Ultra-wide bandpass filter based on long-period fiber gratings and the evanescent field coupling between two fibers.

PubMed

Kim, Myoung Jin; Jung, Yong Min; Kim, Bok Hyeon; Han, Won-Taek; Lee, Byeong Ha

2007-08-20

We demonstrate a fiber-based bandpass filter with an ultra-wide spectral bandwidth. The ultra-wide band feature is achieved by inscribing a long-period fiber grating (LPG) in a specially-designed low index core single mode fiber. To get the bandpass function, the evanescent field coupling between two attached fibers is utilized. By applying strain, the spectral shape of the pass-band is adjusted to flat-top and Gaussian shapes. For the flat-top case, the bandwidth is obtained ~ 160 nm with an insertion loss of ~ 2 dB. With strain, the spectral shape is switched into a Gaussian one, which has ~ 120 nm FWHM and ~ 4.18 dB insertion loss at the peak.

Novel spot size converter for coupling standard single mode fibers to SOI waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sisto, Marco Michele; Fisette, Bruno; Paultre, Jacques-Edmond; Paquet, Alex; Desroches, Yan

2016-03-01

We have designed and numerically simulated a novel spot size converter for coupling standard single mode fibers with 10.4μm mode field diameter to 500nm × 220nm SOI waveguides. Simulations based on the eigenmode expansion method show a coupling loss of 0.4dB at 1550nm for the TE mode at perfect alignment. The alignment tolerance on the plane normal to the fiber axis is evaluated at +/-2.2μm for <=1dB excess loss, which is comparable to the alignment tolerance between two butt-coupled standard single mode fibers. The converter is based on a cross-like arrangement of SiOxNy waveguides immersed in a 12μm-thick SiO2 cladding region deposited on top of the SOI chip. The waveguides are designed to collectively support a single degenerate mode for TE and TM polarizations. This guided mode features a large overlap to the LP01 mode of standard telecom fibers. Along the spot size converter length (450μm), the mode is first gradually confined in a single SiOxNy waveguide by tapering its width. Then, the mode is adiabatically coupled to a SOI waveguide underneath the structure through a SOI inverted taper. The shapes of SiOxNy and SOI tapers are optimized to minimize coupling loss and structure length, and to ensure adiabatic mode evolution along the structure, thus improving the design robustness to fabrication process errors. A tolerance analysis based on conservative microfabrication capabilities suggests that coupling loss penalty from fabrication errors can be maintained below 0.3dB. The proposed spot size converter is fully compliant to industry standard microfabrication processes available at INO.

2-µm wavelength-range low-loss inhibited-coupling hollow-core PCF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurel, M.; Chafer, M.; Delahaye, F.; Amrani, F.; Debord, B.; Gerome, F.; Benabid, F.

2018-02-01

We report on the design and fabrication of inhibited-coupling guiding hollow-core photonic crystal fiber with a transmission band optimized for low loss guidance around 2 μm. Two fibers design based on a Kagome-lattice cladding have been studied to demonstrate a minimum loss figure of 25 dB/km at 2 μm associated to an ultra-broad transmission band spanning from the visible to our detection limit of 3.4 μm. Such fibers could be an excellent tool to deliver and compress ultra-short pulse laser systems, especially for the emerging 2-3 μm spectral region.

Single-mode annular chirally-coupled core fibers for fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haitao; Hao, He; He, Linlu; Gong, Mali

2018-03-01

Chirally-coupled core (CCC) fiber can transmit single fundamental mode and effectively suppresses higher-order mode (HOM) propagation, thus improve the beam quality. However, the manufacture of CCC fiber is complicated due to its small side core. To decrease the manufacture difficulty in China, a novel fiber structure is presented, defined as annular chirally-coupled core (ACCC) fiber, replacing the small side core by a larger side annulus. In this paper, we designed the fiber parameters of this new structure, and demonstrated that the new structure has a similar property of single mode with traditional CCC fiber. Helical coordinate system was introduced into the finite element method (FEM) to analyze the mode field in the fiber, and the beam propagation method (BPM) was employed to analyze the influence of the fiber parameters on the mode loss. Based on the result above, the fiber structure was optimized for efficient single-mode transmission, in which the core diameter is 35 μm with beam quality M2 value of 1.04 and an optical to optical conversion efficiency of 84%. In this fiber, fundamental mode propagates in an acceptable loss, while the HOMs decay rapidly.

Passively aligned multichannel fiber-pigtailing of planar integrated optical waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kremmel, Johannes; Lamprecht, Tobias; Crameri, Nino; Michler, Markus

2017-02-01

A silicon device to simplify the coupling of multiple single-mode fibers to embedded single-mode waveguides has been developed. The silicon device features alignment structures that enable a passive alignment of fibers to integrated waveguides. For passive alignment, precisely machined V-grooves on a silicon device are used and the planar lightwave circuit board features high-precision structures acting as a mechanical stop. The approach has been tested for up to eight fiber-to-waveguide connections. The alignment approach, the design, and the fabrication of the silicon device as well as the assembly process are presented. The characterization of the fiber-to-waveguide link reveals total coupling losses of (0.45±0.20 dB) per coupling interface, which is significantly lower than the values reported in earlier works. Subsequent climate tests reveal that the coupling losses remain stable during thermal cycling but increases significantly during an 85°C/85 Rh-test. All applied fabrication and bonding steps have been performed using standard MOEMS fabrication and packaging processes.

Further development of high temperature-resistant graphite fiber coupling agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffin, R. N.

1976-01-01

Potential coupling agents for graphite fibers were screened by their effect on the weight losses of Thornel 300, HMS, and HTS fibers at 588K for 200 and 400 hours. Unidirectional laminates were made from HMS and HTS fibers, untreated, and treated with each of the seven coupling agents. The matrix of all laminates was PMR polyimide (PMR-PR). On the basis of the best overall retention of elevated temperature interlaminar shear strength after 200 hours at 588K, composite weight after 200 hours at 588K, and fiber weight after 400 hours at 588K, ventromer T-1 applied from aqueous solution and pyrolyzed PPQ were selected for further evaluation as coupling agents for HTS fiber while ventromer T-2 and pyrolyzed PPQ were selected as coupling agents for HMS fiber. It was shown that pyrolyzed PPQ as a coupling agent improves the oxidative stability of HTS/PMR-PI composites.

Polymer taper bridge for silicon waveguide to single mode waveguide coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruse, Kevin; Middlebrook, Christopher T.

