in photonic crystal fibres

We study numerically the temporal and spatial dynamics of light in Bragg gratings in highly nonlinear photonic crystal fibre for a CW input signal. Our numerical model is based on the plane wave mode solver and a set of nonlinear coupled-mode equations which we solve using a variation of implicit fourth order Runge-Kutta method. We observe not only bistability of the intensity versus transmitted and reflected light but also complex dynamics. We demonstrate that for values of input intensity above the bistable region the steady state may undergo a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. For some ranges of the input intensity we also observe a coexistence of two periodic attractors. The dynamics found, in particular the features in the bifurcation diagram, strongly depend on the parameters of the fibre. Consequently, we suggest that by proper design of the photonic crystal in the cladding we can adjust such nonlinear features of the Bragg gratings as the width of the bistable region, the intensity at which the bifurcation occurs and also the characteristics of the dynamics at high values of input intensity.     

Sensing properties of fiber Bragg gratings in small-core Ge-doped photonic crystal fibers

We report about fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) inscribed in two different types of small-core Ge-doped photonic crystal fibers with a UV laser. Sensing properties of the FBGs were systematically investigated by means of demonstrating the responses of Bragg wavelengths to temperature, strain, bending, and transverse-loading. The Bragg wavelength of the FBGs shifts toward longer wavelengths with increasing temperature, tensile strain, and transverse-loading. Moreover, the bending and transverse-loading properties of the FBGs are sensitive to the fiber orientations. The reasonable analyses for these sensing properties also are presented.     

Polarization maintaining index-guided photonic crystal fiber sensor for slowly varying pressure measurement

The paper presents an experimental investigation of slowly varying pressure measurement using the polarization maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PCF) sensor. Versatility of the sensor has been proved by analyzing its response for various types of time varying pressure profiles viz. exponentially decaying, sinusoidally varying and linearly increasing pressure. Temporal behavior of the sensor has been fully characterised. Dependence on temperature has been explored and it is found that the sensor is an attractive choice for applications in harsh environments.     

A review of photonic crystal fiber sensor applications for different physical quantities

Since the early conceptual and practical demonstrations in the late 1990s, photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have attracted considerable interest by virtue of their promise to deliver a unique range of optical properties that are simply not possible in standard fiber types. Hollow-core photonic band gap fiber has the potential to overcome some of the fundamental limitations of solid fiber as they also provide a unique medium for a range of light. PCF also be used as a unique optical material to make sensors due to the air-holes that can be filled with different materials (liquid, gas or even solid) to alter the difference of refractive index (RI) in the two modes, has been used in various sensing search fields. The application of PCF on physical quantities is discussed, and the recent results on temperature, magnetic, strain and vibration are reviewed. These developments demonstrate that the enlarged complexity and decreased accuracy of sensors offered by PCF make it useful in a wide range of engineering monitoring applications.     

Intensity curvature sensor based on photonic crystal fiber with three coupled cores

An intensity curvature sensor using a Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) with three coupled cores is proposed. The three cores were aligned and there was an air hole between each two consecutive cores. The fiber had a low air filling fraction, which means that the cores remain coupled in the wavelength region studied. Due to this coupling, interference is obtained in the fiber output even if just a single core is illuminated. A configuration using reflection interrogation, which used a section fiber with 0.13 m as the sensing head, was characterized for curvature sensing. When the fiber is bended along the plane of the cores, one of the lateral cores will be stretched and the other compressed. This changes the coupling coefficient between the three cores, changing the output optical power intensity. The sensitivity of the sensing head was strongly dependent on the direction of bending, having its maximum when the bending direction was along the plane of the cores. A maximum curvature sensitivity of 2.0 dB/m⁻¹ was demonstrated between 0 m and 2.8 m.     

Curvature measurement by using low-birefringence photonic crystal fiber based Sagnac loop

An optical fiber curvature sensor with low-birefringence photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based Sagnac loop is demonstrated experimentally. The low-birefringence PCF of about 40 cm long is inserted into Sagnac loop, and a section of it about 155 mm is used as the sensing element. The Sagnac output spectra under different curvatures are measured and analyzed. The results show that the wavelength shift of the transmission dip has a linear relationship with the curvature. The sensitivity of the curvature measurement of − 0.337 nm is achieved in the range of 0-9.92 m^− 1. And the temperature effect of the proposed sensor is also analyzed.     

Numerical analysis of a temperature sensor based on the photonic band gap effect in a photonic crystal fiber

In this paper we investigate, by the plane wave expansion method and an analytical model, the temperature effect on the photonic band gap fiber, and we report on a numerical demonstration of a temperature sensor based on the photonic band gap (PBG) shift in a solid core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) infiltrated with a high refractive index oil. The bandwidth and the position of the central wavelength of the band gap are the parameters of interests for our temperature sensing purpose. Simulation results were found to be in excellent agreement with the refractive index scaling law and the highest sensitivity of 3.21?nm/°C was achieved, and it will be even higher than the grating based sensors written in PCFs with similar structure.     

Four-wave mixing self-stability based on photonic crystal fiber and its applications on erbium-doped fiber lasers

The analytic solutions of coupled-mode equations of four-wave mixings (FWMs) are achieved by means of the undepleted approximation and the perturbation method. The self-stability mechanism of the FWM processes is theoretically proved and is applicable to design a new kind of triple-wavelength erbium-doped fiber lasers. The proposed fiber lasers with excellent stability and uniformity are demonstrated by using a flat-near-zero-dispersion high-nonlinear photonic-crystal-fiber. The significant excellence is analyzed in theory and is proved in experiment. Our fiber lasers can stably lase three waves with the power ripple of less than 0.4 dB.     

