Interferometric studies on the influence of temperature on the optical and dispersion parameters of GRIN optical fibre

Opto-thermal device attached to automate Fizeau interferometer is used to investigate the influence of temperature on opto-thermal properties of multimode graded-index (GRIN) optical fibre in the range from 27 to 54 °C. The effect of temperature on the refractive index profile of fibre is studied. The optical parameters and the opto-thermal coefficient of this fibre are determined. Also the variation of oscillation and dispersion energies, zero dispersion wavelengths, coupling efficiency, normalised frequency, number of propagation modes with the temperature and the material dispersion with the wavelength at different temperatures are calculated. Microinterferograms are given for illustration.     

Measurement of refractive index homogeneity of parallel optical component

In this paper, we present a method for enhancing the measurement capability of refractive index homogeneity for parallel optical components, which phase-shifting interferometry cannot handle with. With the help of wavelength-modulation phase-shifting interferometry, a series of multiple-surface interference fringes are obtained and analyzed by Fourier transform. Based on the fact that the interference fringe corresponding to each interference cavity has its own variation frequency, the wavefront aberrations induced by each interference cavity are obtained and the refractive index homogeneity is then obtained. It is proved by experiment that the enhanced method can measure the refractive index homogeneity of parallel optical components more accurately and conveniently compared with the traditional measurement approach. Therefore, it will have potential application forwards in optical measurement field.     

Zygo interferometer for measuring refractive index of liquids and its application for heavy water analysis

The Zygo interferometer for measuring refractive index of liquids such as heavy water is presented. The accuracy of measurement in the refractive index of liquids is found to be ±0.0002 in the Zygo interferometer. An application of Zygo interferometer for heavy water analysis is also presented. The interferometer is found to be useful for determining the percentage purity of heavy water with an accuracy of ±5% in the purity range of 0–100%.     

Calculation of the absorption coefficients of optical materials by measuring the transmissivities and refractive indices

In this paper, a formula for accurate calculation of the absorption coefficient of optical material is deduced by the relationship of its transmissivity, refractive index and absorption coefficient. Because the values of transmissivity and refractive index of the optical material with a higher accuracy can be determined by the instruments or obtained directly from the references, the calculated results of the absorption coefficients with a higher accuracy is certified. The absorption coefficients of some optical materials are calculated with it, and the results are discussed.     

Pulsed photoacoustic technique to measure the absorption coefficients of the highly transparent optical materials

A new technique of measuring the low optical absorption coefficient is described by using pulsed photoacoustic calorimetry. The frequency dependence of the photoacoustic signal is different owing to its main origin, either the bulk absorption or the surface absorption. The Fourier transform of the pulsed photoacoustic signal, generated by a pulsed CO₂ laser, is obtained as the frequency response of the photoacoustic signal. The ratio of the bulk absorption coefficient and surface absorption coefficient is acquired as 1:1.5.     

Determination of the refractive index profile of polymer optical fiber preform by the transverse ray tracing method

In graded-index polymer optical fiber (GI-POF), the refractive index profile is an important parameter in defining its bandwidth. However, direct determination of the refractive index profile of GI-POF is difficult due to its extreme thinness. In this study, the refractive index distribution of the GI-POF is indirectly determined by measuring the refractive index distribution of the GI-POF perform by applying the transverse ray tracing method to a simplified measurement system that we developed.In this system, a parallel tabular ray is irradiated transversely to a GI-POF preform. The transverse ray from the preform is then projected on a screen, and its digital image is processed to calculate the refractive index distribution. The calculation is based on a transverse ray simulation, a computer program that we developed in which the refractive index distribution of the preform is determined by comparing the displacement of the transverse ray projected on the screen with the actual measurement.The accuracy of this new measurement method is validated by comparing the refractive index distribution of a GI-POF preform with the refractive index distribution measured by the conventional method using an interferometer. We find that the refractive index distribution measured by this novel method agrees well with that measured by the conventional method.     

