Vibration-displacement measurements with a highly stabilised optical fiber Michelson interferometer system

A highly stabilised vibration-displacement measurement system, which employs fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) to interleave two fiber Michelson interferometers that share the common-interferometric-optical path, is presented. The phase change in the interferometric signals of the two fiber Michelson interferometers have been tracked, respectively, with two electronic feedback loops. One of the fiber interferometers is used to stabilise the system by the use of an electronic feedback loop to compensate the environmental disturbances. The second fiber interferometer is used to perform the measurement task and employs another electronic feedback loop to track the phase change in the interferometric signal. The measurement system is able to measure vibration-displacement and provide the sense of direction of the displacement. The frequency range of the measured vibration-displacement is from 0.1 to 200 Hz and the measurement resolution is 10 nm.     

A smart optical liquid level sensor based on Hg cladding optical waveguide

A smart optical liquid level sensor based on the theory of connected vessels is introduced. The Hg cladding optical waveguide (HCOW) is taken as its probe, and the change of liquid level is presented by the change of the HCOW length. Both the theoretical analysis and experiments show that when the waveguide diameter and the light wavelength are certain, the optical power loss decreased linearly with the increase of the HCOW length. By detecting the power loss of HCOW, optimizing the structure of probe and selecting the appropriate apparatus for detection, the real time detection of liquid level with high precision can be got. The experimental results show that the measurement accuracy is 5.2 mm within 10 m liquid level, and its theoretical precision can be up to 0.02%.     

光纤Fabry-Perot干涉仪在传感应用中的数学模型

本文应用光学和数学理论导出光纤Fabry-Perot干涉仪在两反射面反射率不同时的反射光与透射光的数学模型、低反射率Fabry-Perot干涉腔长度的变化与干涉光光强的数学模型及传感中的应用;为这种光纤干涉仪的准确使用提供基础.     

Optical characterization of quantum dots entrained in microstructured optical fibers

We present a study of the basic optical properties of colloidal CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots entrained in a microstructured optical fiber. Quantum dots suspended in heptane were pulled into the holes surrounding the solid core of a microstructured optical fiber of the holey fiber class via capillary action and are found to remain in the fiber. In this experiment, a laser coupled into the fiber photoexcited quantum dots along the length of the fiber. Quantum dot emission was observed to couple into the fiber core and propagate along the fiber. To investigate the use of such a system in fiber-based light generation or amplification, a second laser overlapping the low-energy portion of the quantum dot emission was simultaneously coupled into the fiber. We observed apparent amplification of this light when photoexciting the quantum dots well above their bandedge.     

Self-mixing interference in an all-fiberized configuration Er-Yb codoped distributed Bragg reflector laser for vibration measurement

Self-mixing sensing technique can be used for measuring distances, displacements, velocities and vibration. In this paper, for good sensitivity vibration measurement system, self-mixing vibrator using an all-fiberized configuration Er³⁺-Yb³⁺ Distributed Bragg Reflector (EYDBR) laser is proposed and investigated for the first time. Results obtained demonstrate that all-fiberized configuration EYDBR laser present a powerful tool for the advancement of self-mixing vibration sensor and provide a potential remote measurement of the vibration compared with the optical feedback in other traditional fiber lasers.     

Ytterbium-doped Y2O3 nanoparticle silica optical fibers for high power fiber lasers with suppressed photodarkening

We report efficient laser demonstration and spectroscopic characteristics of a Yb-doped Y₂O₃ (or Y₃Al₅O₁₂) nanoparticle silica fiber developed by conventional fiber fabrication technique. The spectroscopy study evidences modification in the environment of Yb ions by the Y₂O₃ nanoparticles. As a result, photodarkening induced loss is reduced by 20 times relative to Yb-doped aluminosilicate fibers. The fiber is suitable for power scaling with good laser slope efficiency of 79%.     

High stability interleaved fiber Michelson interferometer for on-line precision displacement measurements

A self-reference fiber Michelson interferometer measurement system, which employs fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) as in-fiber reflective mirrors and interleaves together two fiber Michelson interferometers that share the common-interferometric-optical path, is presented. One of the fiber interferometers is used to stabilise the system by the use of an electronic feedback loop to compensate the influences resulting from the environmental disturbances, while the other one is used to perform the measurement task. The influences resulting from the environmental disturbances have been eliminated by the compensating action of the electronic feedback loop, this makes the system suitable for on-line precision measurement. By means of the homodyne phase-tracking technique, the linearity of the measurement results of displacement measurements has been very high.     

