A fast integrated optical sensor of gaseous substances

We consider the design and operation of an absorption integrated optical chemical sensor, which provides control of the content of ammonia and other hazardous gaseous and liquid substances in the air. An integrated optical sensor based on a diffusion waveguide is studied. The advantage of measurement schemes in which an analog signal from the integrated-optical sensor is converted into a digital form to be processed is shown. The limiting sensitivity of such a waveguide-sensor cell istheoretically evaluated. Prospects of using such a type of integrated-optical sensors are discussed.     

Wavelength-interrogated optical sensor for biochemical applications

A novel miniature integrated-optical sensor for versatile multichannel applications is described. Wavelength-modulation techniques using laser diodes (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers) are used to interrogate multiple-waveguide sensing regions on a single integrated-optical chip for accurate measurement of effective refractive-index changes at a high data rate. With the experimental miniature sensor system, a resolution of DN(PP) = 10(-7) (short term, peak to peak) of the effective refractive index was demonstrated. In terms of surface-mass coverage, this resolution corresponds to D?(PP) = 130 fg/mm(2).     

Mechano-optical waveguide on-off intensity modulator

High-extinction on-off modulators are essential for channel selection in integrated-optical sensor arrays. We report a standard SiON-technology-based electrostatically driven integrated mechano-optical waveguide on-off intensity modulator. On-off modulation is achieved by movement of an absorbing element into and out of the evanescent field of the guided mode. An extinction ratio of >37 dB at an actuation voltage of <30 V was achieved in a 6 mmx4 mm device for a wavelength of 632.8 nm. Full wafer-scale fabrication is made possible by use of chemical mechanical polishing and aligned wafer bonding.     

Temperature-Independent Waveguide Spectral Multiplexers/Demultiplexers

The possibility of creating spectral multiplexers/demultiplexers with temperature-independent parameters is considered. The reasons for the temperature shift of the central wavelength of waveguide arrays of multiplexers/demultiplexers, optical filters, Mach-Zehnder interferometers, and others are analyzed. The results of studies of various techniques of wavelength stabilization of integrated-optical spectral devices and the evaluation of the efficiency of each of them are presented. The prospects of using media with a negative temperature coefficient for creation of waveguide devices are shown.     

Theory of absorption integrated optical sensor of gaseous materials

The eigen and noneigen (leaky) modes of a three-layer planar integrated optical waveguide are described. The dispersion relation of a three-layer planar waveguide and other dependences are derived, and the cutoff conditions are analyzed. The diagram of propagation constants of the guided and radiation modes of an irregular asymmetric three-layer waveguide and the dependence of the electric field amplitudes of radiation modes of substrate on vertical coordinate in a tantalum integrated optical waveguide are presented. The operating principles of an absorption integrated optical waveguide sensor are investigated. The dependences of sensitivity of an integrated optical waveguide sensor on the sensory cell length, the coupling efficiency of the laser radiation into the waveguide, the absorption cross-section of the studied material, and the level of additive statistical noise are investigated. Some of the prospective areas of application of integrated-optical waveguide sensors are outlined.     

Mode field distribution of an integrated-optical waveguide generated by UV-laser radiation at the surface of a planar polymer chip

An integrated-optical strip-waveguide is directly written into the surface of a planar polymer substrate by an excimer laser beam. The mode field distribution, the surface refractive index and the refractive index depth profile of the waveguide have been examined. The intensity distribution of the mode field strongly depends on the refractive index depth profile, on the light coupling conditions and on the waveguide fabrication process parameters.     

Photorefractive effect in LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-based integrated-optical circuits at wavelengths of third telecom window

Original results on investigation of the photorefractive effect in straight channels and integrated-optical circuits such as a directional coupler, Y-splitter and Mach–Zehnder interferometer, exploiting titanium-indiffused and proton-exchanged LiNbO₃ waveguides, are presented. It has been found that the photorefractive damage is non-negligible for IR radiation with wavelengths near 1.5 μm in all circuits studied. The new methods for accurate evaluation of small extents of photorefractive effect are proposed.     

Experimental confirmation of matched bends

Modal conversion between the fundamental mode and the first-order (leaky) mode has been experimentally investigated in high-index-contrast integrated-optical bent waveguides. The matched bend condition has been experimentally confirmed on cascaded bends, and the effect of both matched and unmatched bends on Y branches has been investigated. Good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results for both monomode and multimode waveguides is achieved. It is demonstrated that, in bent waveguides, the modal conversion between the fundamental mode and the first (leaky) mode can be accurately controlled to avoid additional losses and transfer function impairments.     