Zygo interferometer for measuring refractive index of photorefractive bismuth silicon oxide (Bi12SiO20) crystal

An application of the Zygo system for measuring the refractive index of optical materials such as bismuth silicon oxide (BSO) having a higher value of the refractive index than that of glass is presented. The setting accuracy is found to be of the order of 1 μm in the Zygo phase measuring interferometer. The mean value of refractive index of BSO crystal measured by the interferometer for several samples of thickness in the range of 3–9 mm is 2.542 at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. The accuracy of measurement is ±0.002. It is possible to achieve an accuracy of ±0.0003 for a sample of thickness of 30 mm in the measurement of refractive index due to high setting accuracy of the Zygo system.     

Study of in fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer based on two spaced 3-dB long period gratings surrounded by a refractive index higher than that of silica

The paper deals with the response of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer composed by two 3-dB long period gratings (LPG) with different external refractive indices higher than that of silica (leaky configuration). A rough analysis of the cladding propagation arising in leaky configuration has allowed us to establish a model that is sufficient to describe the interferometer couplings evolution at the resonance. In particular, we have shown that the interferometer sensitivity depends strongly on its phase-shift Δ and is optimized for Δ equal to π [2π] or 3π/4 [2π]. An experimental study was undertaken and allowed us to validate our model. Finally, a comparison with a single LPG demonstrated an increased sensitivity to the external index, suggesting the conception of a new fiber sensor operating with external refractive indices higher than that of silica.     

Effect of gamma irradiation on the light polarization variation of PMMA polymer

Analyzing the effect of ionized gamma irradiation on the optical parameters of materials is a solution for finding newer techniques in the field of detector and dosimeter systems. A PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) polymer was radiated from a ⁶⁰Co source with a power of 1800 C and a constant dose rate of 1.44 kGy/h in three steps of 5, 25 and 61.2 kGy. The ionized gamma irradiation affected the refractive index of polymer and therefore it changes the polarization of the incident light. The difference in the polarization phase shift of the polymer depended on the dose it had been irradiated with.     

Interferometric determination of the refractive indices and birefringence of some highly oriented fibres

Variable wavelength interferometric technique (VAWI) is a direct method for determining the refractive indices and birefringence of highly oriented fibres. This method uses the polarizing interference Pluta microscope with a monochromatic light from wedge interference filter that provides a continuously variable wavelength. The standard calibration process of the Pluta polarizing interference microscope is carried out and a calibration graph is obtained. The refractive indices and birefringence of PEN, CONEX and TECHNORA were measured over the visible range of the spectrum and the constants for the Cauchy's dispersion formula were determined. The oscillation and dispersion energies were calculated from the measurements of the refractive index.     

Processing of thermal lens fringes by S-transform

Thermal lens fringes are obtained by using Mach-Zehnder interferometer on the nile-blue/ethanol solution. S-Transform algorithm is used firstly to obtain local phase and refractive index change distributions by analyzing the thermal lens fringes. In the result, it was seen that this method showed a better result than that obtained by continuous wavelet transform in the previous work mentioned in the literature, since the frequency resolution and filtration effect of the S-transform method are better than other algorithms.     

光学材料折射率和色散的高精度测量技术研究

本文探讨了在一般精度的测角仪器上达到高精度测量折射率和色散的新原理和新方法,这些新原理和方法包括:光学角规补偿法测色散、直角照射法、自准封闭式最小偏向角法。通过实际大量的测量工作证明在1″测角仪(测角精度为3″)和测微望远镜上,上述原理方法都可以达到△n~±3×10~(-6),△(n_λ_1-n_λ_2)~±2×10~(-6)的精度。     

Interferometric determination of refraction and dispersion of a birefringent material: non-numerical procedure

Fringes of equal chromatic order are produced in air, immersion liquid and mica sample interferometric gaps. The three gaps are of the same thickness and simultaneously enclosed in a wedge interferometer. A single-shot interferogram contains fringes in the three gaps is sufficient to deduce the needed experimental data. A non-numerical procedure is used for determining the refractive indices of the immersion liquid and mica sample across the visible spectrum. There is no need for any numerical fitting stage nor for the application of any theoretical model concerning the dispersion behavior of the sample under test. A modified two-term Sellmeier dispersion formula has been used for fitting the experimental data and deducing the needed dispersion parameters.     

