Fourier-domain low-coherence interferometry for differential mode delay analysis of an optical fiber

We propose a novel mode analysis and differential mode delay measurement method for an optical fiber using Fourier-domain low-coherence interferometry. A spectral interferometer based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer setup was used with a broadband source and an optical spectrum analyzer to detect relative temporal delays between the guided modes of a few-mode optical fiber by analyzing spectral interference signals. We have shown that experimental results of the proposed method agree well with those results obtained by using a conventional time-domain measurement method. We have demonstrated that this new mode analysis technique has high sensitivity (<60 dB) and very good resolution (<1 ps/m).     

USING THE CROSS-CORRELATION TECHNIQUE TO EXTRACT MODAL PARAMETERS ON RESPONSE-ONLY DATA

Modal parameter identification is used to identify those parameters of the model which describe the dynamic properties of a vibration system. Classical modal parameter extractions usually require measurements of both the input force and the resulting response in laboratory conditions. However, when large-scale operational structures are subjected to random and unmeasured forces such as wind, waves, or aerodynamics, modal parameters estimation must base itself on response-only data. Over the past years, many time-domain modal parameter identification techniques from output-only have been proposed. Among them, the natural excitation technique (NExT) has been a very powerful tool for the modal analysis of structures excited in operating environment. This issue reviews the theoretical development of natural excitation technique (NExT), which uses the cross-correlation functions of measured responses coupling with conventional time-domain parameter extraction under the assumption of white-noise random inputs. Then a frequency-domain poly reference modal identification scheme by coupling the cross-correlation technique with conventional frequency-domain poly reference modal parameter extraction is presented. It uses cross-power spectral density functions instead of frequency response functions and auto- and cross-correlation functions instead of impulse response functions to estimate modal parameters from response-only data. An experiment using an airplane model is performed to investigate the effectiveness of the cross-correlation technique coupled with frequency-domain poly reference modal identification scheme.     

Low noise spinning wheel technique for THz material parameter extraction

Double-modulated terahertz differential time-domain spectroscopy (double-modulated THz-DTDS), is a technique that is based on dithering the sample under test. In this paper, we report a measurement technique based on mounting the sample on a spinning wheel, in order to overcome fundamental limitations imposed by linear dithering. We demonstrate a proof-of-principle showing that noise decreases as a function of the spinning wheel modulation frequency. This technique does not suffer the mechanical noise limitation of traditional linear dithering and thus opens up future scope for further noise reduction via hardware advances in the modulation frequency of the wheel. The spinning wheel technique enables a rapid succession of measurements between the reference and sample signals with a single mechanical delay scan. As a result, an improvement in measurement time by at least a factor of two, as compared to the conventional THz-TDS measurement technique is observed. The spinning wheel technique is experimentally verified by measuring the dielectric properties of a thick polymer material.     

Modal parameter identification using the log decrement method and band-pass filters

This paper presents a time-domain technique for identifying modal parameters of test specimens based on the log-decrement method. For lightly damped multidegree-of-freedom or continuous systems, the conventional method is usually restricted to identification of fundamental-mode parameters only. Implementation of band-pass filters makes it possible for the proposed technique to extract modal information of higher modes. The method has been applied to a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) beam for complex modulus identification in the frequency range 10-1100 Hz. Results compare well with those obtained using the Least Squares method, and with those previously published in literature. Then the accuracy of the proposed method has been further verified by experiments performed on a QuietSteel specimen with very low damping. The method is simple and fast. It can be used for a quick estimation of the modal parameters, or as a complementary approach for validation purposes.     

Spectrally resolved reflectometric measurement of polarization mode dispersion in an optical fiber link with polarization-dependent loss

In an optical fiber link with polarization-dependent loss (PDL), we demonstrate that although the complex polarization mode dispersion vector cannot be fully obtained by the reflectometric measurement, the spectrally resolved differential group delay (DGD) and differential attenuation slope (DAS) can be explicitly determined by such measurements performed simultaneously in the optical frequency domain and the fiber length domain. In principle, this technique can be used to realize the spectrally resolved and spatially resolved measurement of DGD and DAS in an optical fiber link having PDL based on distributed Rayleigh backscattering. We report the experimental result based on the far-end Fresnel reflection to confirm the validity of the proposed method.     

Fiber chromatic dispersion measurement based on wavelength-to-time mapping using a femtosecond pulse laser and an optical comb filter

A novel method for the measurement of chromatic dispersion of an optical fiber based on wavelength-to-time mapping using a femtosecond pulse laser (FSPL) and an optical comb filter is proposed and experimentally evaluated. In the proposed approach, the spectrum of an ultrashort optical pulse generated by an FSPL is sliced by an optical comb filter. The spectrum-sliced optical pulse is then coupled into the optical fiber under test. Thanks to the chromatic-dispersion-induced wavelength-to-time mapping in the optical fiber under test, a time-domain waveform similar to the sliced spectrum is generated at the output of the optical fiber, with different frequency components having different time delays. The time delay vs. frequency data are then recorded for the estimation of the chromatic dispersion by using least square fitting. Chromatic dispersions of two types of optical fibers with different lengths are tested. The measured dispersion values agree well with those measured by the conventional modulation phase shift (MPS) method.     