2016-03-01

Coupling of optical power from high-density silicon waveguides to silica optical fibers for signal routing can incur high losses and often requires complex end-face preparation/processing. Novel coupling device taper structures are proposed for low coupling loss between silicon photonic waveguides and single mode fibers are proposed and devices are fabricated and measured in terms of performance. Theoretical mode conversion models for waveguide tapers are derived for optimal device structure design and performance. Commercially viable vertical and multi-layer taper designs using polymer waveguide materials are proposed as innovative, cost-efficient, and mass-manufacturable optical coupling devices. The coupling efficiency for both designs is determined to evaluate optimal device dimensions and alignment tolerances with both silicon rib waveguides and silicon nanowire waveguides. Propagation loss as a function of waveguide roughness and metallic loss are determined and correlated to waveguide dimensions to obtain total insertion loss for the proposed taper designs. Multi-layer tapers on gold-sputtered substrates are fabricated through photolithography as proof-of-concept devices and evaluated for device loss optimization. Tapered waveguide coupling loss with Si WGs (2.74 dB) was experimentally measured with high correlation to theoretical results.

Fiber-coupled dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides.

PubMed

Gosciniak, Jacek; Volkov, Valentyn S; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I; Markey, Laurent; Massenot, Sébastien; Dereux, Alain

2010-03-01

Fiber in- and out-coupling of radiation guided by dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) is realized using intermediate tapered dielectric waveguides. The waveguide structures fabricated by large-scale UV-lithography consist of 1-microm-thick polymer ridges tapered from 10-microm-wide ridges deposited directly on a magnesium fluoride substrate to 1-microm-wide ridges placed on a 50-nm-thick and 100-microm-wide gold stripe. Using fiber-to-fiber transmission measurements at telecom wavelengths, the performance of straight and bent DLSPPWs is characterized demonstrating the overall insertion loss below 24 dB, half of which is attributed to the DLSPPW loss of propagation over the 100-microm-long distance.

Integrated fiber-coupled launcher for slow plasmon-polariton waves.

PubMed

Della Valle, Giuseppe; Longhi, Stefano

2012-01-30

We propose and numerically demonstrate an integrated fiber-coupled launcher for slow surface plasmon-polaritons. The device is based on a novel plasmonic mode-converter providing efficient power transfer from the fast to the slow modes of a metallic nanostripe. Total coupling efficiency with standard single-mode fiber approaching 30% (including ohmic losses) has been numerically predicted for a 25-µm long gold-based device operating at 1.55 µm telecom wavelength.

Compact cantilever couplers for low-loss fiber coupling to silicon photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Wood, Michael; Sun, Peng; Reano, Ronald M

2012-01-02

We demonstrate coupling from tapered optical fibers to 450 nm by 250 nm silicon strip waveguides using compact cantilever couplers. The couplers consist of silicon inverse width tapers embedded within silicon dioxide cantilevers. Finite difference time domain simulations are used to design the length of the silicon inverse width taper to as short as 6.5 μm for a cantilever width of 2 μm. Modeling of various strip waveguide taper profiles shows reduced coupling losses for a quadratic taper profile. Infrared measurements of fabricated devices demonstrate average coupling losses of 0.62 dB per connection for the quasi-TE mode and 0.50 dB per connection for the quasi-TM mode across the optical telecommunications C band. In the wavelength range from 1477 nm to 1580 nm, coupling losses for both polarizations are less than 1 dB per connection. The compact, broadband, and low-loss coupling scheme enables direct access to photonic integrated circuits on an entire chip surface without the need for dicing or cleaving the chip.

Glass Solder Approach for Robust, Low-Loss, Fiber-to-Waveguide Coupling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McNeil, Shirley; Battle, Philip; Hawthorne, Todd; Lower, John; Wiley, Robert; Clark, Brett

2012-01-01

The key advantages of this approach include the fact that the index of interface glass (such as Pb glass n = 1.66) greatly reduces Fresnel losses at the fiber-to-waveguide interface, resulting in lower optical losses. A contiguous structure cannot be misaligned and readily lends itself for use on aircraft or space operation. The epoxy-free, fiber-to-waveguide interface provides an optically pure, sealed interface for low-loss, highpower coupling. Proof of concept of this approach has included successful attachment of the low-melting-temperature glass to the x-y plane of the crystal, successful attachment of the low-meltingtemperature glass to the end face of a standard SMF (single-mode fiber), and successful attachment of a wetted lowmelting- temperature glass SMF to the end face of a KTP crystal. There are many photonic components on the market whose performance and robustness could benefit from this coupling approach once fully developed. It can be used in a variety of fibercoupled waveguide-based components, such as frequency conversion modules, and amplitude and phase modulators. A robust, epoxy-free, contiguous optical interface lends itself to components that require low-loss, high-optical-power handling capability, and good performance in adverse environments such as flight or space operation.

Spot-size converter with a SiO(2) spacer layer between tapered Si and SiON waveguides for fiber-to-chip coupling.

PubMed

Maegami, Yuriko; Takei, Ryohei; Omoda, Emiko; Amano, Takeru; Okano, Makoto; Mori, Masahiko; Kamei, Toshihiro; Sakakibara, Youichi

2015-08-10

We experimentally demonstrate low-loss and polarization-insensitive fiber-to-chip coupling spot-size converters (SSCs) comprised of a three dimensionally tapered Si wire waveguide, a SiON secondary waveguide, and a SiO(2) spacer inserted between them. Fabricated SSCs with the SiO(2) spacer exhibit fiber-to-chip coupling loss of 1.5 dB/facet for both the quasi-TE and TM modes and a small wavelength dependence in the C- and L-band regions. The SiON secondary waveguide is present only around the SSC region, which significantly suppresses the influence of the well-known N-H absorption of plasma-deposited SiON at around 1510 nm.

Optical interconnection for a polymeric PLC device using simple positional alignment.

PubMed

Ryu, Jin Hwa; Kim, Po Jin; Cho, Cheon Soo; Lee, El-Hang; Kim, Chang-Seok; Jeong, Myung Yung

2011-04-25

This study proposes a simple cost-effective method of optical interconnection between a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) device chip and an optical fiber. It was conducted to minimize and overcome the coupling loss caused by lateral offset which is due to the process tolerance and the dimensional limitation existing between PLC device chips and fiber array blocks with groove structures. A PLC device chip and a fiber array block were simultaneously fabricated in a series of polymer replication processes using the original master. The dimensions (i.e., width and thickness) of the under-clad of the PLC device chip were identical to those of the fiber array block. The PLC device chip and optical fiber were aligned by simple positional control for the vertical direction of the PLC device chip under a particular condition. The insertion loss of the proposed 1 x 2 multimode optical splitter device interconnection was 4.0 dB at 850 nm and the coupling loss was below 0.1 dB compared with single-fiber based active alignment.

