Quasi-reciprocal reflective optical voltage sensor based on Pockels effect with digital closed-loop detection technique

A novel Pockels effect based optical voltage sensor (OVS) consisting of quasi-reciprocal reflective optical circuit is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. The quasi-reciprocal reflective optical circuit is realized so that a digital closed-loop detection technique adopted from fiber gyroscopes can be introduced to obtain the voltage-induced Pockels phase. Due to the digital closed-loop detection scheme, the proposed OVS is insensitive to the fluctuation of the light intensity and the dynamic range is independent of the half-wave voltage of the Pockels crystal compared to the conventional crystal bulk-type with the light intensity based detection scheme. A prototype of the proposed OVS is designed and evaluated. The calculated results of the electric field distribution show that the maximal measured voltage of the sensing element is up to 15 kV. The dc voltage from 0 to 3000 V and 50 Hz ac voltage from 0 to 5000 V are measured with good linearity. The proposed OVS achieves accuracy within ± 1% and ± 0.44% with the measured dc voltage above 800 V and ac voltage above 500 V, respectively. The influences of the alignment error in the sensing element on the measurement accuracy are also theoretically analyzed and experimentally verified.     

Optical implementation of (3, 3, 2) regular rectangular CC-Banyan optical network

CC-Banyan network plays an important role in the optical interconnection network. Based on previous reports of (2, 2, 3) the CC-Banyan network, another rectangular-Banyan network, i.e. (3, 3, 2) rectangular CC-Banyan network, has been discussed. First, according to its construction principle, the topological graph and the routing rule of (3, 3, 2) rectangular CC-Banyan network have been proposed. Then, the optically experimental setup of (3, 3, 2) rectangular CC-Banyan network has been designed and achieved. Each stage of node switch consists of phase spatial light modulator (PSLM) and polarizing beam-splitter (PBS), and fiber has been used to perform connection between adjacent stages. PBS features that s-component (perpendicular to the incident plane) of the incident light beam is reflected, and p-component (parallel to the incident plane) passes through it. According to switching logic, under the control of external electrical signals, PSLM functions to control routing paths of the signal beams, i.e. the polarization of each optical signal is rotated or not rotated 90° by a programmable PSLM. Finally, the discussion and analysis show that the experimental setup designed here can realize many functions such as optical signal switch and permutation. It has advantages of large number of input/output-ports, compact in structure, and low energy loss. Hence, the experimental setup can be used in optical communication and optical information processing.     

Measurement of refractive index variation of liquids by surface plasmon resonance and wavelength-modulated heterodyne interferometry

In this study an alternative method based on surface plasmon resonance is proposed for in-situ monitoring of variation in the refractive index of a test sample. A wavelength-modulated light source and an unequal-path-length optical configuration heterodyne interferometer are used to detect the phase difference change, which can then be used to estimate the change in the refractive index of a test sample. The experimental results demonstrate a phase stability of 0.02°. The resolution power of the refractive index is 1.5 × 10^− 6 RIU. This method has several advantages over previously used methods such as simple optical setup, easier operation in real time, and low cost.     

High-resolution spectroscopy using interleaved 100 GHz optical frequency comb scanned by phase modulator

A high-resolution spectroscopy technique is proposed with an optical phase modulator combined with an interleaved optical frequency comb. The optical phase modulator and a frequency-locked laser light guarantee a spectral resolution less than 1 MHz on an absolute frequency axis. A wide measurement frequency range was realized using a 25 GHz optical frequency comb lying over a 4 THz frequency region. An extraction of single tooth intensity from the comb was realized by a heterodyne technique with a frequency-tunable laser used as a local oscillator. Also, the 25 GHz optical frequency comb was interleaved to generate four 100-GHz combs for removing the crosstalk from the 25 GHz neighboring sidebands in the teeth. This proposed spectroscopy technique was experimentally demonstrated with a resonator of less than 1 MHz linewidth and a H¹³C¹⁴N gas cell. Thus, a measurement frequency range higher than 4 THz (1530 nm-1560 nm) was confirmed with an effective spectral resolution 100 kHz order. In addition, the characteristics of the proposed system were compared with those of the previous system with a single-sideband (SSB) optical modulator.     

