KEYWORDS: Resonators, Profiling, Microresonators, Optical fibers, Spectroscopy, Geometrical optics, Scanning electron microscopy, Optical fabrication, Radio propagation, Control systems
This paper experimentally demonstrates a method for geometrical profiling of thin microfiber tapers with small waist diameters ranging from 10 to 40 μm with submicron accuracy. The method is based on analysis of whispering gallery mode resonances excited in cylindrical fiber resonators as a result of evanescent coupling of light propagating through the fiber taper under test. Measurement results have been verified by optical and SEM microscopic studies. The proposed method can be applied in the fabrication of fiber micro tapers for accurate control of the taper profile and in sensing of biochemical species on the surface of the microfiber.
A vector magnetic field sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of a 15° tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) and magnetic fluid is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Both the orientation and the amplitude of the magnetic fields can be determined unambiguously via the wavelength and intensity monitoring of the SPR, which is essentially dominated by the arrayed Fe3O4 nanoparticles over the nanometric-film of fiber surface.
We studied the excitation of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in a cylindrical microresonator formed by a short length of a multimode fiber. The light was evanescently coupled into the fiber from a micro-cylinder whose tilt angle was varied from perpendicular to parallel with respect to the fiber taper. Narrow WGM resonances are observed in the transmission spectrum of the fiber taper with a maximum Q factor of ~105. Evolution of the transmission spectrum with the change of tilt angle involved changes in the number of WGMs in the spectrum for smaller tilts and the disappearance of WGM resonances at large tilt angles.
A high sensitivity refractive index (RI) sensor based on a tapered small core singlemode fibre (SCSMF) structure is proposed and developed. By tapering the SCSMF section, this sensor has very high sensitivity around the RI of water. Experimentally we have demonstrated a sensitivity of 1988.5 nm/RIU (RI unit) in the RI range from 1.3325 to 1.3407 by tapering a SCSMF section from a diameter of 125 μm to a diameter of 16 μm. The feasibility of using this type of sensor for biosensing application has also been verified by experiments. This was undertaken using a suitable Fibrinogen antigen surface functionalisation, which successfully showed that the sensor can in principle detect differences in the concentration of a Fibrinogen antibody.
A new nonlinear evolution equation including the vector nature of the electromagnetic field and the frequency variation of the mode profile is derived. A kind of new nonlinearity is demonstrated. Its magnitude is strongly dependent on the waveguide geometrical parameters, which will lead to a suppression of the Raman soliton self-frequency shift in a photonic crystal fiber with a tellurite subwavelength core. Our results can be supported by the detailed numerical simulations.
An integrated hybrid waveguide coupled long range surface plasmon polaritons (LRSPPs) biosensor is
proposed and analyzed by the Finite Element Method (FEM). The influence of the structural parameters on the
coupling between the dielectric waveguide (DWG) and LRSPPs modes are numerically investigated.
Simulation results show that the resonant coupling wavelength between the DWG and LRSPPs modes is very
sensitive to small refractive index changes i.e. the estimated sensitivity is as high as 4180 nm/RIU (refractive
index unit). Furthermore, when operating in intensity interrogation, its detection of limit has been shown as
small as 3.7 x 10-7 RIU.
KEYWORDS: Liquid crystals, Microsoft Foundation Class Library, Polymers, Temperature metrology, Sensors, Optical fibers, Telecommunications, Overlay metrology, Tunable filters, Ultraviolet radiation
The paper presents the results of experimental studies of the temperature dependence of a microfibre coupler (MFC) with a waist diameter of ~4 μm covered with a layer of liquid crystal (LC) material. The microfiber coupler is fabricated by fusing together and tapering of two standard telecom fibers using a microheater brushing technique, followed by partially embedding the structure in a low-refractive index UV curable polymer (Efiron PC-363) for stability and later by placing a thin heated LC layer over the polymer-free uniform taper waist region. The temperature dependence of the embedded in polymer MFC sensor before the application of the LC layer demonstrates a redshift of the coupler’s spectrum with an average sensitivity of ~0.5 nm/°C in the temperature range of 14-70 °C. The application of the LC overlay increases the average temperature sensitivity to ~0.7 nm/°C. The demonstrated device offers several advantages such as ease of fabrication and light coupling, the potential for better stability and the possibility of electric field tuning for realizing temperature, electric field, bio-, chemical sensors and tunable add-drop filters for fiber communication systems. Further work is ongoing to explore various tuning mechanisms of the MFC spectrum.