Comparison of efficiency and feedback characteristics of techniques of coupling semiconductor lasers into single-mode fiber.

PubMed

Wenke, G; Zhu, Y

1983-12-01

The coupling of CSP lasers to single-mode fibers with different coupling structures made on the fiber face is investigated. In this case easy to make coupling arrangements such as tapers and microlenses, result in a high launching efficiency (approximately 2-dB loss), in contrast to launching from gain-guided lasers with strong astigmatism and a broader far-field pattern. Index-guiding lasers exhibit, however, a higher sensitivity to optical feedback. Laser output power and wavelength are changed due to reflections from the fiber tip. Critical distances exist which lead to a highly unstable laser spectrum. A comparison of the influence of various fiber faces on laser power and wavelength stability is presented. It is concluded that a tapered fiber end with a large working distance reduces the influence on the laser's performance.

Optical Signal Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-28

domain; we therefore conclude that um dioxide ( TeO2 ) is used in a slow shear wave mode; in this case we might have W - 50 MHz and T - 40 As d (4) I so...8 and L = 5.1 mm. fiber-to-fiber coupling loss and inefficiency in The acousto-optic cell is made from flint glass and has acousto-optic diffraction...The mode mismatch loss can be estimated using well-known optical fiber splice Flint glass I loss theory; reflection and restricted-aperture related

Study of the fusion point between PM-PCF and panda fiber and its influence to Interferometric fiber-optical gyroscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zuoming; Wang, Shuhua; Li, Junwei

2017-02-01

Microhole collapse property of polarization maintaining photonic crystal fibers (PM-PCF) and its effect on the splice loss and polarization cross-coupling during fusion splicing were investigated. The relationship between the microhole collapse and polarization cross-coupling are analyzed through simulation and experiment. Finally their influence to the phase error of the FOG is calculated and tested.

Polarization preserving single mode fiber optic coupler

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, M. D.; Goss, W. C.

1982-01-01

A technique is described for fabrication of etched single mode fiber optical waveguide couplers which preserve the polarization state to within 0.0001. The coupling ratio is tunable over a broad range (0-9 percent) during fabrication. Back-coupling is less than 0.001, insertion loss is less than 1.5 dB, and coupling ratio thermal coefficient is about 1 percent per degree C.

Coupling analysis of non-circular-symmetric modes and design of orientation-insensitive few-mode fiber couplers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiaxiong; Du, Jiangbing; Ma, Lin; Li, Ming-Jun; Jiang, Shoulin; Xu, Xiao; He, Zuyuan

2017-01-01

We study the coupling between two identical weakly-coupled few-mode fibers based on coupled-mode theory. The coupling behavior of non-circular-symmetric modes, such as LP11 and LP21, is investigated analytically and numerically. By carefully choosing the fiber core separation and coupler length, we can design orientation-insensitive fiber couplers for non-circular-symmetric modes at arbitrary coupling ratios. Based on the design method, we propose an orientation-insensitive two-mode fiber coupler at 850 nm working as a mode multiplexer/demultiplexer for two-mode transmission using standard single-mode fiber. Within the band from 845 to 855 nm, the insertion losses of LP01 and LP11 modes are less than 0.03 dB and 0.24 dB, respectively. When the two-mode fiber coupler is used as mode demultiplexer, the LP01/LP11 and LP11/LP01 extinction ratios in the separated branches are respectively above 12.6 dB and 21.2 dB. Our design method can be extended to two-mode communication or sensing systems at other wavelengths.

Long distance transmission in few-mode fibers.

PubMed

Yaman, Fatih; Bai, Neng; Zhu, Benyuan; Wang, Ting; Li, Guifang

2010-06-07

Using multimode fibers for long-haul transmission is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. In particular few-mode fibers (FMFs) are demonstrated as a good compromise since they are sufficiently resistant to mode coupling compared to standard multimode fibers but they still can have large core diameters compared to single-mode fibers. As a result these fibers can have significantly less nonlinearity and at the same time they can have the same performance as single-mode fibers in terms of dispersion and loss. In the absence of mode coupling it is possible to use these fibers in the single-mode operation where all the data is carried in only one of the spatial modes throughout the fiber. It is shown experimentally that the single-mode operation is achieved simply by splicing single-mode fibers to both ends of a 35-km-long dual-mode fiber at 1310 nm. After 35 km of transmission, no modal dispersion or excess loss was observed. Finally the same fiber is placed in a recirculating loop and 3 WDM channels each carrying 6 Gb/s BPSK data were transmitted through 1050 km of the few-mode fiber without modal dispersion.

Characterization of a 3D optrode array for infrared neural stimulation

PubMed Central

Abaya, T.V.F.; Diwekar, M.; Blair, S.; Tathireddy, P.; Rieth, L.; Clark, G.A.; Solzbacher, F.

2012-01-01

This paper characterizes the Utah Slant Optrode Array (USOA) as a means to deliver infrared light deep into tissue. An undoped crystalline silicon (100) substrate was used to fabricate 10 × 10 arrays of optrodes with rows of varying lengths from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm on a 400-μm pitch. Light delivery from optical fibers and loss mechanisms through these Si optrodes were characterized, with the primary loss mechanisms being Fresnel reflection, coupling, radiation losses from the tapered shank and total internal reflection in the tips. Transmission at the optrode tips with different optical fiber core diameters and light in-coupling interfaces was investigated. At λ = 1.55μm, the highest optrode transmittance of 34.7%, relative to the optical fiber output power, was obtained with a 50-μm multi-mode fiber butt-coupled to the optrode through an intervening medium of index n = 1.66. Maximum power is directed into the optrodes when using fibers with core diameters of 200 μm or less. In addition, the output power varied with the optrode length/taper such that longer and less tapered optrodes exhibited higher light transmission efficiency. Output beam profiles and potential impacts on physiological tests were also examined. Future work is expected to improve USOA efficiency to greater than 64%. PMID:23024914

Characterization of a 3D optrode array for infrared neural stimulation.