Slow and fast light based on SBS with the spectrum tailoring

In this paper, slow and fast light of a signal pulse of nanosecond duration are achieved in the same experimental device by using band-pass filters to tailor the spectra of spontaneous Brillouin scattering (SPBS) coming from 50 km single-mode optical fibers (SMF) as the pump light. The phase matching condition of slow and fast light is satisfied by changing wavelengths of band-pass filters .In our experiment, we obtain the tunable delay time for various signal pulses range from 1 ns to 20 ns. By increasing the power of the pump field to 16 mW, a 1 ns signal pulse is delayed 1.5 ns and is advanced 1.0 ns respectively, while the signal pulse almost has no distortion. The experiment has demonstrated that larger relative pulse delay of slow and fast light can be obtained in the same experimental setup when pump power is lower.     

High-resolution spectroscopy based on optical phase modulator and optical frequency comb

A phase modulation of an optical frequency comb has been applied to measure a fine spectrum in the 1.5 μm wavelength range by the optical heterodyne-detection method. The measurement frequency range covered 25 GHz, which satisfies the frequency interval of the optical frequency comb, with a spectral resolution of 1 MHz.     

Boost up of four wave mixing signal in semiconductor optical amplifier for 40 Gb/s optical frequency conversion

The 40 Gb/s optical frequency converter for non-return to zero differential phase shift keying (NRZ-DPSK) signal by using four wave mixing in semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) have achieved sucessfully. The optimized signal-to-pump ratio for NRZ-DPSK by using optimized SOA structure with enhanced FWM effect is also evaluated. The optimum signal-to-pump ratio is 12 dB and 10 dB with Q factor penalty of 0.685 dB and 0.663 dB. The dependence of four wave mixing efficiency and converted signal power on signal input power is studied and it is evaluated that four wave mixing efficiency decreases with increase in the input power. The impact of pump power, signal-to-pump ratio, and SOA parameters with Q factor penalty for 40 Gb/s has been illustrated. It has shown that converted signal power increases up to the saturation power of semiconductor optical amplifier, then decreases. It is observed that for the optimum pump power, OSNR of converted signal varies little with signal input power.     

A polarimetric glucose sensor using a liquid-crystal polarization modulator driven by a sinusoidal signal

Rather than using a conventional Faraday modulator, this study adopts a liquid-crystal based rotator to modulate the azimuth of the linear polarized light in a sinusoidal signal for the measurement of glucose concentrations. The tilt angle of the LC director would vary as a sinusoidal-like function; however the modulating frequency in the sensing system is the double of the driving signal. A new signal demodulation algorithm, therefore, is developed that enables the polarization rotation angle corresponding to the glucose concentration to be derived. The standard deviation in rotation angle level of 0.00551° has been obtained, with a 0.998773 correlation coefficient between the reference and the measured values. The proposed measurement method has a minimum resolvable concentration of 0.2 g/dl. Compared to its conventional counterparts, the developed polarimeter potentially has a simpler structure, fewer optical elements, and a cheaper modulator component.     

Temperature effect on the tenability of an eight-channel demultiplexer

A new tunable wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) with a two-dimensional photonic crystal structure using (Multi-layer on InP substrate) is proposed. By tuning the temperature of the photonic crystal, the refractive index of the InP as well as the selected wavelengths can be changed. We show that the designed WDM has the ability to tune eight wavelengths by different values of temperature. The proposed filter has a cross section equal to 16.5 μm × 6.5 μm. The Results of the tenability has been done numerically by using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. We can use the proposed structure as temperature sensing device, and in many optical systems.     

Research of the polarity characteristic for an optical fiber accelerometer demodulated by phase generated carrier technology

For an accelerometer, it is necessary to distinguish the plus/minus axis rightly before use. Demodulated by phase generated carrier (PGC) technology, a definition of the polarity characteristic for a double-arms optical fiber accelerometer is proposed. It was found that, when the selected modulation depth C > 0, the demodulated result by PGC technology is equal to the optical phase shift in the long arm subtracting the one in the short arm, while opposite result would be obtained when C < 0. Then, a simple model is presented to discuss relations between the output of the accelerometer and relative positions of the two arms and the sound source. We demonstrate that, when C > 0, the response of the accelerometer is coincident with the signal when the long arm is placed pointing to the source, while opposite once the relative positions of the two arms were exchanged. On this condition, the long arm is defined as the plus axis and the short arm to be the minus axis. However, when C < 0, the polarity definition should be opposite. Based on this polarity definition, a combination method is offered to fabricate a three-dimensional optical fiber vector hydrophone (OFVH). Finally, these conclusions are proved by experiments.     