Calculation of group velocity dispersion of hybrid modes in Bragg fibers using a modified linear combination method

A calculation method is presented for the group velocity dispersion of hybrid modes in Bragg fibers. The method is obtained by extending a linear combination approximation of TE and TM modes in an asymptotic expansion method, and its equation can be solved using the Ferrari method. Numerical results were compared by those of a multilayer division method having higher accuracy than the present method. It was confirmed that both linear combination approximation and modified linear combination method can be precisely used above a cladding index difference of ≈1.0 for HE and EH modes.     

Simultaneous measurement of curvature and temperature based on PCF-based interferometer and fiber Bragg grating

A sensor head consisting of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for simultaneous measurement of curvature and temperature. The MZI fabricated by splicing a short length of PCF between two single-mode fibers with the air-hole structure that completely collapsed near the splicing points, is sensitive to fiber bending and surrounding temperature, while the FBG is only sensitive to the later. Simultaneous measurement of curvature and temperature is therefore obtained. Sensitivities of 4.06 nm/m^− 1 and 6.30 pm/°C are achieved experimentally for curvature and temperature, respectively. And the corresponding resolutions are 5.2 × 10^− 4 m^− 1 and 1.25 °C for curvature and temperature, respectively, based on the wavelength measurement resolution of 10 pm.     

Control of photonic band gaps in one-dimensional photonic crystals

The photonic band gaps in one-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) are theoretically investigated. A new method to broaden the photonic band gaps is introduced. Based on the similar method, a kind of photonic crystals is constructed to generate photonic band gaps with proportioned central frequencies. This technology can be used for designing nonlinear PCs for harmonic generation.     

Large range of omni-directional reflection in 1D photonic crystal heterostructures

A simple design of one-dimensional omni-directional reflector based on photonic crystal heterostructures structure has been proposed. The proposed structure consists of a periodic array of alternate layers of SiO₂ and Te as the materials of low and high refractive indices, respectively. The structure considered here has three stacks of periodic structures having five layers each. The lattice period of successive stack is increased by a certain multiple (say gradual constant, δ) of the lattice period of the just preceding stack. For numerical computation, the method of transfer matrix method (TMM) has been employed. It is found that such a structure has wider reflection bands in comparison to a conventional dielectric PC structure and the width of the omni-directional reflection (ODR) bands can be enlarged by increasing the value of the gradual constant δ.     

A photonic crystal biosensor with temperature dependency investigation of micro-cavity resonator

A two dimensional photonic crystal biosensor implemented by waveguides and microcavity is theoretically investigated. The designed structure has high quality factor about 15,000 and sensitivity approximately 141.67 nm/RIU, which are important parameters in biosensing applications. Also there is a linear dependency between resonant wavelength shift and refractive index changes. Since water is the main component of human organism, the temperature and wavelength dependence of proposed microcavity is investigated. The results show that the structure has good temperature stability. The temperature sensitivity is about −0.0142 nm/°C.     

Optical sensing characteristics of the photonic crystal fiber filled with magnetic fluid

A novel photonic crystal fiber sensing theory filled with magnetic fluid is proposed based on the change of the MF refractive index under varied magnetic field. The magnetically induced tuning of the magnetic fluid filled PCF propagation properties were investigated by the full-vector finite element method with a perfectly matched layer. Theoretical calculations show that both the effective refractive index and the effective mode area increase vs. the increased magnetic field, and the PCF filled MF with larger d/Λ is more sensitive to magnetic field. When the wavelength λ = 1550 nm, the duty ratio d/Λ = 0.9, d/Λ = 0.6, the effective refractive indexes increase respectively from 1.598279 to 1.617572, from 1.61948 to 1.632484, and the effective mode areas increase respectively from 3.561115 μm² to 7.052360 μm², from 6.167494 μm² to 37.221998 μm² as the magnetic field changes from 25 Oe to 175 Oe. This scheme provides theoretical foundation to use magnetic field to control light in photonic crystal fiber and also offers a potential method for magnetic field sensing based on the TIR-PCF.     

MODELLING of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with line defect for a laser gas sensor application

We present the results of a numerical analysis of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with line defect for a laser gas sensor working in a slow light regime. The geometrical parameters of photonic crystals with three different line defects were numerically analyzed: a missing row of holes, a row of holes with changed diameter and air channel. Antireflection sections were also analyzed. The simulations were carried out by MEEP and MPB programs, with the aim to get the values of a group refractive index, transmission and a light-gas overlap as high as possible. The effective refractive index method was used to reduce the simulation time and required computing power. We also described numerical simulation details such as required conditions to work in the slow light regime and the analyzed parameters values’ dependency of the simulation resolution that may influence the accuracy of the results.     

SOI nanophotonic waveguide structures fabricated with deep UV lithography

To reduce the dimensions of photonic integrated circuits, high-contrast wavelength-scale structures are needed. We developed a fabrication process for Silicon-on-insulator nanophotonics, based on standard CMOS processing techniques with deep UV lithography. Measurements using either end-fire incoupling or grating-based fibre couplers show photonic crystal waveguides with moderate propagation losses (7.5 dB/mm) and photonic wires with very low propagation losses (0.24 dB/mm).     

Complex interaction of polarized light with three-dimensional opal-based photonic crystals: Diffraction and transmission studies

Polarization characteristics of light interaction with the photonic crystal of a-SiO₂ synthetic opals were studied under the conditions of low dielectric contrast. We analyzed 3D diffraction patterns of monochromatic light and calculated optical transmission spectra of oriented samples. The diffraction patterns are found to change with the polarization of incident light, indicating a strong polarization dependence of photonic stop bands in synthetic opals. It is shown theoretically there exists a critical angle, θ_c, of the p-polarized light incident on the (h k l) crystal plane, at which the resonance contribution to Bragg diffraction vanishes.