PubMed

Abaya, T V F; Diwekar, M; Blair, S; Tathireddy, P; Rieth, L; Clark, G A; Solzbacher, F

2012-09-01

This paper characterizes the Utah Slant Optrode Array (USOA) as a means to deliver infrared light deep into tissue. An undoped crystalline silicon (100) substrate was used to fabricate 10 × 10 arrays of optrodes with rows of varying lengths from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm on a 400-μm pitch. Light delivery from optical fibers and loss mechanisms through these Si optrodes were characterized, with the primary loss mechanisms being Fresnel reflection, coupling, radiation losses from the tapered shank and total internal reflection in the tips. Transmission at the optrode tips with different optical fiber core diameters and light in-coupling interfaces was investigated. At λ = 1.55μm, the highest optrode transmittance of 34.7%, relative to the optical fiber output power, was obtained with a 50-μm multi-mode fiber butt-coupled to the optrode through an intervening medium of index n = 1.66. Maximum power is directed into the optrodes when using fibers with core diameters of 200 μm or less. In addition, the output power varied with the optrode length/taper such that longer and less tapered optrodes exhibited higher light transmission efficiency. Output beam profiles and potential impacts on physiological tests were also examined. Future work is expected to improve USOA efficiency to greater than 64%.

Fiber-coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors integrated with a bandpass filter on the fiber end-face

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W. J.; Yang, X. Y.; Li, H.; You, L. X.; Lv, C. L.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, C. J.; Liu, X. Y.; Wang, Z.; Xie, X. M.

2018-07-01

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) with both high system detection efficiency (SDE) and low dark count rate (DCR) play significant roles in quantum information processes and various applications. The background dark counts of SNSPDs originate from the room temperature blackbody radiation coupled to the device via a fiber. Therefore, a bandpass filter (BPF) operated at low temperature with minimal insert loss is necessary to suppress the background DCR. Herein, a low-loss BPF integrated on a single-mode fiber end-face was designed, fabricated and verified for the low temperature implement. The fiber end-face BPF was featured with a typical passband width about 40 nm in the 1550 nm telecom band and a peak transmittance of over 0.98. SNSPD with high SDE fabricated on a distributed Bragg reflector was coupled to the BPF. The device with such a BPF showed an SDE of 80% at a DCR of 0.5 Hz, measured at 2.1 K. Compared the same device without a BPF, the DCR was reduced by over 13 dB with an SDE decrease of <3%.

Simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain based on composite long-period fiber grating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Chengguo; Hu, Qihao; He, Jiang; Chen, XuDong; Geng, Tao; Bao, Zhanjing; Li, Zixuan; Yang, Wenlei; Sun, Weimin

2016-11-01

Long period fiber grating is a kind of transmission type optical fiber grating. Due to the advantages such as low insertion loss, wide bandwidth, low-level reflection, high sensitivity, low cost and ease of compactness, LPFGs have been widely applied in optical fiber sensing and optical fiber communication. The Mode coupling of LPFG is the coupling between the fiber core mode and the cladding mode in the same transmission direction. If the ordinary LPFG is combined with bitaper or taper, we can effectively change the original LPFG's transmission spectrum to obtain the composite LPFG, which can stimulate new resonant peaks in the original wavelength-dependent transmission loss of the grating basis, thus applying to the dual-parameter simultaneously measuring field. We report a novel all-fiber narrow-bandwidth intermodal Mach- Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) combined with a fiber bitaper. The LPFG is written by high-frequency CO2 laser pulses, and the bitaper is connected in series with the LPFG, forming the Mach- Zehnder interferometer (MZI). Experimental results indicate that the MZI has good temperature sensitivity, The temperature sensitivity of the two loss peaks are 55.35pm/°C and 48.18pm/°C respectively. The strain sensitivity of the two loss peaks are 3.35pm/μɛ and -4.925pm/μɛ respectively. By using the different temperature and strain response characteristics of the loss peaks, the temperature and strain measurement can be realized simultaneously. the proposed device has good repeatability and stability, which would be a promising candidate for precise dual-parameter sensing application.

Theoretical analysis of fused tapered side-pumping combiner for all-fiber lasers and amplifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Chengmin; Chen, Zilun; Leng, Jinyong; Gu, Yanran; Hou, Jing

2017-05-01

We report detailed theoretical analysis on the influence of the fused depth, launch mode and taper ratio on the performance of side-pumping combiner. The theoretical analysis indicates that the coupling efficiency and loss mechanism of the combiner is closely related to the fused depth, tapering ratio and the launch mode. Experimentally, we fabricate combiners consisting of two pump fibers (220/242 μm, NA=0.22) and a signal fiber (20/400 μm, NA=0.46). The combined pump coupling efficiency of two pump port is 97.2% with the maximum power handling of 1.8 kW and the insertion signal loss is less than 3%.

Low-bending loss and single-mode operation in few-mode optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Ping; Wang, Hua; Chen, Ming-Yang; Wei, Jin; Cai, Zhi-Min; Li, Lu-Ming; Yang, Ji-Hai; Zhu, Yuan-Feng

2016-10-01

The technique of eliminating the higher-order modes in a few-mode optical fiber is proposed. The fiber is designed with a group of defect modes in the cladding. The higher-order modes in the fiber can be eliminated by bending the fiber to induce strong coupling between the defect modes and the higher-order modes. Numerical simulation shows the bending losses of the LP01 mode are lower than 1.5×10-4 dB/turn for the wavelength shorter than 1.625 μm. The proposed fiber can be bent multiple turns at small bending radius which are preferable for FTTH related applications.

Slab-coupled optical sensor fabrication using side-polished Panda fibers.

PubMed

King, Rex; Seng, Frederick; Stan, Nikola; Cuzner, Kevin; Josephson, Chad; Selfridge, Richard; Schultz, Stephen

2016-11-01

A new device structure used for slab-coupled optical sensor (SCOS) technology was developed to fabricate electric field sensors. This new device structure replaces the D-fiber used in traditional SCOS technology with a side-polished Panda fiber. Unlike the D-fiber SCOS, the Panda fiber SCOS is made from commercially available materials and is simpler to fabricate. The Panda SCOS interfaces easier with lab equipment and exhibits ∼3  dB less loss at link points than the D-fiber SCOS. The optical system for the D-fiber is bandwidth limited by a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) used to amplify to the electric signal. The Panda SCOS exhibits less loss than the D-fiber and, as a result, does not require as high a gain setting on the TIA, which results in an overall higher bandwidth range. Results show that the Panda sensor also achieves comparable sensitivity results to the D-fiber SCOS. Although the Panda SCOS is not as sensitive as other side-polished fiber electric field sensors, it can be fabricated much easier because the fabrication process does not require special alignment techniques, and it is made from commercially available materials.

Highly efficient optical power transfer to whispering-gallery modes by use of a symmetrical dual-coupling configuration.