High-speed terahertz time-domain spectroscopy based on electronically controlled optical sampling

We demonstrate high-speed terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy based on electronically controlled optical sampling (ECOPS). The ECOPS system utilizes two synchronized Ti:sapphire femtosecond lasers with a 100 MHz repetition frequency. The time delay between the two laser pulses is demonstrated to be rapidly swept at a scan rate of 1 kHz on a time delay window of 77 ps by using an external offset voltage applied to a locking electronics. It is shown that a THz pulse can be exactly measured by ECOPS, as is done by asynchronous optical sampling (ASOPS), and the measurement time is shortened by a factor of 50 by using ECOPS compared with ASOPS in the case of employing 100 MHz repetition-rate lasers.     

Simulations and experiments of mode-locking of semiconductor lasers: pulse evolution,frequency detuning,and bias dependence

Simulations of a mode-locked diode laser based on a travelling-wave rate-equation model have been compared with experiments. The pulse measurement technique involved a conventional intensity autocorrelator together with an internally generated second-harmonic emission measurement set-up. The latter is ideal for systematic relative measurements. For the first time, pulse evolution as a function of the number of round-trips was measured. Short optical pulses were obtained after approximately 40 round-trips. The experimental and simulated detuning range was about 1 MHz and the d.c. bias dependence was investigated.On leave from Physics Institute of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, 232 600 Vilnius, Lithuania.     

Optical coherence pulsed interferometry: shaping probe pulses in time-domain interferometry

The autocorrelation of a modulated coherent light source is used as a probe pulse in a time-domain interferometry scheme. With respect to conventional techniques, higher flexibility in selecting the shape of the probe pulse can be achieved by simply acting on the modulation parameters. The complex amplitude of short pulses propagating through a generic optical device can be directly measured, with no need for fast sampling and time synchronization. The potentialities of the technique are shown by reporting measurements of amplitude distortion, group delay, and frequency chirp of optical pulses transmitted through integrated ring resonators.     

Optical frequency-domain reflectometery

Experimental and simple analytical investigations have been performed on modulation-frequency-sweeping optical frequency-domain reflectometry (hereafter OFDR) technique for fibre diagnostic purposes. The experimental results are in good agreement with those obtained by computer simulations. Signal-to-noise-ratio improvement of more than 50 dB is expected by using a synchronous-detection type of filtering process. The results well confirm the diagnostic ability of the technique.     

频域反射法光纤延时精密测量

本文提出了一种应用于光纤延时系统中实现光纤延时精密测量的新方法,用以提高光纤延时测量的精度和准确性.该方法以1064 nm激光调制信号作为光源,通过测量回波信号的幅值和相位信息得到被测通道的频率响应,采用快速傅里叶逆变换得到被测目标的延时信息,实现光纤延时测量.本文通过理论分析和延时测量实验对频域反射法与传统的时域测量方法进行对比,使用频域反射法在调制频率范围10—200 MHz,采样频率间隔0.5 MHz的实验条件下,实现了3.3 ps延时测量分辨率,并证明了该方法具有比时域方法更高的测量精度,测量结果的准确性更好.     

基于瞬态光栅频率分辨光学开关法测量飞秒脉冲的研究

超宽光谱的飞秒脉冲测量一直是超快激光领域的重要研究方向之一.常规的飞秒脉冲自相关方法是通过测量自相关倍频信号来获得,而倍频信号具有波长选择性,不同中心波长的飞秒脉冲测量需要更换不同的倍频晶体,十分不方便.因此,提出了一种改进型的瞬态光栅频率分辨光学开关(TG-FROG)方法用于测量飞秒脉冲.该方法结合四波混频和频率分辨光学开关方法,其基本过程是将待测脉冲分为三束,其中两束脉冲经过精密的延时控制并聚焦在光学介质上达到时空重合,利用三阶非线性效应产生稳定的瞬态光栅作为开关光;另一束脉冲作为探测光与产生的瞬态光栅进行相互作用产生一个信号光,使用光谱仪对该信号光的光谱与延迟时间进行测量,并通过反演迭代算法处理而获取待测飞秒脉冲的光谱与电场信息.该方法只需要待测光的功率密度达到三阶非线性效应就可以实现测量,因此可以应用于任意中心波长的飞秒脉冲测量.利用该方法对中心波长分别为800 nm, 400 nm的飞秒脉冲,以及超连续亚10 fs的周期量级超宽光谱飞秒脉冲进行了测量,并与常规的干涉自相关仪器测量结果进行了比较,所得测量结果基本一致.实验结果表明,建立的基于TG-FROG方法对不同中心波长,不同脉冲宽度的飞秒脉冲测量是十分有效的.     

