Effects of Polarization-Maintaining Fibre Degrading on Precision of Fibre Optic Gyroscopes in Radiation Environment

In the space environment, the precision of fibre optic gyroscopes （FOGs） degrades because of space radiation. Photonic components of FOGs are affected by radiation, especially the polarization-maintaining （PM） fibre coil. In relation to the space radiation environment characteristic, we have carried out a series of radiation experiments on a PM fibre coil with 6OCo radiation source at different dose rates. Bazed on the experimental results, the formula between the PM-fibre loss and radiation dose rate is built, and the relation between the precision of FOG and radiation dose is obtained accordingly. The results strongly show that the precision of our FOG degrades owing to the attenuation of the polarization-maintaining fibre, which provides theoretical foundation for the radiation-resistant design of the FOG.     

Compensation for Radio-over-Fibre Uplink Based on Hybrid Neural Networks

The radio-over-fibre （ROF） uplink, which combines the merit of optical fibre with that of microwave technology, can supply the high capacity of communication. However, there are two major issues： nonlinear distortion of the optical link and the multipath dispersion of the wireless channel, affecting the performance of the system. We propose an equalizer based on hybrid neural networks. The compensation needs no estimation of the channel. The simulated result shows that the ROF uplink can be adequately compensated and the performance of the equalizer depends on the channel noise.     

Optical crosstalk influence in fiber imaging endoscopes design

Medical endoscopy constitutes a basic and powerful medical tool for the development of minimally invasive procedures for a wide range of medical applications. Fiber endoscopes show a high flexibility, but are severely limited by optical crosstalk. Although they have been manufactured for decades, some of their quality limiting factors have not been exhaustively studied yet, and no design curves have been published so far. In this work, we apply a theoretical model for the study of coupling between multimode optical waveguides to the analysis of crosstalk influence in fiber imaging endoscopes. The fundamental equations and novel design curves will be obtained, enabling the adjustment of the fiber endoscope parameters in order to fulfill the quality requirements for a certain application.     

High Power Er/Yb Codoped Double Clad Fiber Pulsed Amplifier Based on an All-Fiber Configuration

We report an all-fiber two-stage high power pulsed amplifier, seeded with a 1550nm, 1 kHz repetition rate rectangular pulse, and based on Er/Yb co-doped double clad fiber. All the characteristics are measured in the experiment. The maximal slope efficiency is 22.56%, which is the highest we know of at such a low repetition rate, and the maximal output signal power is 1W. The various factors that affect the pulsed amplifier performance are analyzed. A high output power while keeping high power conversion efficiency can be obtained with careful selection of the input power, pump power and repetition rate. The experimental results show that the crucial parameters should be optimized when designing all-fiber pulsed amplifiers.     

A study on Raman scattering cross section of carbon tetrachloride at low concentrations

Using the technique of the liquid-core optical fiber (LCOF), we measured the Raman spectra intensities of CCl₄ in CS₂ at concentrations ranging from 90 to 0.8% in volume. According to the relative peak area ratios and peak height ratios, two kinds of RSCS values of the 459 cm^–1 CCl₄ band for each concentration, _{R A} and _{R H}, were obtained by using Onsagers model and the internal standard method. The two kinds of RSCS values and their changing tendencies are in agreement with each other. It is also found that both _{R A} and _{R H} increase with decreasing solution concentration. When the concentration is higher than 4%, both of them are flat and linear with the volume concentration of CCl₄ in CS₂. When the concentration is lower than 4%, they increase rapidly with decreasing concentration. At 0.8% both RSCS values increase to ten times that of the 459 cm^–1 band of CCl₄ in pure liquid. A tentative theory exploration for the experimental results is given, which introduces dispersion forces into Onsagers model. Additionally, some likely influencing factors on experimental results, such as numerical aperture (NA) of LCOF and baseline subtraction, were researched.     

啁啾脉冲堆积用于光脉冲整形

报道了一种利用100 ps啁啾脉冲堆积产生2．2 ns任意整形脉冲的脉冲整形系统。采用掺Yb~(3 )光纤锁模振荡器得到稳定的锁模光脉冲序列,将该锁模脉冲通过啁啾光纤光栅展宽并通过1 nm带宽的高斯形光谱滤波器滤波,得到标准的100 ps高斯形啁啾脉冲序列,将此脉冲选单经过光纤延迟线组成的32路脉冲堆积器,得到了精度为32 bit的重复频率为1 Hz的2．2 ns任意整形光脉冲。研究了堆积脉冲的特性,分析了宽带啁啾堆积整形脉冲的光谱时间扫描特性对激光驱动惯性约束聚变打靶束匀滑的优化作用。实验测得了该系统输出的2．2 ns整形光脉冲具有小于50 ps的上升沿,与100 ps啁啾脉冲的时间抖动小于4 ps。     

