微米级锥形光纤的近场光镊

分别从理论和实验上分析了光纤表面倏逝场强度的分布(z=10 nm, 100 nm, 500 nm,1 000 nm),研究了微米级光纤光镊对微球的操纵。实验中把直径为125 m的普通单模光纤拉制成锥腰直径为2 m的锥形光纤。当光纤通光时,在光纤锥区倏逝场的作用下,直径3 m的聚苯乙烯微球保持平衡状态,并且光纤附近的微球被吸引到光纤表面,以5.3 m /s的速度沿着光束的传播方向运动。这个实验不仅实现了对微球的成功捕获,而且验证了光纤光镊的力学作用。光纤光镊对微球的无接触、无损伤操纵,将在生物传感领域有潜在的应用。     

倏逝波型光纤气体传感器研究进展

介绍了倏逝波的概念和反映倏逝波光纤气体传感特性的穿透深度参数Z_m。讨论了D形、锥形、纤芯裸露形、纤芯失配型和微结构光纤等不同倏逝波型气体传感的原理和特点,评述了其最新研究进展,对比分析了各传感器的优缺点。对倏逝波型光纤气体传感器的发展趋势进行了展望。     

Cold-atom physics using ultrathin optical fibers: light-induced dipole forces and surface interactions

The strong evanescent field around ultrathin unclad optical fibers bears a high potential for detecting, trapping, and manipulating cold atoms. Introducing such a fiber into a cold-atom cloud, we investigate the interaction of a small number of cold cesium atoms with the guided fiber mode and with the fiber surface. Using high resolution spectroscopy, we observe and analyze light-induced dipole forces, van der Waals interaction, and a significant enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate of the atoms. The latter can be assigned to the modification of the vacuum modes by the fiber.     

光纤倏逝波型石英增强光声光谱技术

采用块状光学准直聚焦透镜组的传统石英增强光声光谱(QEPAS)技术存在体积难以缩减,结构稳定性不佳,无法适应空间狭小、振动复杂的特殊环境等缺点.基于此,将光纤倏逝波技术与QEPAS技术相结合,提出了一种新型微纳结构光纤QEPAS痕量气体检测技术.实验中,为了提高QEPAS系统信号幅值,优化了石英音叉与激光束的空间位置、激光波长调制深度,同时对比了两种不同共振频率的石英音叉,最终采用共振频率较低的30.720 kHz石英音叉作为声波探测元件,获得的检测极限为6.25×10~(-4)(体积分数),归一化噪声等效吸收系数为4.18×10~(-7)cm~(-1).W·Hz~(-1/2).     

Germanium microsphere high-Q resonator

In this Letter, the fabrication and characterization of a microsphere resonator from the semiconductor germanium is demonstrated. Whispering gallery modes are excited in a 46 μm diameter germanium microsphere resonator using evanescent coupling from a tapered silica optical fiber with a waist diameter of 2 μm. Resonances with Q factors as high as 3.8×10(4) at wavelengths near 2 μm are observed. Because of their ultrahigh optical nonlinearities and extremely broad transparency window, germanium microsphere resonators offer the potential for optical processing devices, in particular at long wavelengths, such as around 2 μm.     

Spectral superbroadening of subnanojoule Cr:Forsterite femtosecond laser pulses in a tapered fiber

Spectral superbroadening of subnanojoule femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser pulses is demonstrated for the first time in experiments with a tapered fiber. Coupling 40-fs 0.6-nJ pulses of 1.25-μm Cr:forsterite laser radiation into a tapered fiber with a taper waist diameter of about 2 μm and a taper waist length of 90 mm, we observed the spectra spanning more than two octaves at the output of the fiber. These experimental results open new horizons for the creation of compact femtosecond systems based on Cr:forsterite lasers and tapered fibers for optical metrology and biomedical applications.     

High-sensitivity, evanescent field refractometric sensor based on a tapered, multimode fiber interference

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an enhanced evanescent field fiber refractometer based on a tapered multimode fiber sandwiched between two single-mode fibers. Experiments show that this fiber sensor offers ultrahigh sensitivity [better than 1900 nm/RIU at a refractive index (RI) of 1.44] for RI measurements within the range of 1.33-1.44, in agreement with the theoretical predictions. This is the highest value reported to date (to our knowledge) in the literature.     