PubMed

Cai, M; Vahala, K

2000-02-15

We report that greater than 99.8% optical power transfer to whispering-gallery modes was achieved in fused-silica microspheres by use of a dual-tapered-fiber coupling method. The intrinsic cavity loss and the taper-to-sphere coupling coefficient are inferred from the experimental data. It is shown that the low intrinsic cavity loss and the symmetrical dual-coupling structure are crucial for obtaining the high coupling efficiency.

Silicon-based highly-efficient fiber-to-waveguide coupler for high index contrast systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Victor; Montalbo, Trisha; Manolatou, Christina; Agarwal, Anu; Hong, Ching-yin; Yasaitis, John; Kimerling, L. C.; Michel, Jurgen

2006-02-01

A coupler to efficiently transfer broadband light from a single-mode optical fiber to a single-mode high-index contrast waveguide has been fabricated on a silicon substrate. We utilized a novel coupling scheme, with a vertically asymmetric design consisting of a stepwise parabolic graded index profile combined with a horizontal taper, to simultaneously confine light in both directions. Coupling efficiency has been measured as a function of the device dimensions. The optimal coupling efficiency is achieved for structures whose length equals the focal distance of the graded index and whose input width is close to the mode field diameter of the fiber. The fabricated structure is compact, robust and highly efficient, with an insertion loss of 2.2dB at 1550nm. The coupler exhibits less than 1dB variation in coupling efficiency in the measured spectral range from 1520nmto1620nm. The lowest insertion loss of 1.9dB is measured at 1540nm. The coupler design offers highly efficient coupling for single mode waveguides of core indices up to 2.2.

MITLL Silicon Integrated Photonics Process: Design Guide

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-31

Silicon Integrated Photonics Process Comprehensive Design Guide 16  Deep Etch for Fiber Coupling (DEEP_ETCH...facets for fiber coupling. Standard design layers for each process are defined in Section 3, but other options can be made available. Notes on...a silicon thinning process that can create very low loss waveguides (and which better suppresses back scatter and, therefore, resonance splitting in

Laser-fiber coupling by means of a silicon micro-optical bench and a self-aligned soldering process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Jan P.; Cordes, A.; Mueller, Joerg; Burkhardt, Hans

1995-02-01

The alignment of laser diodes to monomode fibers has to meet extremely close tolerances for a low coupling loss. Typically < 0.5 micrometers in lateral and vertical direction and less than two degrees in angle deviation are allowed for a coupling loss below 2 dB. Presently such close tolerances can only be met by gluing or soldering both components on separate base plates and combining them via piezoactivated alignment monitoring the output of the circuit and then gluing them using UV-hardening epoxies. Such a procedure is not very economical and not useful for mass applications. This paper presents the principle and realization of a silicon micro-optical bench for laser-fiber-coupling, which avoids the above mentioned disadvantages. The micro-optical bench is realized using well controlled plasma etching processes to transfer the guiding patterns for the laser and the fiber into the silicon substrate, keeping geometry tolerances below +/- 0.5 micrometers in lateral and vertical direction. Mounting the laser diode by means of a self-aligned soldering process, an additional contribution to the precise alignment of the laser is further improved.

Efficient spot size converter for higher-order mode fiber-chip coupling.

PubMed

Lai, Yaxiao; Yu, Yu; Fu, Songnian; Xu, Jing; Shum, Perry Ping; Zhang, Xinliang

2017-09-15

We propose and demonstrate a silicon-based spot size converter (SSC), composed of two identical tapered channel waveguides and a Y-junction. The SSC is designed for first-order mode fiber-to-chip coupling on the basis of mode petal separation and the recombination method. Compared with a traditional on-chip SSC, this method is superior with reduced coupling loss when dealing with a higher-order mode. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first experimental observations of a higher-order SSC which is fully compatible with a standard fabrication process. Average coupling losses of 3 and 5.5 dB are predicted by simulation and demonstrated experimentally. A fully covered 3 dB bandwidth over a 1515-1585 nm wavelength range is experimentally observed.

Micro-device for coupling, multiplexing and demultiplexing using elliptical-core two-mode fiber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, A.; Murphy, K. A.; Wang, G. Z.; Vengsarkar, A. M.; Claus, R. O.

1990-01-01

We propose and demonstrate experimentally a fiber optic micro-device that is capable of tunably splitting, multiplexing, and demultiplexing optical signals using elliptical-core two-mode optical fiber. A crosstalk of 15 dB with an insertion loss of 1.2 dB was obtained.

Integrated fiber-mirror ion trap for strong ion-cavity coupling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brandstätter, B., E-mail: birgit.brandstaetter@uibk.ac.at; Schüppert, K.; Casabone, B.

2013-12-15

We present and characterize fiber mirrors and a miniaturized ion-trap design developed to integrate a fiber-based Fabry-Perot cavity (FFPC) with a linear Paul trap for use in cavity-QED experiments with trapped ions. Our fiber-mirror fabrication process not only enables the construction of FFPCs with small mode volumes, but also allows us to minimize the influence of the dielectric fiber mirrors on the trapped-ion pseudopotential. We discuss the effect of clipping losses for long FFPCs and the effect of angular and lateral displacements on the coupling efficiencies between cavity and fiber. Optical profilometry allows us to determine the radii of curvaturemore » and ellipticities of the fiber mirrors. From finesse measurements, we infer a single-atom cooperativity of up to 12 for FFPCs longer than 200 μm in length; comparison to cavities constructed with reference substrate mirrors produced in the same coating run indicates that our FFPCs have similar scattering losses. We characterize the birefringence of our fiber mirrors, finding that careful fiber-mirror selection enables us to construct FFPCs with degenerate polarization modes. As FFPCs are novel devices, we describe procedures developed for handling, aligning, and cleaning them. We discuss experiments to anneal fiber mirrors and explore the influence of the atmosphere under which annealing occurs on coating losses, finding that annealing under vacuum increases the losses for our reference substrate mirrors. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicate that these losses may be attributable to oxygen depletion in the mirror coating. Special design considerations enable us to introduce a FFPC into a trapped ion setup. Our unique linear Paul trap design provides clearance for such a cavity and is miniaturized to shield trapped ions from the dielectric fiber mirrors. We numerically calculate the trap potential in the absence of fibers. In the experiment additional electrodes can be used to compensate distortions of the potential due to the fibers. Home-built fiber feedthroughs connect the FFPC to external optics, and an integrated nanopositioning system affords the possibility of retracting or realigning the cavity without breaking vacuum.« less

Tapered enlarged ends in multimode optical fibers.