A polymeric optical switch array based on arrayed waveguide grating structure

A novel 1 × N optical switch array based on arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) structure is presented in this paper. The device is designed for polymeric materials with a large negative thermooptic (TO) coefficient, which is employed to change the imaging effect and to realize optical switching. When input wavelength is located in a special waveband, the optical signal will image at different output channel as temperature changes. The two-dimensional finite difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM) has been used to simulate a 1 × 9 optical switch array. The insertion loss of this switch array is below 1.37 dB and the extinction ratio is better than 31 dB at 1550 nm, when the coupling and propagation loss is neglected. The optimum design and the simulation results show that this structure could be a multiple wavelengths switching at the same time.     

All-optical clock extraction from 10-Gbit/s NRZ-DPSK data using modal interference in a two-mode fiber

All-optical clock extraction from a 10-Gbit/s NRZ-DPSK input signal is demonstrated using modal interference in a two-mode fiber (TMF) and a mode-locked fiber ring laser. The TMF has a Mach-Zehnder configuration with two arms along the core and cladding regions. Using the difference in propagation delay between two arms, the non-return-to-zero differential phase shift keying (NRZ-DPSK) signal is converted to the return-to-zero on-off keying (RZ-OOK) signal. To obtain repetitive pulses as a clock signal from the RZ-OOK signal, a ring laser with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is used. Subsequently, the carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the RZ-OOK and clock signals are enhanced up to 30 dB and 40 dB, respectively, compared to that of the original NRZ-DPSK signal. Also, the clock signal centered at 10 GHz has a low timing jitter of <1.6 ps. It is expected that this method can be applied to high speed fiber-optic systems of >10 Gbit/s due to its small time delay between the core and cladding regions.     

Narrow band optical filter in fluorescein doped boric acid glass saturable absorber thin films

We demonstrate narrow band optical filter like frequency response with full width half maximum (FWHM) of nearly (1.75 ± 0.25) Hz in fluorescein doped boric acid glass films [10⁻⁴ M], using modulated optical phase conjugation and a nearly non-degenerate four wave mixing technique. Modulated optical phase conjugation signals are described in the limit of a weak probe and relatively strong pump beams. Both pump beams are of nearly equal intensity at a wavelength of 514.5 nm from a continuous-wave Ar⁺ laser. The probe beam frequency has been detuned with a ramp signal using a piezo electric mirror.     

Tunable slow and fast light with large bandwidth in the band-edge of gain spectrum of the wide band fiber optical parametric amplifier

We propose a novel method theoretically to generate the slow and fast light with large bandwidth and low gains, which is based on the parametric process in fiber. In our scheme, the wide band fiber optical parametric amplifier is employed and the whole signal bandwidth should be located at a certain frequency range of the band-edge of gain spectrum, and then signal waves will be delayed or advanced with low signal gains because of the peculiar feature of signal gain and phase shift. By changing the pump power, the delay time is continuously-tunable optically. The ultimate delay bandwidth and the delay bandwidth product are constrained by the shape of time delay spectrum. Our simulation verifies that 22.4 ps delay or advanced time for the bandwidth of 10 GHz with little distortion can be obtained at certain wavelengths in the optical communication waveband, and their gains are nearly zero. The tunable range is from 0 ps to 22.4 ps for the signal bandwidth of 10 GHz, and it is from 0 ps to 15.6 ps for the bandwidth of 15 GHz. This type of slow and fast light in wide band FOPA has the potential capability to produce the tunable slow and fast light for large bandwidth with low signal gains in future.     

A fiber-optic voltage sensor based on macrobending structure

We propose and demonstrate an optical voltage sensing scheme based on a macrobending optical fiber in a ratiometric power measurement system. This novel approach to sensing has not been utilized before and has the advantage that the sensor involves simple fabrication compared to existing fiber-optic voltage sensors. To prove the feasibility of such a fiber-optic sensor, a sensor for a voltage range from 0∼100 V is demonstrated, with a resolution of 0.5 V. The sensor is robust, linear, and shows a competitive measurement resolution. The sensor can be easily scaled to suit other voltage levels and be effectively combined with optical current sensors.     