Two-octave spectral broadening of subnanojoule Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser pulses in tapered fibers

Spectral broadening of femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser pulses is enhanced due to the use of tapered fibers. Supercontinuum generation with unamplified subnanojoule femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser pulses is observed for the first time. With 40-fs 0.6-nJ pulses of 1.25-μm Cr:forsterite laser radiation coupled into a tapered fiber having a taper waist diameter of about 2 μm and a taper waist length of 90 mm, we observed the spectra spanning more than two octaves at the output of the fiber in the regime of anomalous group-velocity dispersion. This result opens the way for the creation of compact femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser plus tapered fiber systems for optical metrology and biomedical applications. Received: 23 October 2001 / Accepted: 16 January 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Random-hole optical fiber evanescent-wave gas sensing

Research on development of optical gas sensors based on evanescent-wave absorption in random-hole optical fibers is described. A process to produce random-hole optical fibers was recently developed that uses a novel in situ bubble formation technique. Gas molecules that exhibit characteristic vibrational absorption lines in the near-IR region that correspond to the transmission window for silica optical fiber have been detected through the evanescent field of the guided mode in the pore region. The presence of the gas molecules in the holes of the fiber appears as a loss at wavelengths that are characteristic of the particular gas species present in the holes. An experimental setup was constructed with these holey fibers for detection of acetylene gas. The results clearly demonstrate the characteristic absorptions in the optical spectra that correspond to the narrow-line absorptions of the acetylene gas, and this represents what is to our knowledge the first report of random-hole fiber gas sensing in the literature.     

Influence of a holey cladding structure on spectral characteristics of side-polished endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fibers

We experimentally investigate the spectral characteristics of side-polished endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fibers of different polishing depths and radii of curvature that are important to mode field diameter, evanescent coupling, waveguide losses, higher-order mode excitation, and dispersion slopes of photonic crystal fiber components. A polished photonic crystal fiber with a greater polishing depth or a larger radius of curvature shows a more dispersive characteristic. In contrast to conventional single-mode fibers, in photonic crystal fibers the evanescent field is more strongly localized, and the propagating light can be more efficiently guided within the deformed core.     

Packaging and Characteristics of a Tapered Fiber Sensor for Refractive-Index Measurements

In this study, we demonstrate the design and fabrication of a tapered fiber sensor with a sensing application based on a new (high-sensitivity) package. We study the effect of various geometric parameters such as the uniform segment diameter, the uniform segment length, and the incident angle of the optical wave on the tapered fiber sensor sensitivity for evanescent sensing. Our study shows that high sensitivity of the tapered fiber can be realized by optimizing its parameters. In addition, we design a novel packaging of a tapered-fiber sensor, which can efficiently ensure a uniform stress and reduce the cross sensitivity caused by stress in liquid detection using a tapered fiber sensor. We report the experimental results obtained using this tapered fiber sensor for refractive-index measurements. As the refractive index of liquids varies from 1.417 to 1.423, the measurement results show that the refractive-index sensitivity of the tapered fiber sensor is as high as 4860 nm/RIU.     

In-line fiber optic structures for environmental sensing applications

Fiber optic sensors based on the interaction of surface plasmons or evanescent waves with the surrounding environment are usually obtained by tapering an optical fiber, which significantly weakens the structure, or by use of just the end of the optical fiber. A fiber optic structure that maintains the structural integrity of the optical fiber with a long environmental interaction length is presented. Graded-index optical fiber elements are used as lenses, and a coreless optical fiber acts as the environmental interaction area. These elements are fused by an optical fiber splicer and result in a continuous fiber optic sensing system.     

Nanofiber Fabry-Perot microresonator for nonlinear optics and cavity quantum electrodynamics

We experimentally realize a Fabry-Perot-type optical microresonator near the cesium D2 line wavelength based on a tapered optical fiber, equipped with two fiber Bragg gratings that enclose a subwavelength diameter waist. Owing to the very low taper losses, the finesse of the resonator reaches F=86 while the on-resonance transmission is T=11%. The characteristics of our resonator fulfill the requirements of nonlinear optics and cavity quantum electrodynamics in the strong coupling regime. These characteristics, combined with the demonstrated ease of use and advantageous mode geometry, open a realm of applications.     

圆柱型光纤螺线圈轨道角动量模式

传统的沿z轴光纤传输光线的轨道角动量(orbital angular momentum,OAM)光束的制备方法共同之处都是从内部结构着想,光束的主光线基本上不变,只是波面在变.但要获得携带高mh的光有一定的难度.针对上述问题,本文建立以波面不变,光束主光线变化为基础的理论框架,利用微分几何理论验证不沿z轴圆柱型光纤螺线圈传输的光线可以携带高mh OAM的理论设想.研究发现:利用流动坐标(α,β,γ)计算光线在绕圆柱体的光纤中传输时光纤截面的衍射分布图呈现涡旋特征,有高阶OAM模式.当θ=θ0时,圆柱形轨道光纤过渡到直线轨道光纤.计算光线沿直线传输时光纤截面的衍射分布图是Airy斑,即圆孔衍射斑,无高阶OAM模式.     