脉冲堆积方式产生整形脉冲的逆问题

在利用光纤脉冲堆积器进行脉冲时间整形时,存在如何确定光纤脉冲堆积器各路的延时、衰减等参数以产生所需脉冲波形的问题.为此分非相干脉冲堆积和部分相干脉冲堆积两种情况,定量分析了堆积脉冲的特性.在此基础上,提出了一种逆算方法,使得在任意给定时间波形情况下,均可以通过该逆算方法,简单而准确地计算出光纤脉冲堆积器参数.研究结果表明,非相干堆积而成的脉冲波形较为平滑,而部分相干堆积而成的脉冲波形则存在一定的调制;按逆算结果堆积而成的脉冲波形与给定波形符合很好.     

Systematic engineering of paraxial coherent fields with spherical optical systems

The concept of the Iwasawa decomposition [1] of ABCD ray-matrices is used for a systematic calculation of field distributions appearing in spherical optical systems. Examples of optimization for applications are calculated.     

A Novel Method to Calculate the Initial Phase Difference between the Two Fibre Arms of Laser Homodyne Iuterferometer

We suggest a novel method to calculate the initial phase difference between two fibre arms of a laser homodyne interferometer. Put the two fibre arms in a temperature controller, whose short term stability is 0.02° C （measured in an hour）, then measure the interference photocurrent and the photocurrents from the two fibre arms at a fixed temperature. With these three photocurrents we can calculate the value of the initial phase difference. We set up a simple laser homodyne interferometer to test the theory. The experimental results are repeatable and the measurement precision is about 0.04°. It is theoretically and experimentally proven that this method is potentially easy and practical.     

Multiple-Pulse Operation in Passively Mode-Locked Fibre Laser with Positive Dispersion Cavity

We report the observation of rectangular shape spectrum in passively mode-locked fibre laser with positive dispersion cavity. The spectrum is broad and flat, and 3dB bandwidth can be up to 17.61 nm. Multiple-pulse operation is observed in our laser system. The spectrum width, pulse energy, pulse width and peak power of the mode-locked laser output change with the appearance of multiple-pulse operation.     

Camera calibration based on paraxial raytracing

Traditional camera calibration is based on the pinhole model, which is an approximation algorithm using untrue geometrical assumptions and giving a single lumped result for the multiple optical elements in a camera. To provide an alternative method of camera calibration, we extend the traditional 2×2 matrix-based paraxial raytracing method to 6×6 in order to trace paraxial rays by using the first-order Taylor series expansion of Snell’s laws. Then we establish the geometric relationship between images and objects. Compared with the Snell’s Law camera calibration model of our previous work, the paraxial model offers explicit analytical sensitivity analysis for the mathematical manipulation of problematical conditions. Compared with the existing pinhole model, the proposed method, in addition to five intrinsic and six extrinsic parameters, gives the position parameters of each optical element of the camera system.     

Optimization of phase objects in 4f coherent imaging system for nonlinear refraction measurements

We numerically analyze the effects of radius and phase shift of phase objects on the diffraction image of the 4f coherent imaging system, a system used for measuring the third-order nonlinear refractive index. The selection of the aperture radius is discussed. We prove that when the phase object radius is 0.1 time of the aperture radius and the phase change of the phase object is 0.57π, one can get the highest sensitivity for nonlinear refraction measurement.     

Experimental investigation of self-starting operation in a F8L based on a symmetrical NOLM

We experimentally analyze the self-starting operation of a figure-eight mode-locked fiber laser. The design is based on a power-balanced nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) with highly twisted low-birefringence fiber and a quarter-wave (QW) retarder in the loop. The NOLM operates by nonlinear polarization rotation. Self-starting mode-locking requires a careful adjustment of the NOLM low-power transmission, which is easily realized with our setup by adjusting the angle of the QW retarder. The laser is capable of generating ∼20 ps pulses at the fundamental repetition frequency of 0.78 MHz.     

Performance of a zoom homogenizer for reshaping coherent laser beams

We have reshaped the TEM₀₀ beam emitted by a diode-pumped Nd-Yag laser by means of an optical homogenizer with zoom. The laser beam, first enlarged up to a size of (100 × 37.5) mm², is homogenized and resized to a final dimension continuously adjustable from (130 × 4.5) mm² up to (130 × 52) mm². We measured the plateau uniformity, the root mean square fluctuation and the edge steepness of the beam according to the ISO standard definitions, showing a poor reliability of the above parameter values due to the definitions themselves, and propose an amendment to overcome this problem. We obtained a very sharp edge steepness, but the spatial coherence of the laser beam put a lower limit to the high-frequency intensity fluctuations on the plateau region of the homogenized beam. Finally, we discuss the optimum homogenizer design for spatially coherent laser beams, including the depth of focus issue.     