PubMed

Brenci, M; Falciai, R; Scheggi, A M

1982-01-15

Radiation characteristics of multimode fibers with enlarged tapers were investigated on a number of samples obtained by varying the fiber drawing speed with a given law corresponding to a prefixed taper profile. The characterization of the fibers was made by near- and far-field intensity pattern measurements as well as by measuring the losses introduced by the taper. With a suitable choice of parameters the taper constitutes a reasonable low-loss component useful, for example, for either efficient coupling to large-spot high-power density sources or connecting fibers of different sizes. Conversely at the exit of the fiber the taper can be used for beam shaping which is of interest for mechanical or surgical applications.

Comparison of self-written waveguide techniques and bulk index matching for low-loss polymer waveguide interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrell, Derek; Middlebrook, Christopher

2016-03-01

Polymer waveguides (PWGs) are used within photonic interconnects as inexpensive and versatile substitutes for traditional optical fibers. The PWGs are typically aligned to silica-based optical fibers for coupling. An epoxide elastomer is then applied and cured at the interface for index matching and rigid attachment. Self-written waveguides (SWWs) are proposed as an alternative to further reduce connection insertion loss (IL) and alleviate marginal misalignment issues. Elastomer material is deposited after the initial alignment, and SWWs are formed by injecting ultraviolet (UV) light into the fiber or waveguide. The coupled UV light cures a channel between the two differing structures. A suitable cladding layer can be applied after development. Such factors as longitudinal gap distance, UV cure time, input power level, polymer material selection and choice of solvent affect the resulting SWWs. Experimental data are compared between purely index-matched samples and those with SWWs at the fiber-PWG interface. It is shown that < 1 dB IL per connection can be achieved by either method and results indicate lowest potential losses associated with a fine-tuned self-writing process. Successfully fabricated SWWs reduce overall processing time and enable an effectively continuous low-loss rigid interconnect.

Scaling effects in resonant coupling phenomena between fundamental and cladding modes in twisted microstructured optical fibers.

PubMed

Napiorkowski, Maciej; Urbanczyk, Waclaw

2018-04-30

We show that in twisted microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) the coupling between the core and cladding modes can be obtained for helix pitch much greater than previously considered. We provide an analytical model describing scaling properties of the twisted MOFs, which relates coupling conditions to dimensionless ratios between the wavelength, the lattice pitch and the helix pitch of the twisted fiber. Furthermore, we verify our model using a rigorous numerical method based on the transformation optics formalism and study its limitations. The obtained results show that for appropriately designed twisted MOFs, distinct, high loss resonance peaks can be obtained in a broad wavelength range already for the fiber with 9 mm helix pitch, thus allowing for fabrication of coupling based devices using a less demanding method involving preform spinning.

Ultra-low power fiber-coupled gallium arsenide photonic crystal cavity electro-optic modulator.

PubMed

Shambat, Gary; Ellis, Bryan; Mayer, Marie A; Majumdar, Arka; Haller, Eugene E; Vučković, Jelena

2011-04-11

We demonstrate a gallium arsenide photonic crystal cavity injection-based electro-optic modulator coupled to a fiber taper waveguide. The fiber taper serves as a convenient and tunable waveguide for cavity coupling with minimal loss. Localized electrical injection of carriers into the cavity region via a laterally doped p-i-n diode combined with the small mode volume of the cavity enable ultra-low energy modulation at sub-fJ/bit levels. Speeds of up to 1 GHz are demonstrated with photoluminescence lifetime measurements revealing that the ultimate limit goes well into the tens of GHz. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Efficient multi-mode to single-mode coupling in a photonic lantern.

PubMed

Noordegraaf, Danny; Skovgaard, Peter M W; Nielsen, Martin D; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss

2009-02-02

We demonstrate the fabrication of a high performance multi-mode (MM) to single-mode (SM) splitter or "photonic lantern", first described by Leon-Saval et al. (2005). Our photonic lantern is a solid all-glass version, and we show experimentally that this device can be used to achieve efficient and reversible coupling between a MM fiber and a number of SM fibers, when perfectly matched launch conditions into the MM fiber are ensured. The fabricated photonic lantern has a coupling loss for a MM to SM tapered transition of only 0.32 dB which proves the feasibility of the technology.

Multimode fiber devices with single-mode performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leon-Saval, S. G.; Birks, T. A.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Englund, M.

2005-10-01

A taper transition can couple light between a multimode fiber and several single-mode fibers. If the number of single-mode fibers matches the number of spatial modes in the multimode fiber, the transition can have low loss in both directions. This enables the high performance of single-mode fiber devices to be attained in multimode fibers. We report an experimental proof of concept by using photonic crystal fiber techniques to make the transitions, demonstrating a multimode fiber filter with the transmission spectrum of a single-mode fiber grating.

High-sensitivity bend angle measurements using optical fiber gratings.

PubMed

Rauf, Abdul; Zhao, Jianlin; Jiang, Biqiang

2013-07-20

We present a high-sensitivity and more flexible bend measurement method, which is based on the coupling of core mode to the cladding modes at the bending region in concatenation with optical fiber grating serving as band reflector. The characteristics of a bend sensing arm composed of bending region and optical fiber grating is examined for different configurations including single fiber Bragg grating (FBG), chirped FBG (CFBG), and double FBGs. The bend loss curves for coated, stripped, and etched sections of fiber in the bending region with FBG, CFBG, and double FBG are obtained experimentally. The effect of separation between bending region and optical fiber grating on loss is measured. The loss responses for single FBG and CFBG configurations are compared to discover the effectiveness for practical applications. It is demonstrated that the sensitivity of the double FBG scheme is twice that of the single FBG and CFBG configurations, and hence acts as sensitivity multiplier. The bend loss response for different fiber diameters obtained through etching in 40% hydrofluoric acid, is measured in double FBG scheme that resulted in a significant increase in the sensitivity, and reduction of dead-zone.

CMOS-compatible spot-size converter for optical fiber to sub-μm silicon waveguide coupling with low-loss low-wavelength dependence and high tolerance to misalignment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picard, Marie-Josée.; Latrasse, Christine; Larouche, Carl; Painchaud, Yves; Poulin, Michel; Pelletier, François; Guy, Martin

2016-03-01

One of the biggest challenges of silicon photonics is the efficient coupling of light between the sub-micron SiP waveguides and a standard optical fiber (SMF-28). We recently proposed a novel approach based on a spot-size converter (SSC) that fulfills this need. The SSC integrates a tapered silicon waveguide and a superimposed structure made of a plurality of rods of high index material, disposed in an array-like configuration and embedded in a cladding of lower index material. This superimposed structure defines a waveguide designed to provide an efficient adiabatic transfer, through evanescent coupling, to a 220 nm thick Si waveguide tapered down to a narrow tip on one side, while providing a large mode overlap to the optical fiber on the other side. An initial demonstration was made using a SSC fabricated with post-processing steps. Great coupling to a SMF-28 fiber with a loss of 0.6 dB was obtained for TEpolarized light at 1550 nm with minimum wavelength dependence. In this paper, SSCs designed for operation at 1310 and 1550 nm for TE/TM polarizations and entirely fabricated in a CMOS fab are presented.