An enhanced refractive index (RI) sensor with combination of long period fiber grating (LPG) and a small core
singlemode fiber (SCSMF) structure is proposed and developed. Since the LPG and SCSMF transmission spectra
experience a blue and red shift respectively as the surrounding RI (SRI) increases, the sensitivity is improved by
measuring the separation between the resonant wavelengths of the LPG and SCSMF structures. Experimental results
show that the sensor has a sensitivity of 1028 nm/SRI unit in the SRI range from 1.422 to 1.429, which is higher than
individual sensitivities of either structure alone used in the experiment.
KEYWORDS: Liquid crystals, Microsoft Foundation Class Library, Temperature metrology, Optical fibers, Fabrication, Silica, Waveguides, Liquids, Motion controllers, Control systems
This paper demonstrates temperature-induced tuning of the optical spectrum of a microfiber coupler covered with a low-refractive
index liquid crystal (LC) layer. The microfiber coupler with a minimum waist diameter of ~6 μm is fabricated
by fusing together and tapering of two standard telecom fibers using a microheater brushing technique and by placing a
thin heated LC layer over the uniform taper waist region. Repeatable and reversible tuning of the optical spectrum
(~4 nm) of the microfiber coupler is demonstrated for the temperature range of 50-78 °C.
A novel plasmonic biosensor based on coupled metal-dielectric buffer grating is proposed and analyzed by the rigorous
coupled wave analysis (RCWA) method. The metal-dielectric buffer grating structure offers surface plasmon resonance
suitable for high sensitivity biosensing applications. The calculated FWHW (full width at half maximum) of the
transmission peak is 5 nm and the optical transmission efficiency is significantly enhanced at the resonant wavelength of
800.8 nm by introducing the dielectric buffer grating. The highly concentrated field distribution is sensitive to
surrounding refractive index changes of the metal surface providing a sensitivity of 560 nm/RIU (refractive index unit)
for optical biosensing applications.
An all-fibre refractive index sensor with a simple periodical tapers configuration is proposed and investigated
experimentally. The proposed fibre refractive index sensor consists of a small core singlemode fibre with tapers
periodically fabricated along the fibre using a focused CO2 laser beam, and sandwiched between two standard
singlemode fibres. Such a structure can be used for sensing of refractive index by measuring the dip wavelength shift of
the multimode interference within the small core fibre cladding. A minimum sensitivity of 125 nm/RIU is measured for a
refractive index of 1.33 and a maximum sensitivity of 383 nm/RIU for a refractive index of 1.38. The proposed
refractive index sensor benefits from simplicity and low-cost and achieves a competitive sensitivity compared with other
fibre-optic sensors.
We theoretically and experimentally investigate a singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) structure based on
chalcogenide (As2S3) multimode fiber and conventional silica singlemode fibers. The experimental results show a general
agreement with the numerical simulation results based on a wide angle-beam propagation method (WA-BPM). The
chalcogenide fiber and silica fibers were mechanically spliced and packaged using a UV cured polymer with a low
refractive index on a microscope slide. Multimode interference variation was observed by photo-induced refractive index
changes resulting from both a localized laser irradiation at a wavelength of 405 nm and a UV lamp. Our result provides a
platform for the development of compact, high-optical-quality, and robust photonic nonlinear devices.
In this paper, a novel T-shaped plasmonic metal-insulator-metal (MIM) splitter with one input and two outputs is
proposed, which uses simple stacked Bragg reflectors placed on both the left and right branches. Simulation results
show that the resonance wavelengths of the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) can be effectively controlled and
guided along the desired direction with high confinement by properly designing the parameters of the structure, such
as the refractive index of the dielectric, the period and the number of dielectric modulations N. Moreover, the splitting
ratio is found to be adjustable by tuning the value of N.
A bent singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber structure based vibration sensor is proposed and developed.
This sensor configuration is very simple and employs a bent SMS fiber structure and a narrow band optical source such
as a laser. The vibration applied to the bent SMS fiber structure will change the bend radius and hence the intensity of the
transmitted optical power will also vary. Experimental results show that the sensor can detect vibration frequencies over
a broad range with good sensitivity, from hertz to a few kHz.
An improved ratiometric wavelength measurement system incorporating two fibre comb filters is presented, which
performs both rough and fine wavelength measurements simultaneously. The resolution of the system is significantly
improved, compared to a single edge filter system, to better than 5 pm while maintaining the potential for high
measurement speed and wide measurable wavelength range.