Investigation of a UV-laser generated waveguide in a planar polymer chip using an improved interferometric method

Polymeric integrated-optical waveguides are prepared in a planar polymer chip by UV-laser lithographic methods. The waveguide samples are irradiated by an excimer laser at a wavelength Λ=248 nm with various irradiation parameters (different fluencies and irradiation doses). Mach-Zehnder interferometer is employed and the refractive index depth profiles of the waveguide samples are obtained. This profile covers two regions having exponential and Gaussian shapes. The model field distributions strongly depend on the refractive index of each region. The mode field distribution and the effective mode indices for each region have been calculated on the basis of a theoretical model and the experimentally measured data.     

Origins of waveguiding in femtosecond laser-structured LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Femtosecond laser-induced structural changes in LiNbO₃ are studied. Depending on the laser processing parameters two different types of modification are identified and their origin is discussed. Both types of modification can be described within the framework of induced lattice defects. For strong material damage a refractive index increase can be obtained due to the induced stress field. By appropriate tailoring of this stress field thermally stable and highly symmetric waveguides can be obtained well suited for nonlinear integrated-optical applications. PACS 61.80.Ba; 77.84.Dy; 42.65.Re; 42.82.Et     

Pulse advancement and delay in an integrated-optical two-port ring-resonator circuit: direct experimental observations

We report experimental observations of the negative-group-velocity (v(g)) phenomenon in an integrated-optical two-port ring-resonator circuit. We demonstrate that when the v(g) is negative, the (main) peak of output pulse appears earlier than the peak of a reference pulse, while for a positive v(g), the situation is the other way around. We observed that a pulse splitting phenomenon occurs in the neighborhood of the critical-coupling point. This pulse splitting limits the maximum achievable delay and advancement of a single device as well as facilitating a smooth transition from highly advanced to highly delayed pulse, and vice versa, across the critical-coupling point.     

Integrated-optical add/drop multiplexer for DWDM in lithium niobate

In this contribution, an add/drop multiplexer that uses a mode-selective coupler and a holographically recorded slanted Bragg grating in lithium niobate is demonstrated. A Bragg grating with a bandwidth of 0.1 nm allows for an add/drop efficiency of about 96% with a cross-talk well above 22 dB applicable for wavelengths in the 1.5 μm window. Polarisation-independent operation can be achieved by application of a bias electric field to compensate for the small mismatch of propagation constants of TE and TM modes. The proposed scheme of an integrated-optical lithium niobate based device appears to be an interesting option due to its potential for fast electro-optical switching. PACS 42.40.Ht; 42.65.Hw; 42.70.Ln; 42.82.Cr; 42.82.Et     

Review of new experimental techniques for investigating random sequential adsorption

Burgeoning interest in random sequential adsorption (RSA) processes has led to a surge of theoretical results, but experimental work is lagging behind, due to a dearth of suitable techniques. This article reviews integrated-optical techniques for investigating the kinetics of RSA and related processes. The basic idea is to measure the phase shifts of guided waves, due to the adsorption of particles at the surface of a planar waveguide. The technique is very well suited to investigating 2-dimensional RSA, and can yield high-quality kinetic adsorption data, precise enough for rigorously testing theoretical predictions. The current state of the art allow adsorbed mass to be measured quasicontinuously with a precision of at least 1 ng/cm².     

The effect of silver on the optical,spectral-luminescent,and crystallization properties of bromide photo-thermo-refractive glasses

The effect of silver on the optical, spectral-luminescent, and crystallization properties of bromide photo-thermo-refractive glasses is studied. Multicomponent photosensitive glasses of the Na₂O–ZnO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ system with photosensitizing agents (cerium, antimony, silver) and halogenides (fluorine and bromine) are synthesized. Ultraviolet irradiation and thermal treatment below the glass-transition temperature of the glasses cause the formation of silver molecular clusters, which exhibit luminescence in the visible and infrared regions. UV irradiation and thermal treatment of glasses above the glass-transition temperature lead to the growth of silver nanoparticles with plasmon resonance peak in the region of 420 nm. Further thermal treatment of glasses above the glass-transition temperature shifts the plasmon-resonance maximum by 70 nm to longer wavelengths, which is related to the growth of a crystalline shell consisting of mixed silver and sodium bromides on nanoparticles. This formation of a crystalline phase on colloidal centers results in a local increase in the refractive index of the irradiated region by +Δn ~ 900 ppm compared to the nonirradiated region. Photo-thermo-refractive glasses with increased silver concentration are promising photosensitive materials for creating holographic optical elements and devices for line narrowing and stabilizing filters, spectral beam combiners, and filters for increasing the spectral brightness of laser diodes. A positive change in the refractive index of Photo-thermo-refractive glasses provides the possibility of recording in them 3D waveguide and integrated-optical structures.     