Single mode fiber and twin-core fiber connection technique for in-fiber integrated interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Tingting; Zhang, Xiaotong; Guan, Chunying; Yang, Xinghua; Yuan, Libo

2015-09-01

A novel twin-core fiber connector has been made by two side-polished fibers. By using side polishing technique, we present a connector based on the twin-core fiber (TCF) and two D-shaped single-core fibers. After simple alignment and splicing, all fiber miniaturizing connector can be obtained. Two cores can operate independently and are non-interfering. The coupling loss of this connector is low and the fabrication technologies are mature. The connector device could be used for sensors or particle trapping.

Low loss fusion splicing of micron scale silica fibers.

PubMed

Pal, Parama; Knox, Wayne H

2008-07-21

Tapered micron-sized optical fibers may be important in the future for development of microscale integrated photonic devices. Complex photonic circuits require many devices and a robust technique for interconnection. We demonstrate splicing of four micron diameter step-index air-clad silica microfibers using a CO2 laser. We obtain splice losses lower than 0.3%. Compared with evanescent coupling of microfibers, our splices are more mechanically stable and efficient.

Design of compact surface optical coupler based on vertically curved silicon waveguide for high-numerical-aperture single-mode optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atsumi, Yuki; Yoshida, Tomoya; Omoda, Emiko; Sakakibara, Youichi

2017-09-01

A surface optical coupler based on a vertically curved Si waveguide was designed for coupling with high-numerical aperture single-mode optical fibers with a mode-field diameter of 5 µm. This coupler has a quite small device size, with a height of approximately 12 µm, achieved by introducing an effective spot-size converter configured with the combination of an extremely short Si exponential-inverse taper and a dome-structured SiO2 lens formed on the coupler top. The designed coupler shows high-efficiency optical coupling, with a loss of 0.8 dB for TE polarized light, as well as broad-band coupling with a 0.5-dB-loss band of 420 nm.

Misalignment tolerant efficient inverse taper coupler for silicon waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Peng; Michael, Aron; Kwok, Chee Yee; Chen, Ssu-Han

2015-12-01

This paper describes an efficient fiber to submicron silicon waveguide coupling based on an inversely tapered silicon waveguide embedded in a SiO2 waveguide that is suspended in air. The inverse taper waveguide consist of a 50um long and 240nm thick silicon that linearly taper in width from 500nm to 120nm, which is embedded in SiO2. The SiO2 waveguide is 6um wide and 10um long. The simulation results show that the coupling loss of this new approach is 2.7dB including the interface loss at the input and output. The tolerance to fiber misalignment at the input of the coupler is 2um in both horizontal and vertical directions for only 1.5dB additional loss.

Integrated optics technology study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, B.; Findakly, T.; Innarella, R.

1982-01-01

The status and near term potential of materials and processes available for the fabrication of single mode integrated electro-optical components are discussed. Issues discussed are host material and orientation, waveguide formation, optical loss mechanisms, wavelength selection, polarization effects and control, laser to integrated optics coupling fiber optic waveguides to integrated optics coupling, sources, and detectors. Recommendations of the best materials, technology, and processes for fabrication of integrated optical components for communications and fiber gyro applications are given.

Photonic crystal fiber temperature sensor with high sensitivity based on surface plasmon resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Junjun; Li, Shuguang; shi, Min; Feng, Xinxing

2018-07-01

A high sensitivity photonic crystal fiber (PCF) temperature sensor based on surface plasmon resonance is proposed and evaluated using the finite element method. Besides, the coupling phenomenon is studied. The gold layer deposited on the polishing surface of D-shape PCF is used as the metal to stimulate surface plasma, which can improves the sensitivity. Through exquisite design, the birefringence of the fiber is improved, which makes the loss of y-polarization far greater than the loss of x-polarization. The D-shape fiber avoids filling metal and liquid into the air-holes, which can contact with fluid directly to feel temperature. When the phase matching condition is satisfied, the core mode will couple with the surface plasma mode. The resonance position of y-polarization is very sensitive to the temperature change. The simulation shows that the PCF has high sensitivity of 36.86 nm/°C in y-polarization and wide detection that from 10 °C to 85 °C.

Ultralow loss, high Q, four port resonant couplers for quantum optics and photonics.

PubMed

Rokhsari, H; Vahala, K J

2004-06-25

We demonstrate a low-loss, optical four port resonant coupler (add-drop geometry), using ultrahigh Q (>10(8)) toroidal microcavities. Different regimes of operation are investigated by variation of coupling between resonator and fiber taper waveguides. As a result, waveguide-to-waveguide power transfer efficiency of 93% (0.3 dB loss) and nonresonant insertion loss of 0.02% (<0.001 dB) for narrow bandwidth (57 MHz) four port couplers are achieved in this work. The combination of low-loss, fiber compatibility, and wafer-scale design would be suitable for a variety of applications ranging from quantum optics to photonic networks.

Leakage of the fundamental mode in photonic crystal fiber tapers.

PubMed

Nguyen, Hong C; Kuhlmey, Boris T; Steel, Michael J; Smith, Cameron L; Mägi, Eric C; McPhedran, Ross C; Eggleton, Benjamin J

2005-05-15

We report detailed measurements of the optical properties of tapered photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). We observe a striking long-wavelength loss as the fiber diameter is reduced, despite the minimal airhole collapse along the taper. We associate this loss with a transition of the fundamental core mode as the fiber dimensions contract: At wavelengths shorter than this transition wavelength, the core mode is strongly confined in the fiber microstructure, whereas at longer wavelengths the mode expands beyond the microstructure and couples out to higher-order modes. These experimental results are discussed in the context of the so-called fundamental mode cutoff described by Kuhlmey et al. [Opt. Express 10, 1285 (2002)], which apply to PCFs with a finite microstructure.

Low-loss single-mode hollow-core fiber with anisotropic anti-resonant elements.

