Ring resonator in a Sagnac interferometer as a birefringence magnifier

A novel birefringence magnification technique that uses a ring resonator in a Sagnac interferometer is proposed and demonstrated. An enhancement factor of 38 was obtained experimentally. The scheme can be used to increase measurement sensitivity to small birefringence and polarization mode dispersion and to decrease the threshold for nonlinear switching and laser mode locking by a Sagnac interferometer.     

Laser frequency stabilization based on Sagnac interferometric spectroscopy

A simple method based on Sagnac interferometric spectroscopy (SIS) is applied for frequency stabilization of diode lasers. Sagnac interferometric spectra of rubidium vapor are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The interference signal at the output of the Sagnac interferometer displays a sharp dispersion feature near the atomic resonance. This dispersion curve is used as the feedback error signal to stabilize the laser frequency. Linewidth of a diode laser is stabilized down to 1 MHz by this modulation-free method.     

Non-contact detection of laser-generated surface acoustic waves using fiber optic Sagnac interferometer

A high powered Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was used to excite the surface waves, and an optical fiber sensor was used to detect the out-of-plane displacements due to the propagating waves. This sensor is based on the fiber optic Sagnac interferometer, which has the path-matched configuration and does not require active stabilization. Quadrature phase bias between two interfering laser beams in the Sagnac loop is applied by controlling the birefringence in an optical path using a fiber polarization controller. A stable quadrature phase bias can be confirmed by observing the interferometer output according to the change of phase bias. Additional signal processing is not needed for the detection of ultrasonic waves using the Sagnac interferometer. The performance of the fiber optic Sagnac interferometer was investigated, and laser-generated surface wave signals were detected using this fiber optic sensor. The developed fiber optic sensor configured in this study is very simple and is effective for non-contact detection of ultrasonic waves.     

Sagnac棱镜角公差与干涉光谱仪光谱分辨率的关系分析

根据干涉成像光谱仪光谱分辨率对角向差的要求,通过对实体Sagnac干涉仪结构和光路进行分析,从三个相互垂直的方向出发,研究了光谱分辨率和棱镜角公差之间存在的关系;并推导了满足光谱仪光谱分辨率要求的实体Sagnac干涉棱镜的角公差公式;用实例说明了关系式的应用方法,如果不考虑棱镜变形引起的色散及棱镜的面型误差和付氏镜的残余像差的影响,而只考虑棱镜的角误差对光谱分辨率的影响,则通常情况下干涉棱镜的角公差要求较严,约20″以内.     

Polarization insensitive linear intensity modulation in a Sagnac fiber-optic loop with an electro-optic cell and optoelectronic feedback

We present a modulation scheme consisting of a fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer, which has an electro-optic modulator (Pockels cell) in the loop of the interferometer. In order to diminish the nonlinearity of the Sagnac interferometer transmittance function, we monitor a very small part of the output light intensity by means of a photodiode and then amplify this signal by a constant factor ξ. This amplified signal is added to the electrical modulating signal that is being applied to the electro-optical modulator. The consequence of introducing this feedback loop is that by properly choosing the amplifying factor ξ, we can increase the linearity of the modulation. The device is insensitive to the polarization state of the input light, so it should be used for intensity modulation of nonpolarized light with up to 100% modulation depth. The theoretical and experimental examination of the device is presented.     

Fiber optic sensor based on a sagnac interferometer including a recirculating-ring delay line with an edfa

We present a theoretical and experimental investigation of a Sagnac interferometer incorporating a fiber optic recirculating-ring delay line with an erbium-doped fiber amplifier to increase the effective length of the Sagnac loop and thereby improve the low-frequency response. Theoretical calculations show that the low-frequency response of the interferometer is enhanced as expected. However, the noise penalty of using a fiber amplifier in the ring is quite high, especially at low frequencies. The signal-to-noise ratio at low frequencies, using a superfluorescent erbium fiber source, is demonstrated as increasing by a factor of 2 compared to a single-loop Sagnac interferometer with the same total length of fiber, but without fiber amplifier.     

Harmonic and Intermodulation Performance of Sagnac Fiber-Optic Interferometer

Abstract

In this article, closed-form expressions are obtained for the amplitudes of the harmonic and intermodulation products generated when driving the fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer by a DC bias voltage plus an equal-amplitude two-tone signal. The results clearly show the strong dependence of the harmonic and intermodulation performance on the DC bias voltage and/or the phase bias of the fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer. The results obtained suggest that the DC bias voltage and/or the phase bias play an important role in deciding the linearity of the fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer and, hence, its suitability for analog applications.     