Design of a silicon-based plasmonic optical sensor for magnetic field monitoring in the infrared

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor chip is proposed for magnetic field monitoring in the infrared wavelength region. The structure is based on silicon substrate and gold as SPR-active metal used with an appropriate magnetic fluid film. The angular interrogation method has been used to study the sensor’s performance in terms of large shift and small width of the SPR curve for a wide range of magnetic field between 30 and 220 Oe. The effect of field incidence angle is also studied on the proposed sensor’s performance, and it is observed that the field should be incident as parallel to the magnetic fluid surface as possible. Any possibility of oxidation problem to the proposed SPR sensor is addressed by using a stable buffer layer. All the performance parameters were found to be significantly large for the above field incidence condition. The proposed sensor is able to achieve a resolution of the order as high as 0.18 Oe for magnetic field detection.     

Supersensitive graphene-based gas sensor

Epitaxial graphene layers are produced with the aid of thermal destruction of the surface of a semi-insulating SiC substrate. Raman spectroscopy and atomic-force microscopy are employed in the study of the film homogeneity. A prototype of the gas sensor based on the films is fabricated. The device is sensitive to the NO₂ molecules at a level of 5 ppb (five particles per billion). A possibility of the industrial application of the sensor is discussed.     

Analysis of Ti:LiNbO3 zero-gap directional coupler for wavelength division multiplexer/demultiplexer

For the purpose of multichannel integrated-optical wavelength division MUX/DEMUX design, the wavelength tuning method of Ti:LiNbO₃ zero-gap directional coupler is analysed by effective-index based matrix method (EIMM). In this method, first, the 2D refractive index profile of the Ti:LiNbO₃ zero-gap directional coupler is transformed into lateral 1D effective-index profile by WKB method. Finally, matrix method is applied to this effective-index profile and the propagation constants are computed from the resonance peaks of the excitation efficiency versus propagation constant characteristics. It has been shown that the channel wavelength tuning can be achieved by varying the Y-branching angle at the input and output of the device or by a slight variation of two-mode-section length. The method of electro-optic fine tuning of the channel wavelength and channel separation of the device has also been investigated. A cascaded structure with proper parameters for four-channel application is also simulated and the results are presented.     

Process monitoring using ultrasonic sensor systems

Continuous in-line measurement of substance concentration in liquid mixtures is valuable in improving industrial processes in terms of material properties, energy efficiency and process safety. Ultrasonic sensor systems meet the practical requirements of a chemical sensor quite well. Currently ultrasonic sensor systems are widely used as acoustic chemical sensors to measure concentration of selected substances or to monitor the course of polymerisation, crystallisation or fermentation processes. Useable acoustic properties for the characterisation of liquid mixtures are sound velocity, sound absorption and acoustic impedance. This contribution will give a short overview of the state of the art and several trends for the use of ultrasonic sensor systems in process applications. Novel investigations show the very promising possibility to analyse liquid multi-phase mixtures like suspensions, emulsions and dispersions.     

Chemical sensing with microbent optical fiber

We propose and demonstrate the possibility of using a permanently microbent bare optical fiber for detecting chemical species. Two detection schemes, viz., a bright-field detection scheme (for the core modes), and a dark-field detection scheme (for the cladding modes) have been employed to produce a fiber-optic sensor. The sensor described here is sensitive enough to detect concentrations as low as nanomoles per liter of a chemical species, with a dynamic range of more than 6 orders of magnitude.     

On noise reduction in strain maps obtained with the grid method by averaging images affected by vibrations

Any image-based contactless measurement system has a limited resolution because of sensor noise. If the sensor is rigorously static with respect to the imaged object, a possibility is to reduce noise by averaging images acquired at different times. This paper discusses images of a pseudo-periodic grid used in experimental solid mechanics to give estimations of in-plane displacement and strain components of a deformed flat specimen. Because of the magnification factor which is employed, the grid images are often affected by residual vibrations, thereby invalidating the assumption that the sensor is static. The averaged grid image is thus a biased estimator of the unknown noise-free image. In spite of this, we prove that the retrieved displacement and strain components still benefit from noise reduction by time-averaging. A theoretical model is discussed, and experiments on real and synthetic data sets are provided.