Simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature with a long-period fiber grating inscribed Sagnac interferometer

A Sagnac interferometer with a long-period fiber grating (LPG) inscribed in the polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature. Due to the different responses of the LPG and the Sagnac interferometer to strain and temperature, simultaneous measurement can be achieved by monitoring the wavelength shifts and the intensity changes of a resonance dip of the sensor setup. The experimental results show that the achieved sensitivities to strain and temperature are 6.4 × 10^− 3 dB/με and 0.65 nm/°C, respectively.     

Two-dimensional cell parameters measurement of nematic liquid crystal using optical interferometry and Fourier transform fringe analysis technique

We report a method for the measurement of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cell parameters i.e., switching voltage, birefringence, retardation, dielectric anisotropy, average tilt angle and change in refractive index with applied DC voltage to LC material. The proposed method is based on optical interferometry and Fourier transform fringe analysis technique, in which we obtain 2-dimensional (2D) phase map of the interferograms as a function of applied voltage. Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) was used for the study of cell parameters and interferograms were recorded at different applied DC voltages to NLC cell using CCD camera. From the phase map, 2D-refractive index distribution of the LC cell with applied voltage was reconstructed. Analytical equations are derived based on optical interferometry and then solved to obtain cell parameters. The present method is fast and can give 2D-cell parameters from only two quick interferograms.     

Instantaneous frequency measurement based on complementary microwave photonic filters with a shared Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A novel configuration using only one Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) for photonic-assisted instantaneous microwave frequency measurement is proposed. The amplitude comparison function (ACF), related to the input microwave frequency while independent of the input optical power and modulate index, is achieved by using a ratio of low-pass to bandpass frequency responses introduced by intensity and phase modulation with a shared MZI. The microwave frequency can be estimated by the measured ACF. A proof-of-concept experiment for measurement of RF from 5 to 10 GHz is successfully demonstrated with the measurement errors less than ± 0.2 GHz.     

Application of computer vision and laser interferometer to the inspection of line scale

In the paper machine vision, laser interferometer and coordinate measuring machine (CMM) are combined to develop a vision inspection system. The measurement capability of the developed system is investigated by measuring the distances between the lines on a standard line scale. The vision camera is used to replace the probe of the CMM to take the images of the interested lines on a line scale at two different positions. Meanwhile, the displacement of the CCD camera is measured using laser interferometer. Using subpixel edge localization and outlier-excluding least-squares regression, the distance between two interested lines is computed under an image plane coordinate system. By adding the displacement of the CCD camera measured using laser interferometer, the line space can be determined. Experiments have been performed repeatedly to measure the line space on the 1.00 and 300.0 mm line scales. Results indicate that the measured data only have a little fluctuation and are close to those obtained by the NML (National Measurement Laboratory, Taiwan).     

螺旋相位光束轨道角动量态测量的实验研究

对螺旋光束的轨道角动量态的测量技术进行了实验研究.建立了一套利用Mach-Zehnder干涉仪测量光束轨道角动量态的系统,对利用空间光调制器生成的携带不同轨道角动量的光束进行了测量,通过Mach-Zehnder干涉仪分离出了具有不同角量子数的螺旋光束. 关键词： 轨道角动量 空间光调制器 Mach-Zehnder干涉仪     

Mach-Zehnder电光波导调制器啁啾的研究

在光纤通信系统中,调制器的啁啾参数是衡量调制器性能的重要参数之一.为了深入研究铌酸锂M-Z结构外调制的机理,导出了Mach-Zehnder结构外调制方式调制器的啁啾参数表达式,研究表明该结构调制器频率啁啾不为零,而且调制器的直流偏置漂移对啁啾的影响很小.详细讨论了影响啁啾参数的因素,分析了直流消光比、外加信号以及直流偏置漂移对器件啁啾参数的影响.分析结果表明,利用负啁啾可以改善系统的色散特性.     

Phase Measurement Algorithm in Wavelength Scanned Fizeau Interferometer

Wavelength scanned interferometry allows the simultaneous measurement of top surface shape and optical thickness variation of a transparent object consisting of several parallel surfaces. Interference signals from these surfaces can be separated in frequency space, and their phases are detected by discrete Fourier analysis. However, these signal frequencies are shifted from the detection frequency by the refractive index dispersion of the object and a nonlinearity of the wavelength scanning. The Fourier analysis is sensitive to the detuning of the signal frequency and suffers from the multiple-beam interference noise. Conventional error-compensating algorithms cannot be applied to an object consisting of more than three reflecting surfaces. We derive a new 2N-1 sample error-compensating algorithm, which allows the phase detection of any order of harmonic frequency among the interference signals. The new algorithm suppresses the effect of signal frequency detuning as well as the multiple-beam interference noise and can be applied to the measurement of complex objects consisting of more than three reflecting surfaces.     

Investigations of the E-O behavior in the poled polymer waveguide

The electro-optic (E-O) properties of the slab polymer waveguide induced by electric poling have been studied experimentally. The thin film waveguide was prepared by a synthesized polymer polypelargonamide and poled by applying voltage between the electrodes. I–V curves and E-O characteristics of the polymer films were in-situ measured during poling. In order to evaluate the molecular dipole orientation under the poling field, the absorption spectra of this film was observed by FTIR. The E-O performance of the polymer slab film was also estimated by the Mach–Zehnder interferometer.     

An all-optical switch of Mach－Zehnder interferometer type using an active fibre ring resonator

We propose an all-optical switch of the Mach－Zehnder interferometer type using an active nonlinear ring resonator and analyse the significance of the parameter A, a product of gain and total loss, for performing an ideal 1 by 2 switch. We found that in the range of 1-κ≤A≤\sqrt{1-κ}, the increment of A can compensate the losses inside the ring, therefore increase the finesse of the ring and enhance the nonlinearity contribution to reduce the switching power threshold effectively. We also emphasize the importance of the initial switching point and discuss the feasibility of utilizing a high-nonlinear fibre in the ring.     

Determination of path length difference by low coherence interference spectrum

Path length difference is the key parameter in two-beam interferometer, especially in low coherence interferometer. It determines the visibility of the interference fringes. In this study, we present a method to determine the path length difference between two arms of a fiber optic Mach–Zehnder interferometer by evaluating the peaks of power distribution of the interference spectrum with a wide band light source. The experimental results are in close agreement with the theoretical calculations.