Characterization and optimization of a laser-scanning microscope in the femtosecond regime

Received: 26 August 1997/Revised version: 2 February 1998     

Bright thermal atomic beams by laser cooling: A 1400-fold gain in beam flux

Using a three-step transverse laser cooling scheme, a strongly diverging flow of metastable Ne(3s ³ P ₂] atoms is compressed into a well-collimated, small diameter atomic beam (e.g., 1.4 mrad HWHM divergence at 3.6 mm beam diameter) with an unmodified axial velocity distribution centered at 580 m/s. The maximum increase in beam flux 1.04 m downstream of the source is a factor 1400; the maximum increase in phase space density, i.e., brightness, is a factor 160. The laser power used is only 140 mW. The scheme is extendable to a large variety of atomic species and enables the application of bright atomic beams in many areas of physics.     

啁啾脉冲堆积的宽带整形脉冲三倍频方案分析

针对啁啾脉冲堆积方法获得的宽带整形激光脉冲,采用KDP晶体Ⅰ／Ⅱ类角度失谐的三倍频方案,定量分析了影响其三倍频转换效率的主要因素,并对三倍频前后的时间波形及频谱分布进行了比较分析。在此基础上,与时间相位调制的宽带整形脉冲三倍频的相应结果进行了比较。研究结果表明,对于啁啾脉冲堆积方法获得的宽带整形激光脉冲,在实现较高的三倍频转换效率的同时,其时间波形和频谱分布基本保持不变。对于具有相同带宽和波形的时间位相调制整形脉冲,其三倍频转换效率明显低于啁啾脉冲堆积宽带整形脉冲。     

Fabrication of planar gratings by direct ablation using an ultrashort pulse laser in a common optical path configuration

Planar gratings have wide applications and to date, many methods for the fabrication of gratings have been reported. Ultrashort pulse lasers have been used for the machining of gratings primarily because they allow direct ablation and the manufacturing of sub-wavelength structures. In this paper, we present a novel direct ablation technique for the fabrication of planar gratings which makes use of the interference of ultrashort pulses in a common optical path configuration. This technique of grating fabrication not only simplifies the optical setup, but also immunizes the system to extraneous and inherent vibrations, thus enabling the manufacturing of planar gratings of good edge acuity. We have successfully fabricated planar gratings on a copper substrate. Received: 6 November 2001 / Accepted: 4 March 2002 / Published online: 10 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +65/77-904-674, E-mail: mvenkata@ntu.edu.sg     

Modification of alumina barrier-layer through re-anodization in an oxalic acid solution with fluoride additives

A new simple method for modification of the porous alumina barrier-layer is described and characterized by the voltammetric, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The method is based on re-anodization of porous alumina under galvanostatic conditions in the anodizing bath that, in addition to conventional anodization solution components, contains fluoride salts: (NH₄)₂SiF₆ or NH₄F. During first few minutes of alumina re-anodization, the sharp drop of anodizing voltage was observed, which is indicative of chemical/electrochemical transformations of the alumina barrier-layer. As a result, the scalloped structure of the barrier-layer changes drastically, becoming smooth and finely grained. Upon re-anodization, a significant loss of insulating ability of the barrier-layer and considerable increase in its capacitance were observed, while the variation of the constant phase element was found to be consistent with the oxide film morphology transformations observed by microscopy techniques. All these changes intensify with fluoride concentration increase. Curiously, (NH₄)₂SiF₆ exhibited about three-fold stronger effect on the barrier-layer properties than NH₄F, thus allowing us to hypothesize about possible chemical break up of SiF₆²⁻ anion and the formation of the AlF₃ phase inside the alumina pores.     

Frequency noise suppression in a diode laser locked to a travelling wave resonator incorporating a Brewster prism

A polarisation locking technique was applied to stabilise an extended cavity diode laser using a travelling wave resonator incorporating a Brewster prism. Despite the fact that the employed unbalanced detection was sensitive to optical power fluctuations, the in-loop photodetector measured 90 dB of noise suppression at 10 Hz in comparison to the free running frequency noise spectrum. Excess intensity noise measured with an out-of-loop detector, indicated the presence of correction-correlated noise in the output of the stabilised diode laser.