Twist sensor based on Sagnac single-mode optic fiber interferometer

An optical fiber twist sensor based on Sagnac single-mode optic fiber interferometer is proposed. The stress-induced birefringence of single-mode optical fiber is obtained by applying a transverse force against a short length of singlemode fiber. A high sensitivity and resolution of the twist angle measurement of 0.19 nm/° and 0.002° is achieved experimentally, respectively. The proposed sensor is more convenient and simple than that of standard polarization-maintaining fibers.     

Surface-bonded fiber optic Sagnac sensors for ultrasound detection

This paper describes a fiber optic sensor suitable for remote sensing and multi-point detection of ultrasound. This ultrasound sensor is based on the surface-bonded fiber optic Sagnac interferometer with the output fringe visibility of 1; it consists of a laser source, an ordinary single mode fiber delay line, a fiber coupler, a phase modulator and polarization controllers. For the validation of the sensor, surface acoustic waves and Lamb waves are excited by illuminating a steel specimen with an array of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser-generated line sources and the measurement of laser-generated ultrasonic waves are performed on the specimen surface using the surface-mounting fiber optic Sagnac sensor. The surface-bonded fiber optic sensor developed in this study has a simple configuration for detection of ultrasonic waves. Effectiveness of surface-bonded fiber optic Sagnac sensors for remote sensing of ultrasound and in situ monitoring of structures is investigated. The capability of multi-point detection of ultrasound by this Sagnac sensor is also discussed.     

Narrow band laser-generated surface acoustic waves using a formed source in the ablative regime

A narrow band laser-generated acoustic signal was created using a 4-element lenticular array. This arrangement of the array produces an acoustical signal with frequency content that is compatible with the response of a noncontact and remote broadband receiver, such as a capacitive air-coupled transducer. To support the experimental observations, a simplified concept is presented to explain the effect of a line array source on the frequency content of a surface acoustic wave. The analytical model solution for the wave front shape is derived from the point load solution of Lamb's problem that represents the displacement of a surface acoustic wave generated by an ablative line array. The distribution function, which was used for the model to represent the laser light energy, was tailored to depict the actual energy distribution that illuminates the lenticular array. Filtering functions are applied to the resultant surface displacement function to retain frequencies similar to those detected by the broadband 50 kHz-2.25 MHz receiver. The theoretical model showed good agreement with experimental results.     

Sagnac干涉仪与光纤环形激光器

依据相干光学理论,以现代激光干涉侧试技术中的光纤Ｓａｇｎａｃ干涉仪为例,分析和讨论了光纤环形激光器的基本工作原理,并结合其物理原理简要介绍了光纤环形激光器和光纤陀螺（ＦＯＧ）的应用的发展前景。     

Temperature measurements using fiber optic polarization interferometer

A novel measurement method of temperature based on the phenomena that the phase difference between principle polarization states in the optical retarder is function of temperature is described. The polarization state of optical beam is changed as it passes through the optical retarder, which depends on the temperature. The temperature of optical retarder is determined by comparison of the power difference between principal polarization states. We demonstrate successfully the temperature measurement by using a polarization maintaining fiber as the optical retarder. With a 100 mm length of the fiber optic retarder, the change rate of phase difference on temperature was 0.236 rad/°C and the measurement error was ±0.038°C over the temperature range of −2.6 – +3.4°C. With a 11.5 mm length of the fiber optic retarder, the change rate of phase difference on temperature was 0.021 rad/°C and the measurement error was ±0.79°C over the temperature range of −8.5 – +86.5°C.     

Performance of a wavelength-tunable erbium-doped fiber laser using a Sagnac interferometer

We experimentally demonstrate a wavelength-tunable erbium-doped fiber laser that is composed of a ring cavity and a single-mode fiber Sagnac interferometer in a new and simple arrangement. We find that the fiber laser output wavelength is tunable by adjusting the filter effect of the Sagnac fiber loop through a fiber polarization controller set there. The quasi-single-wavelength continuously tunable laser outputs could be achieved within some wavelength range. The multi-wavelength laser outputs could also be observed under some appropriate settings of the polarization controller. A theoretical demonstration of the wavelength tunability about the transmission-type Sagnac loop filter has also been achieved using the Jones calculus theory.     

Electro-optical fiber modulation in a Sagnac interferometer

The linear electro-optical effect was induced in optical fibers by thermal poling. A Sagnac all-spliced fiber loop was constructed incorporating an electro-optical fiber used as a phase modulator at 1.5 microm and stable switching was obtained. A rise time of approximately 40 ns was obtained, and signals <2 V generated a measurable optical response.     

Sagnac interferometer with adaptive nonlinear detection

We present a Sagnac interferometer that uses a nonlinear adaptive medium for detection. The nonlinearity of the medium being characterized by a finite response time, the detection has a finite frequency bandwidth determining two operational regimes: at low variation rate of the rotation speed the interferometer operates in the slow-light regime, providing a direct measurement of the angular acceleration. For high variation rate of the rotation speed the amplitude of the alternating component of the Sagnac phase shift is instead detected, with the continuous and low-frequency components filtered out by the adaptive nonlinear process in the medium.     