In this paper an edge filter based on multimode interference in an integrated waveguide is optimized for a wavelength
monitoring application. This can also be used as a demodulation element in a fibre Bragg grating sensing system. A
global optimization algorithm is presented for the optimum design of the multimode interference device, including a
range of parameters of the multimode waveguide, such as length, width and position of the input and output waveguides.
The designed structure demonstrates the desired spectral response for wavelength measurements. Fabrication tolerance is
also analysed numerically for this structure.
We report an experimental study of a SMS fiber sensor for simultaneously measuring both displacement and
temperature. By measuring both central wavelength spectral shifts and peak power variations, displacement and
temperature can be independently determined with a demonstrated sensitivity to displacement of 0.62 μm and a
temperature sensitivity of 1 °C by using a typical OSA which has a wavelength resolution of 10 pm and power
measurement resolution of 0.01 dB.
An all-fiber vibration sensor based on a bare macrobending singlemode fiber is proposed and developed. The fiber
sensor consists of a half-loop bending fiber structure and utilizes the well-known Whispering Gallery mode (WGM)
effect. A measurement system involving the proposed fiber vibration sensor is presented and investigated. By using this
system, the vibration can be characterized by measuring the fluctuations in the macrobending fiber loss corresponding to
the variation of the bending diameter of the fiber. The proposed vibration sensor is capable of measuring vibrations up to
2 kHz; and further investigations are ongoing to improve the frequency range.
This paper presents a simultaneous measurement technique for strain and temperature with
dynamic temperature compensation using two SMS structures with one acting as a temperature compensating
element and another SMS structure acting as a strain sensor. Experimental results show that this technique
offers a resolution of better than 2 με for strain measurements in the range from 0 to 1000 με and the
temperature induced error is as low as 7.5 με in the temperature range from 15 to 45 °C. The temperature can be
measured simultaneously with an experimentally demonstrated resolution better than 0.84 °C.
An analysis and performance evaluation of several macrobending high-bend loss fiber based filters utilizing the
well-known Whispering Gallery mode (WGM) effect is investigated and presented. Experimental results indicate that the
WGM spectra of the macrobend fibre can be utilized for different types of optical filters by adjusting the bending
diameter and the length of the fiber loop.
An all-fiber micron displacement sensor with a simple configuration is proposed and investigated
experimentally. The proposed fiber displacement sensor consists of a half-loop structure of bare high-bend loss
singlemode fiber-1060XP, employing the well-known whispering gallery mode (WGM) effect. A ratiometric power
measurement system for interrogating the proposed sensor is also presented. By measuring the change in ratio of bend
loss in the ratiometric system, a change in displacement can be measured assuming the ratiometric system is calibrated.
The proposed macrobending fiber based displacement sensor achieves a higher resolution (less than 100 nm of
displacement) than other conventional fiber-optic sensors and also benefits from simplicity.
The influence of the spectral response of the optical source, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the
FBG and the slope of the edge filter used within a ratiometric wavelength measurement system was investigated
based on three system configuration cases: (1) the reflected FBG signal passes through both the reference arm
and the edge filter arm, (2) the reflected FBG signal is connected directly to the edge filter arm and does not pass
through the reference arm, (3) the edge filter sits in-line with the FBG and thus the source power is filtered prior
to reaching the FBG. Both numerical simulations and experimental results show that cases 1 and 2 have a
similar system performance whilst case 3 is the configuration which is shown to offer the highest wavelength
resolution.
This paper provides an analysis of the influence of a range of factors on the resolution of the ratiometric wavelength
measurement system including the slope of the edge filter, the spectral nature of the input optical signal and the working
wavelength range. Our investigations show that, for a given input optical signal and when the working wavelength range
is known, it is relatively straightforward to select an optimum slope for the edge filter that will yield a maximum
resolution for the system.
In this article, the crosstalk produced in optical node and its accumulations in all-optical system are analyzed. Furthermore, the influence of both optical switch insulation and the input signals power difference on system BER are calculated. From the simulation, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) non-ideal character of optical switch insulation is the main reason for producing crosstalk; (2) equalizing the optical power before the optical switch has better effects than afterwards.
In this paper, we analyse the principle of fiber Bragg grating anay as en-/de-coder and its realizing method. Then, an improved scheme, which can heighten data rate of single channel in this OCDMA system, is put forward by us. Furthermore, this scheme additionally possesses the convenience ofvariable bit rate service.
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