An experimental investigation of the optical switching characteristics using an optical Sagnac interferometer incorporating one and two ring resonators

We present the use of a fiber optic Sagnac interferometer incorporating one and two fiber optic ring resonators to characterize experimentally the optical switching behaviors. These prototypes were formed by the Sagnac interferometer and serially connected to the ring resonators. The input optical signal was launched via one end of the interferometer, where the polarization control was employed to obtain the maximum optical transmission power. Results obtained have shown that the increasing in switching time (i.e. narrower spectral width) and power can be achieved.     

Reduced minimum configuration fiber optic gyro for land navigation applications

Further cost reduction of the fiber optic gyroscope is necessary in order to meet the economic requirements of land navigation systems. We have previously concentrated on the reduction of the number of splices and component improvements in the open-loop, minimum configuration. Now we eliminate nonessential components and splices. The source-detector coupler is not part of the Sagnac interferometer and serves solely to provide isolation between the broadband optical source and the photodetector. Many commercial laser diodes incorporate a back-facet photodetector to monitor laser intensity. The signal returned from the Sagnac interferometer traverses the laser, is received at this photodetector, and can be distinguished from the laser signal by the bias modulation. Configuring a gyro in this manner eliminates a directional coupler and the separate photodetector as well as up to three fiber splices in an all-fiber gyroscope. A production, open-loop, fiber optic gyroscope has been modified to demonstrate this principal. The gyroscope can be constructed with only two fiber splices and exhibits performance comparable to the conventional minimum configuration.     

环形光纤声发射传感器的相位调制特性研究

提出了一种基于光纤Sagnac干涉仪的环形传感器,用于固体表面传播的超声波的检测.这种传感器的特点是能够精确地检测由固体表面传播的超声波产生的微弱振动.当超声波信号通过光纤传感器的两个臂到达探测器时,干涉仪的输出光强度受到了超声信号的调制.通过检测干涉仪的输出光强度并利用Fourier变换,测得了超声信号的振幅和频率.而且对传感系统的位相调制特性进行了仿真,并对实验结果进行了分析,结果表明该系统可用于固体表面传播的超声波频率特征的识别.     

Tunable fiber-optic parametric oscillator

We report operation of a tunable optical parametric oscillator that employs a nonlinear-fiber Sagnac interferometer as a parametric amplifier. The amplifier, which consists primarily of dispersion-shifted fiber that has zero dispersion at 1538 nm, is synchronously pumped with 7.7-ps pulses at 1539 nm. The wide bandwidth of the parametric gain permits tuning of the output signal pulses over a 40-nm range centered on the pump wavelength. The Sagnac interferometer decouples the pump wave from the oscillator cavity while a bandpass filter in the cavity transmits only the signal wave, thereby creating a singly resonant parametric oscillator that is phase insensitive. Whereas we demonstrate tuning over almost the entire bandwidth of Er-doped-fiber amplifiers, one could construct a similar device that operates near the 1310-nm zero-dispersion wavelength of standard telecommunication fiber.     

Polarization-based balanced heterodyne detection method in a Sagnac interferometer for precision phase measurement

We describe a balanced heterodyne detection method for a Sagnac interferometer that uses a polarization-dependent beam splitter. The signal and the local oscillator are orthogonally polarized components of a single laser beam, permitting the detection of the signal by subtraction of two photocurrents produced in appropriate polarization projections. Using this scheme, we experimentally demonstrate a phase measurement with a sensitivity of 9x10(-10) rad/ radicalHz. The measurement is robust in the presence of laser frequency noise, as a result of preserving the common-path nature of the Sagnac interferometer, and of laser-amplitude noise, as a result of balanced detection.     

Balanced heterodyne signal extraction in a postmodulated Sagnac interferometer at low frequency

We describe a balanced-heterodyne postmodulated Sagnac interferometer signal extraction method that is suitable for gravitational wave detection. The method is simple to implement by placement of a polarization-selective modulator after the beam splitter in the dark port of the interferometer. The postmodulated Sagnac interferometer retains its common path advantage and exhibits insensitivity to laser frequency noise below, at, and above the heterodyne frequency. Balanced detection reduces sensitivity to laser amplitude noise. In this scheme mirror displacement signals were rf demodulated and observed from 0.2 to 10kHz.     

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.     