Off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy and its application

Based upon the property of optical cavity and the principle of signals and systems, the measural theory and signal expression of off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (Off-axis ICOS) have been analyzed and deduced. A compact and low-cost Off-axis ICOS apparatus, which used a special circuit to integrate the cavity output signal, was then described and experimented. The absorption spectrum of water vapor in the spectral range of 6587∼6595.5 cm⁻¹ was measured with this Off-axis ICOS system, and the measured spectral parameters were compared with the results of continuous-wave cavity ring down spectroscopy (CW-CRDS) and HITRAN2004 database. The detectable sensitivity of the system was achieved as ∼2.8 × 10⁻⁹ cm⁻¹.     

Improved frequency response measurement method of half-wave voltage for phase modulator

In this paper, the improvement method of the traditional optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) is demonstrated to measure the half-wave voltage of LiNbO₃ phase modulator with low RF driving. Based on calculating the measured powers ratio of the carrier and first-order side band with optical spectrum analyzer (OSA), the phase modulation index is between 0.5 and 1.43 and the voltage of driving signal is lower than 0.796 V, the accurate characterization of the phase modulator is obtained. By using this method, the half-wave voltage of a LiNbO₃ phase modulator had been measured in the frequency range of 26 GHz. And, our experimental results showed a good agreement between the measured data and those provided by the manufacturer in 9 GHz frequency range. It is an accurate and easy method to measure the half-wave voltages of a phase modulators, especially for measuring high the frequency response.     

High repetition rate mid-infrared generation with singly resonant optical parametric oscillator using multi-grating periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3

A high repetition rate mid-infrared singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) using MgO-doped multi-grating periodically poled LiNbO₃ (MgO:PPLN) is demonstrated. A 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser at 10 kHz repetition rate and pulse width of 17.8 ns was used to pump the OPO. The period of the quasi-phase matched (QPM) grating in the multi-grating MgO:PPLN chip varied from 25.5 to 31.5 μm in steps of 0.5 μm. This corresponds to the generation of a signal beam from 1.37 to 1.64 μm and an idler beam from 3.0 to 4.8 μm, respectively. A maximum signal power of 250 mW and idler power of 140 mW has been obtained with an input pump beam of power 1.92 W, for a grating period of 30.5 μm. A maximum optic-optic conversion efficiency of 20% and 7.4% in the idler has been observed. It has been observed that the output power increases as the period of the grating increases.     

A mid-infrared carbon monoxide sensor system using wideband absorption spectroscopy and a single-reflection spherical optical chamber

A mid-infrared carbon monoxide (CO) sensor system based on a dual-channel differential detection method was developed using a broadband light source in the 4.60 µm wavelength region and a single-reflection spherical optical chamber with ∼0.373 m absorption path length. CO detection was realized by targeting the wideband strong absorption lines within 4.55–4.65 µm. A dual-channel pyroelectric detector as well as a self-developed digital signal processor (DSP) based orthogonal lock-in amplifier was employed to process CO sensing signal. A minimum detection limit of ∼0.5 ppm in volume (ppmv) was achieved with a measurement time of 6 s, based on an Allan deviation analysis of the sensor system. The response time (1000 → 0 ppmv) was determined to be ∼7 s for the CO sensor operation. Due to the characteristics of low detection limit, fast response time and high cost performance, the proposed sensor has relatively good prospect in coal-mining operation.     

Static and dynamic analysis of an all-optical inverter based on a Vertical Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (VCSOA)

We report the static and dynamic properties of an all-optical inverter based on an 850 nm Vertical Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (VCSOA). The inverter exhibits low switching power requirements (~ 15 μW), large on/off contrast ratio (> 11 dB), and high speed operation (~ 1.4 GHz). Large and small signal measurements show that the speed of operation and the on/off contrast ratio improve with increased bias current. This holds important prospects for the development of VCSOA-inverters for high-speed, low-power optical logic applications. Finally, a theoretical model of the VCSOA-inverter has been employed giving good agreement with experiments.