Visible supercontinuum generation in tapered photonic crystal fiber pumped by picosecond pulse at 1064 nm

Short photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with different tapered waist diameter are made to extend the continuum spectrum in the visible range. The diversification of output continuum spectrum with the diameter of the tapered waist is experimentally observed. An all fiber visible supercontinuum source with 1.88 W output is demonstrated in our experiments. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest all fiber visible supercontinuum generation in tapered PCF, pumping by picosecond pulse at 1064 nm. The suitably designed short tapered PCF can extend the visible spectrum, while, how to preserve the tapered waist is crucial for the all fiber visible supercontinuum source in the practical applications.     

Investigation on an evanescent wave fiber-optic absorption sensor based on fiber loop cavity ring-down spectroscopy

An improved ring-down measurement principle for optical waveguides is presented. Fiber loop ring-down spectroscopy allows for measurement of minute optical losses in high-finesse fiber-optic cavities and immunity to the fluctuation of laser source. The evanescent wave absorption losses dependent on the absorption and the refractive index of ambient solution have been theoretically analyzed. The complex refractive index is introduced into our model and extinction coefficient can be calculated accurately through finite element analysis by setting the boundaries of the fiber and the ambient conditions. Using this method, the refractive index of environment can be taken into consideration. Our principle is validated by the highly-sensitive measurement of evanescent wave absorption loss. By chemically processing the surface of sensing segment along an extending ring-down cavity, the concentration of small volume Diethyl Sulphoxide solution where the etched fiber immersed into has been successfully measured and discussed.     

Evanescent-wave photoacoustic spectroscopy with optical micro/nano fibers

We demonstrate gas detection based on evanescent-wave photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy with tapered optical fibers. Evanescent-field instead of open-path absorption is exploited for PA generation, and a quartz tuning fork is used for PA detection. A tapered optical fiber with a diameter down to the wavelength scale demonstrates detection sensitivity similar to an open-path system but with the advantages of easier optical alignment, smaller insertion loss, and multiplexing capability.     

γ射线辐照对掺Yb光纤材料性能的影响

采用改进的化学气相沉积法制备掺Yb石英光纤预制棒,以该预制棒制备了尺寸为10/130μm的双包层掺Yb光纤,将这些光纤分成若干组,在不同剂量的60Coγ辐射源下辐照,测试了光纤在辐射前后的吸收谱和激光性能以及光纤预制棒切片辐照后的吸收.实验结果表明:光纤中已存在的色心缺陷(如氧空位(II))和辐照引起的色心缺陷(如E’心、过氧基以及Yb2+离子)等因素的叠加作用可能导致辐照后的光纤在可见光区域的吸收显著增大;与辐照前相比,辐照后光纤的斜率效率、光-光效率显著下降,剂量越大激光性能下降得越厉害;基于Power-Law定理拟合了光纤辐致损耗与所受剂量的关系曲线,定量分析了不同剂量辐照后光纤激光性能下降的原因.研究结果将为进一步发展抗辐照光纤提供理论和实验依据.     

Dispersive optical interface based on nanofiber-trapped atoms

We dispersively interface an ensemble of 1000 atoms trapped in the evanescent field surrounding a tapered optical nanofiber. This method relies on the azimuthally asymmetric coupling of the ensemble with the evanescent field of an off-resonant probe beam, transmitted through the nanofiber. The resulting birefringence and dispersion are significant; we observe a phase shift per atom of ～1 mrad at a detuning of 6 times the natural linewidth, corresponding to an effective resonant optical density per atom of 0.027. Moreover, we utilize this strong dispersion to nondestructively determine the number of atoms.     

Propagation characteristics of a segmented cladding fiber

We propose a novel optical fiber design that consists of a uniform core and a segmented cladding formed by alternate regions of high and low refractive indices in the azimuthal direction. The structure is analyzed by use of the radial effective-index method, and the propagation characteristics of the structure are studied. The fiber has a highly dispersive cladding and shows characteristics similar to those of photonic-crystal fibers and holey fibers. The novel fiber offers the possibility of single-mode operation over a wide range of wavelengths with a large core diameter.