Subpicometer length measurement using heterodyne laser interferometry and all-digital rf phase meters

We present an all-digital phase meter for precision length measurements using heterodyne laser interferometry. Our phase meter has a phase sensitivity of 3 μrad/√Hz at signal frequencies of 1 Hz and above. We test the performance of our phase meter in an optical heterodyne interferometric configuration, using an active Sagnac interferometer test bed that is flexible and low noise. We demonstrate more than 70 dB of laser frequency noise suppression to achieve an optical phase sensitivity of 5 μrad/√Hz and a corresponding displacement sensitivity of 0.5 pm/√Hz at signal frequencies above 10 Hz. In addition, we demonstrate the ability of our phase meter to follow full fringe signals accurately at 100 Hz and to track large signal excursions in excess of 10(5) fringes without cycle slipping. Finally, we demonstrate a cyclic error of ≤1 pm/√Hz, above 10 Hz.     

Polarization Sagnac interferometer with postmodulation for gravitational-wave detection

We describe a polarization Sagnac interferometer with an in-loop half-wave plate that allows signal detection at the reciprocal port of the beam splitter while maintaining the ability to detect the signal at a dark fringe. Postmodulation and balanced heterodyne detection are used to recover the signal. This topology is simple to control because of its common-path characteristics and its collinear signal and local oscillator. The robustness of this scheme to amplitude and frequency fluctuations of the laser is demonstrated. Intraloop birefringence in this interferometer acts as a loss, reducing the power on the detector. The magnitude of this loss is discussed and experimentally verified.     

Multi-wavelength fiber source with equal frequency spacing

A optical filter based on Sagnac interferometer was proposed to be acted as a comb filter with equal frequency spacing and good signal to noise ratio (SNR), which was composed of an 8.14 m stress-induced Hi-Bi (high-birefringence) PM (polarization-maintaining) fiber. Using this multi-wavelength Sagnac comb filter and a gain flattening Sagnac filter that made the output spectra flattening at different pump powers, a 25-channel multi-wavelength all-fiber source were successfully generated with channel spacing of 0.8 nm with respect to the center wavelength at 1550 nm and flattened gain about ±1 dB peak deviation. The channel spacing can be further reduced to 0.4 nm to produce a DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) source, simply by increasing the Hi-Bi fiber to be 16.28 m. It can be used in many applications such as WDM (wavelength division multiplexing), optical amplifiers with a high SNR, narrow band filters and optical sensors.     

延迟线长度对全光纤光学电流互感器的影响

基于法拉第效应的Sagnac干涉仪型光学电流互感器可精确测量电流,因此受到广泛关注。延迟线在典型的串联型电流互感器结构中起到不可或缺的作用,其长度变化会影响系统输出,从而有可能使解调出的法拉第相移引入误差。通过对琼斯矩阵得出的理想系统输出进行理论分析与数值仿真实验,研究了延迟线长度变化对尺度因子的影响。研究结果表明,在一定条件下,延迟线长度失匹配会使尺度因子误差超过0.2%,而温度变化导致的延迟线光程变化产生的尺度因子误差不够明显。因此,建议在采用典型的串联型Sagnac结构及该解调方案时,延迟线长度最好与调制圆频率相匹配,如有特殊需求,实际长度与匹配长度的偏差不要超过50m,或者将所有器件整合在一起,采用专用线传输。     

Simulating the Performance of Michelson- and Sagnac-based Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors in the Presence of Mirror Tilt and Curvature Errors

We model the behaviour of single-bounce delay-line dual recycled Sagnac-based interferometer and compare its performance with that of single-bounce Michelson-based system. Geometric imperfections such as mirror tilt and curvature mismatch can strongly influence the performance of the Sagnac device due to the inherently smaller free spectral range (FSR) and higher order mode spacing. This leads to a greater number of higher order modes near, or within the signal band in the signal recycling cavity of the instrument. The important consequence of that is, in general, a greater sensitivity of a Sagnac system to nonideal parameters and imperfections of various kind affecting the performance of a real interferometer. A number of optical configurations have also been examined numerically to determine the best possible optical arrangement, in the presence of such geometric imperfections. We show that there is an optimum choice for the nominal radius of curvature of the end mirrors which results from balancing the loss due to mirror tilt against that due to curvature mismatch.     

A Sagnac-Michelson fibre optic interferometer: Signal processing for disturbance localization

We present numerical and experimental results on a new generation fibre optic perimeter sensor based on a Sagnac and Michelson interferometers configuration. In particular, an original signal processing scheme is presented. The sensor can detect a potential intruder and determine its position along a protected zone. We propose a localization method that offers the inherent properties of both interferometers. After demodulation of the signals from both interferometers, the obtained amplitude characteristic of the Sagnac interferometer depends on a position of a disturbance along the interferometer, while amplitude characteristic of the Michelson interferometer does not depend on this position. So, quotient of both demodulated characteristics makes it possible to localize the disturbance. During investigations of a laboratory model of the sensor, it was possible to detect the position of the disturbance with a resolution of about 40 m along the 6-km-long sensor.