Visible interferometric coupling of two telescopes through single mode optical fibers

The diameter of large conventional astronomical telescopes is currently restricted to the range of eight to ten meters. With this limitation in mind, there is an emerging interest in various applications of optical interferometry which would allow the synthesis of apertures larger than can be realized using current mirror fabrication technologies. Interferometry allows the substitution of the separation between telescopes to determine the limiting resolution rather than the diffraction limited resolving power of the individual telescope aperture(s). The implementation of this process, however, requires solutions to a number of difficult problems in the transport and recombination of optical wavefronts. The use of single mode (SM) optical fibers to transport and recombine optical wavefronts in interferometers offers a number of advantages as compared to other, more established techniques, yet suffers from an inefficient coupling of the wavefront energy into the very narrow fiber cores. We present preliminary results of an experiment in which interferometric recombination of wavefronts from two telescopes using SM fibers was used to obtain white light fringes on the bright star Arcturus ( Bootis). Our experience leads us to believe that for many imaging applications the continued development of fiber based interferometry will yield significant resolution gains over the diffraction limited performance associated with conventional monolithic aperture systems.     

Advance of optoelectronic devices for long wavelength optical fiber communication in china

The advance of optoelectronic devices for long wavelength optical fiber communication in China is reviewed. The main features of the long wavelength semiconductor lasers and photodetectors are presented.     

A liquid lens-based broadband variable fiber optical attenuator

To the best of our knowledge, proposed is the first variable fiber optical attenuator (VFOA) using an electronically controlled variable focus liquid lens. The approach uses the changes in the radius of curvature of the liquid lens edge to enable an electronically controlled optical wedge that produces a varying beam tilt angle. In effect, changing beam tilt within a single mode fiber (SMF) lens free space coupling assembly leads to a polarization independent broadband VFOA design. The demonstrated VFOA experiment shows broadband operation over the 1530-1560 nm C-Band with a 40 dB dynamic range, <0.5 dB resolution, 0.3 dB polarization dependant loss, 4.3 dB fiber-to-fiber optical loss, 3 dB optical bandwidth from 1510 nm to 1700 nm, and switching time of <100 ms. Applications for this VFOA include use in hand held test and measurement equipment.     

Neurosensory tissue morphology with intraoperative optical fiber probe in aqueous medium

In this work, the author has demonstrated cross-sectional imaging of a retina of an ex vivo fish sample using a common path frequency domain optical coherence tomography at 0.8 μm range. It has been introduced that an integrated surgical hypodermic needle fiber probe can stabilize the flexible glass optical fiber and provides a close proximity to the specimen for intraoperative image guiding. In addition, the light source characteristics were matched to the common path interferometer while operating in the aqueous medium (saline solution), in order to mimic the in vivo condition, in that it shows greater bandwidth and shorter center wavelength for larger input current or output power to sustain the appropriate level of coherence reference peak by the partial reflection at the glass fiber probe interface.     

Fiber Bragg Grating Writing by Interferometric or Phase-Mask Methods Using High-Power Excimer Lasers

This paper reports the development of high-power excimer lasers with enhanced spatial and temporal coherence. These excimer lasers are applicable to writing fiber Bragg gratings by interferometric or phase-mask techniques. An excimer laser with a novel unstable resonator is analyzed with respect to its suitability to the production of passive fiber-optic components and in terms of production flexibility, efficiency, and reliability. A survey of applicability of this tool to short-and long-period fiber Bragg gratings is presented.     

Influence of laser irradiation on the optical and structural properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres

Laser irradiation has been previously investigated for achieving uniform heating of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibres in the hot-drawing stage of the production process, so as to obtain better fibre mechanical properties. The optical properties and dye uptake of PET fibres also depend on the polymer chain orientation and crystallinity within the fibre structure. This paper reports an investigation of a concept whereby laser irradiation and interferometry could be used to modify and trace a small change in the optical properties of a PET monofilament fibre, but the corresponding change in the dye uptake would not be detected visually. A copper vapour laser (550-580 nm wavelengths) was used to expose consecutive 4 mm lengths along a running length of monofilament to 39.8 W cm⁻², at a pulse rate of 9.89 kHz in order to modify, in a controlled way, the polymer crystallinity and orientation. A 3D finite element simulation, based on uncoupled heat-transfer analysis, indicated that rapid heating and cooling could be obtained with the laser to give the small changes required. Irradiated and untreated samples were analysed by interferometry and a 0.16% change was detected in the birefringence profiles, corresponding to a small reduction in the degree of orientation and crystallinity of the irradiated samples. Density measurements and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) analysis confirmed the change in crystallinity. Tests conducted for dye adsorption and tensile strength showed a small increase in the former and only a very small decrease in the latter. It was concluded that these changes in property provide the opportunity for a laser-irradiated PET monofilament fibre to be used as a subtle tracer element in brand labels for textile garments as an anti-counterfeit measure.     

Control of modulation and soliton polarization instabilities in photonic crystal fibers with birefringence management

Photonic crystal fibers with composite linear birefringence, that is induced by both microstructure geometry and stress applying parts, permit the management of the wavelength dependence of both group and phase birefringence. In this work we investigate the novel nonlinear propagation phenomena that are enabled by birefringence management. Vector modulation instability is enhanced near the zero phase birefringence wavelength. Soliton polarization instability is controlled by Raman self-frequency shifting across the zero phase birefringence wavelength.     

Analytical study of disturbing diffraction orders in in-line computer generated holograms for aspheric testing

The effect of spurious diffraction orders due to an in-line diffractive compensator for the measurement of aspheric surfaces is analytically studied. The use of a filtering aperture to isolate the measurement diffraction order from the stray orders introduces additional spurious fields that must be analyzed for a correct evaluation of surface defects. In this work the influence of the additional diffraction orders is studied and an analytical expression for the disturbing field on the detector is obtained.     

光纤中的集成光学与离散光学

光纤集成光学和离散光学有望成为光子学集成的一个新分支。这种集成技术可以通过离散的方法方便地在一根光纤中控制和操纵光波,也为集成光学与离散光学的研究提供了一个灵活方便的平台,为微光子器件和系统集成提供了一种有效的方法和手段。文章简要总结了在光纤内实现光学器件集成和微光学系统集成的主要思想和关键技术,探讨了离散光学需要考虑的核心内容,为该方向的进一步发展提供了若干前期的研究基础。     

Infrared radiation detector interrogated by optical frequency-domain reflectometer

We experimentally demonstrated a fast infrared (IR) radiation sensor. It is capable of measuring IR radiation independently from the environmental temperature fluctuations. Experimental work shows that this IR detection prototype have strong conveniences (fast response and reliability in harsh environment) compared to previous detectors which makes it a very good option for early fire detection systems.     

亚波长直径光纤的光学传输特性及其应用

通过高温下的物理拉伸方法，可以直接将玻璃材料拉细成亚波长或纳米直径的光纤。所获得的光纤具有很好的直径均匀度和表面光滑度，可用于低损耗光传输，并可在可见和近红外光学传输中表现出强光场约束、倏逝波传输和大波导色散等特性，在光通信、传感和非线性光学等领域具有良好的应用前景。     

Attenuation measurement of optical fibers for sensor technology

Abstract

Generally the attenuation of optical fibers used for sensor technology is higher than that of fibers for telecommunications. This is difficult to measure by the optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR). This paper presents a simple method that employs an integrating sphere. The total and scattering attenuation coefficients can be calculated and discriminated by the measured power of the light scattered out of the optical fiber and collected by the integrating sphere.     

Optical fibers with low nonlinearity and low polarization-mode dispersion for terabit communications

Refractive-index nonlinearities have negligible effect on the performance of short-haul fiber-optic communication links utilizing electronic repeaters. However, in long links, nonlinearities can cause severe signal degradations. To mitigate nonlinear effects, a new generation of fibers, referred to as large effective-area fibers, have been introduced in recent years. This paper reviews the latest research and development work on these fibers conducted by several research groups around the world. Attention is focused on a class of large effective-area fibers that are based on a depressed-core multiple-cladding design. Another important issue in long-haul and high capacity fiber optic systems is the polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) which has been recognized as a serious limiting factor. In this paper, an improved fiber design is proposed which, in addition to providing large effective-area and low bending loss, eliminates PMD due to elliptical deformation in the single-mode wavelength region. Furthermore, this design is allowed to provide a small chromatic dispersion about few ps/nmkm, in order to overcome four-wave mixing effects.