Determination of optical parameters of partially transparent materials by the invariant embedding method

Optics and Spectroscopy - A method of invariant immersion to solve the inverse problem of identification of the indicators of the absorption and scattering of heat-resistant quartz ceramics by the...     

Measurement of small differences in refractive indices of solutions with interferometric optical method

Based on the principles of both surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and heterodyne interferometry, an optical method for measuring small differences in refractive indices of solutions was proposed. On a specially designed probe, two light beams are incident on both reference and test solutions. The phase differences between the p- and s-polarizations of each reflected light under SPR condition are measured simultaneously with heterodyne interferometric technique. The phase values are substituted into special equations derived from Fresnel's equations. Finally, the difference between the refractive indices of these two solutions can be estimated. The feasibility of this method was demonstrated and the measurement sensitivity of refractive index can reach a value of at least 8.57×10⁻⁷. This method should bear the merits of a simple structure, easy operation, high sensitivity and rapid measurement.     

Interferometric determination of refraction and dispersion of a birefringent material: numerical procedure

Air, liquid and solid sample interferometric gaps of the same thickness and simultaneously enclosed in a wedge interferometer are used to produce fringes of equal chromatic order. A mica sample of dimensions 2×5 mm² and an immersion liquid of the same refractive index are used. A single shot interferogram containing fringes in the three gaps is sufficient to deduce the needed experimental data. Locations of fringe maxima are introduced in a numerical procedure to retrieve the sample and liquid refractive indices across the visible spectrum. The numerical procedure is based on a simple dispersion function of wavelength and wavenumber. A modified two-term Sellmeier dispersion formula has been used for fitting the experimental data and deducing the needed dispersion parameters.     

A novel video opto-mechanical (VOM) device for studying the effect of stretching speed on the optical and structural properties of fibers

Using a novel video opto-mechanical (VOM) device, the effect of stretching speed on the optical and structural properties of polypropylene (PP) fibers during the dynamic stretching process is studied. The objective of the present study is to correlate the optical and mechanical properties of PP fibers with the speed of stretching using the multiple-beam Fizeau fringes system. The skeletonization of the multiple-beam Fizeau fringes are determined automatically by using one-dimension Fourier transform method. The stepper motor is adjusted in order to stretch the fibers continuously with constant and uniform speed until breaking of the fiber. The refractive indices, birefringence, transverse sectional area and the orientation function of PP fibers are studied as a function of the draw ratio at different speeds of stretching. An empirical formula is given to correlate the birefringence of PP fiber and both the draw ratio and the speed of stretching. Stretching process of PP with low speed (slow stretching) is recommended to overcome the necking deformation along the fiber. The VOM device could be used to measure the yield strain. The draw ratio-stretching speed superposition is discussed with some details. Microinterferograms are given for illustration.     

Evaluation of optical parameters of some tellurite glasses

Evaluation of optical parameters of tellurite glasses in the form: 80TeO₂-5TiO₂-(15-x) WO₃-xA_nO_m, where xA_nO_m = 0.01, 1, 3, 5 Nb₂O₅ or 0.01, 0.1, 1, 3 Nd₂O₃ or 0.01, 0.1, 1, 3, 5, 7 Er₂O₃ mol% will be carried out. The optical parameters will be focused on calculating molar refractivity, molar polarizability, oxide ion polarizability, molar cation polarizability, optical basicity, metallization and number of polarizable atoms per unit volume for every glass composition in order to interpret the refractive index of these glasses.     

Remote cure monitoring of epoxy materials using optical techniques

A remote all-optical technique for the generation and detection of ultrasonics in materials is described. This technique uses a robust wideband optical fiber interferometer for detection. Using this interferometer, non-contact measurements of ultrasonic propagation times in epoxy materials are reported throughout the complete cure cycle.     

Measurement of parallelism of the surfaces of a transparent sample

An interferometric method for the measurement of parallelism of the end faces of a transparent material is described. It is based on the measurement of fringe displacement caused by the wedge angle of the material by using the Lau effect.