Rapid and accurate chromatic dispersion measurement of fiber using asymmetric Sagnac interferometer

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an advanced method for chromatic dispersion measurement of fiber. This technique is based on spectral interferometry by using an asymmetric Sagnac loop and broadband optical source. The chromatic dispersion can be directly obtained from the spectral interferogram seen from an optical spectral analyzer. This method is rapid (<1?s), accurate, simple, low cost, and can provide a large dispersion measurement range.     

Multi-wavelength fiber laser in single-longitudinal mode operation using a photonic crystal fiber Sagnac interferometer

In this paper, we report a new configuration of a tunable multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser based on the commercial optical multiplexers and a Sagnac interferometer which includes a section of a high-birefringent photonic crystal fiber. Four-wavelength laser emission lines were obtained simultaneously in single-longitudinal mode operation showing a power instability lower than 1 dB, and an optical signal-to-noise ratio higher than 65 dB for all the emitted wavelengths. This proposed configuration allows the individual control of the loss of each channel of the laser and because of it is based on the commercial ITU-grid multiplexers, the laser is adapted to the telecommunications channel’s normative.     

Compact phase-shifted Sagnac interferometer for ultrasound detection

A compact fibre, phase-shifted Sagnac interferometer for ultrasound detection has been developed. The interferometer is a truly path-matched device, and therefore requires no path stabilization or heterodyning. It is a less expensive and more robust alternative to the heterodyne or path-stabilized Michelson interferometer. The device provides high spatial resolution of ultrasonic detection. It has been used in conjunction with conventional piezoelectric transducers (PZT) to detect Rayleigh and Lamb waves and to image a crack in a thin plate, rivet cracks in riveted plates, and for ultrasonic beam profiling.     

Phase-difference amplification using a Sagnac interferometer

In this paper, we describe a new method for achieving phase-difference amplification, which is quick and convenient, operates in real time, and requires no photographic steps. Magnification factors of 2, 4 or 6 are achieved easily in one step. Because the system operates in real time, phase stepping may be applied to extract the amplified phase distributions. Our method is a variation on longitudinally reversed shearing interferometry, using first- or higher-order diffraction from a grating (hologram) which is in fact the interferogram of the wavefront under test. The grating is derived from a standard two-beam interferometer which is phase-stepped, and displayed in real time on a spatial light modulator in the phase-difference amplification setup. It is illuminated by the two output beams from a Sagnac interferometer, similar to the set up used by (Barnes et al. Barnes TH, Eiju T, Matsuda K. Appl Opt 1986; 25:1864). for spectral resolution enhancement, and a phase-amplified fringe pattern is obtained by spatial filtering using a Fourier transform lens. We demonstrate operation of the phase amplifier and show amplified phase maps retrieved by phase-stepping. We believe this is the first time that real-time phase amplification without photographic steps and with phase stepping has been demonstrated.     

光纤Sagnac温度传感器

介绍了一种新型的基于光纤Sagnac干涉仪的高精度光纤温度传感器———光纤Sagnac温度传感器。讨论了此传感器的测温原理,推导了被测温度与传感器输出之间的关系,设计并调测了一个具体传感器系统。实验结果表明,此温度传感器具有很高的精度和大的测量范围。     

Unambiguous measurement of surface profile using a Sagnac interferometer with phase feedback

The fringe profiles from a two beam interferometer with phase feedback are almost unambiguous over a range of 2π or more. This allows phase and therefore surface profile to be determined directly from output intensity of an interferometer. In this paper we describe how feedback can be applied to a polarisation Sagnac common path interferometer using a parallel aligned nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator. Initial experiments have shown that the device is capable of measuring profiles to accuracies greater than one tenth of a wavelength.     

Analysis of a Sagnac interferometer with low-birefringence twisted fiber

The fiber Sagnac interferometer of low birefringence and twist is analyzed numerically in the linear region. A novel method for measurement of the birefringence of the fiber and the angle of rotation of the axes inside the fiber loop of the interferometer is also presented.     

Hydrogen detection with surface acoustic transverse waves

Summary A new hydrogen sensor is here presented, based on the use of horizontally polarized surface transverse waves (STW). The use of these waves for application to chemical sensors seems attractive because of the possibility of controlling their penetration depth into the substrate and thus increasing the sensitivity of the device. Preliminary experiments, performed on a ST-cut quartz substrate, have shown how the response of the device strongly increases with the STW energy trapping in the sensitive Pd film.     

Silicon-based integrated interferometer with phase modulation driven by surface acoustic waves

As a novel application of silicon-based integrated optics, results from a proposed compact Mach-Zehnder interferometer are presented. The deposition of a ZnO thin-film transducer upon the reference arm of the interferometer transforms this optically passive device into a device with active sinusoidal phase modulation.     

Polarization Sagnac interferometer with postmodulation for gravitational-wave detection

We describe a polarization Sagnac interferometer with an in-loop half-wave plate that allows signal detection at the reciprocal port of the beam splitter while maintaining the ability to detect the signal at a dark fringe. Postmodulation and balanced heterodyne detection are used to recover the signal. This topology is simple to control because of its common-path characteristics and its collinear signal and local oscillator. The robustness of this scheme to amplitude and frequency fluctuations of the laser is demonstrated. Intraloop birefringence in this interferometer acts as a loss, reducing the power on the detector. The magnitude of this loss is discussed and experimentally verified.