Fast and accurate group delay ripple measurement technique for ultralong chirped fiber Bragg gratings

A simple and very precise group delay ripple (GDR) measurement technique for linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings (CFBGs) is proposed. It is based on real-time optical Fourier transformation of an ultrashort pulse directly induced by the CFBG dispersion. We have experimentally demonstrated highly accurate characterization of the GDR profile of a commercial 10-m-long CFBG with a dispersion of +2000 ps/nm, having achieved a remarkably small standard deviation in our measurements of about 4 ps over a bandwidth of 28 nm. The proposed method has the unique potential to provide real-time GDR monitoring (in the MHz range) by use of commercially available high-speed sampling electronics.     

All-fiber wavelength- and mode-selective coupler for optical interconnections

We experimentally demonstrate a new wavelength- and mode-selective coupler utilizing intermodal coupling between a standard single-mode fiber (SMF) and a hollow optical fiber (HOF). The fabricated device routes optical signals such that a 1.3-microm signal is directed to the HOF port, adiabatically converting the LP(01) mode into a ring-shaped mode, which can be further connected to a gigabit ethernet link, reducing the differential mode-dispersion penalty. Optical signals near 1.5microm , meanwhile, stay in the LP(01) mode of the SMF arm for further connection to conventional wavelength-division multiplexing links based on erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. The performance of the device is characterized in terms of insertion loss, channel isolation, and mode-conversion efficiency.     

Measurement of wedge angle of a transparent parallel plate using quasi-monochromatic light source and phase shifting interferometry

A new technique (to our knowledge), for the measurement of residual wedge angle (RWA) of high optical quality transparent nearly parallel plate (PP), using a quasi-monochromatic light source, is presented. Advantages and drawbacks of the technique and the results obtained for a PP, using a filtered white light source, is discussed. A slightly modified optical setup for accurate determination of RWA, using phase shifting interferometry (PSI), has been described. Results obtained, applying PSI, for a validation experiment and for the determination of RWA of a quasi-PP is presented. The PSI based technique does not suffer from any measurement ambiguities due to limitation in effective beam aperture. Hence the technique is suitable for high accuracy measurement of RWA of PP. In both the optical setups, presented in this paper, the respective interfering beams travel the same optical circuit and are thus subject to same perturbation in optical path, due to external mechanical vibration, which finally cancels out. Thus the measurements are much less affected by external vibrations. Since the respective interfering beams undergo identical reflections and transmissions, the visibility or contrast of the interference fringes is very good.     

Bandwidth control in a hybrid fiber acousto-optic filter

We report a bandwidth variation technique in an acousto-optic filter. Utilizing the adiabatic conversion in both optical and acoustic modes, we obtain a novel hybrid waveguide composed of serial concatenation of single-mode fiber (SMF) and two-mode hollow optical fiber (HOF). On the basis of dissimilarity in the phase-matching conditions and beat-length dispersion in SMF and HOF, the FWHM of the resonant bands is varied from 3.8 to 190 nm near the 1.5-microm region in a single device. Furthermore, we theoretically analyze the acousto-optic coupling among the guided modes in HOF, which shows good agreement with experimental observations.     

Differential reflectometry of FBG sensors in the wide spectral range

The paper presents a reflectometric technique for interrogation of multiple fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors based on conventional optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR). The method proposed rests on the differential measurement of FBGs’ response to a short probing laser pulse. Implementation of differential measurement principle using several reference FBGs allowed us to eliminate the susceptibility of the system to intensity fluctuations as well as to increase the measurement range as compared to the previous developments. The experimental threshold sensitivity amounted to ∼50 microstrain with the measurement range being defined by the number of reference FBGs and limited only by optical fiber tensile strength. Due to its simplicity, efficiency and usage of conventional OTDR equipment the proposed FBG interrogation technique can find a wide range of applications dealing with strain and temperature measurements.     

太赫兹目标RCS缩比测量技术

论述了国外基于微波上倍频、激光下变频、THz时域光谱三种典型太赫兹波目标雷达散射截面(RCS)缩比测试系统的构成、技术特点和应用范围。采用固态器件、基于微波上倍频技术集成研制了宽带太赫兹低频端目标RCS测量系统,采用基于扫频的时域法RCS测量技术和小角度旋转目标雷达合成孔径（ISAR）成像方法对小目标进行了电磁散射特性测量,获取了目标RCS和二维散射成像信息。