PubMed

Habib, Md Selim; Bang, Ole; Bache, Morten

2016-04-18

A hollow-core fiber using anisotropic anti-resonant tubes in the cladding is proposed for low loss and effectively single-mode guidance. We show that the loss performance and higher-order mode suppression is significantly improved by using symmetrically distributed anisotropic anti-resonant tubes in the cladding, elongated in the radial direction, when compared to using isotropic, i.e. circular, anti-resonant tubes. The effective single-mode guidance of the proposed fiber is achieved by enhancing the coupling between the cladding modes and higher-order-core modes by suitably engineering the anisotropic anti-resonant elements. With a silica-based fiber design aimed at 1.06 µm, we show that the loss extinction ratio between the higher-order core modes and the fundamental core mode can be more than 1000 in the range 1.0-1.65 µm, while the leakage loss of the fundamental core mode is below 15 dB/km in the same range.

Theoretical study of mode evolution in active long tapered multimode fiber.

PubMed

Shi, Chen; Wang, Xiaolin; Zhou, Pu; Xu, Xiaojun; Lu, Qisheng

2016-08-22

A concise and effective model based on coupled mode theory to describe mode evolution in long tapered active fiber is presented in this manuscript. The mode coupling due to variation of core radius and slight perturbation have been analyzed and local gain with transverse spatial hole burning (TSHB) effect, loss and curvature have been taken into consideration in our model. On the base of this model, the mode evolution behaviors under different factors have been numerically investigated. Our model and results can provide instructive suggestions when designing long tapered fiber based laser and amplifiers.

The comparison of two methods to manufacture fused biconical tapered optical fiber coupler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yue; Liu, Hairong

2009-08-01

Optical fiber coupler is a directional coupler which is crucial component for optical fiber communication systems. The fused biconical taper is the most important method in facture of optical fiber coupler, with many advantages of low excess loss, precise coupling ratio, good consistency and stability. In this paper we have introduced a new method to manufacture optical fiber coupler. And more over the new manufacture process has been compared with the traditional manufacture method. In the traditional crafts, two optical fibers are parallel placed, and then use the method of tie a knot of the two optical fibers. In the new process, a new program of fiber placement is introduced. Two optical fibers are parallel placed in the middle of the fixture, and then in order to make the bare part of the optical fiber close as much as possible, the new plan using high temperature resistant material bind the both end of the fiber which are not removing the cladding. After many contrast tests, we can see that adopt the improved method of fiber placement, during the process of fiber pulling, the variation of optical power in the directional arm and the coupler arm are more smooth and steady. But the excess loss (EL) generated in the process of pulling is a bit higher than the traditional method of tie a knot. The tests show that the new method of optical fiber placement is feasible in the actual projects for the manufacture of coupler with low coupling ratio, but for the control of the EL still need further studying.

Characterization of silver halide fiber optics and hollow silica waveguides for use in the construction of a mid-infrared attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy probe.

PubMed

Damin, Craig A; Sommer, André J

2013-11-01

Advances in fiber optic materials have allowed for the construction of fibers and waveguides capable of transmitting infrared radiation. An investigation of the transmission characteristics associated with two commonly used types of infrared-transmitting fibers/waveguides for prospective use in a fiber/waveguide-coupled attenuated total internal reflection (ATR) probe was performed. Characterization of silver halide polycrystalline fiber optics and hollow silica waveguides was done on the basis of the transmission of infrared light using a conventional fiber optic coupling accessory and an infrared microscope. Using the fiber optic coupling accessory, the average percent transmission for three silver halide fibers was 18.1 ± 6.1% relative to a benchtop reflection accessory. The average transmission for two hollow waveguides (HWGs) using the coupling accessory was 8.0 ± 0.3%. (Uncertainties in the relative percent transmission represent the standard deviations.) Reduced transmission observed for the HWGs was attributed to the high numerical aperture of the coupling accessory. Characterization of the fibers/waveguides using a zinc selenide lens objective on an infrared microscope indicated 24.1 ± 7.2% of the initial light input into the silver halide fibers was transmitted. Percent transmission obtained for the HWGs was 98.7 ± 0.1%. Increased transmission using the HWGs resulted from the absence or minimization of insertion and scattering losses due to the hollow air core and a better-matched numerical aperture. The effect of bending on the transmission characteristics of the fibers/waveguides was also investigated. Significant deviations in the transmission of infrared light by the solid-core silver halide fibers were observed for various bending angles. Percent transmission greater than 98% was consistently observed for the HWGs at the bending angles. The combined benefits of high percent transmission, reproducible instrument responses, and increased bending tolerance indicated HWGs should be preferred in the construction of a fiber/waveguide-coupled ATR probe.

Integrated optics technology study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, B.

1982-01-01

The materials and processes available for the fabrication of single mode integrated electrooptical components are described. Issues included in the study are: (1) host material and orientation, (2) waveguide formation, (3) optical loss mechanisms, (4) wavelength selection, (5) polarization effects and control, (6) laser to integrated optics coupling,(7) fiber optic waveguides to integrated optics coupling, (8) souces, (9) detectors. The best materials, technology and processes for fabrication of integrated optical components for communications and fiber gyro applications are recommended.

Mismatch Considerations in Excitation of Single-Mode Circular Core Parabolic Index Fiber by Laser Diode via Upside Down Tapered Hemispherical Microlens on the Tip of the Fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Bishuddhananda; Middya, Tapas Ranjan; Gangopadhyay, Sankar

2017-12-01

We report the theoretical investigation of the coupling optics involving laser diode to single-mode circular core parabolic index fiber via upside down tapered hemispherical microlens on the tip of the fiber in the presence of possible transverse and angular mismatches. Using the relevant ABCD matrix for such tapered hemispherical microlens, we formulate analytical expressions for the coupling efficiencies in the presence of the said two mismatches. Further, the transmitted spot size of the source via the hemispherical lens and the tapered region should match with the spot size of the fiber for obtaining maximum coupling. The investigations have been made for two practical wavelengths, namely 1.3 and 1.5 μm in order to find the tolerance of this coupling device with respect to the said kinds of mismatches at the concerned wavelengths. Although our simple method predicts the concerned coupling optics excellently, the evaluation of the concerned efficiencies and associated losses involve little computations. Thus this user-friendly technique and also the results found thereof will benefit the designers and packagers who are working in the field of optical technology.

Arc fusion splicing of photonic crystal fibers to standard single mode fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borzycki, Krzysztof; Kobelke, Jens; Schuster, Kay; Wójcik, Jan

2010-04-01

Coupling a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) to measuring instruments or optical subsystems is often done by splicing it to short lengths of single mode fiber (SMF) used for interconnections, as SMF is standardized, widely available and compatible with most fiber optic components and measuring instruments. This paper presents procedures and results of loss measurements during fusion splicing of five PCFs tested at NIT laboratory within activities of COST Action 299 "FIDES". Investigated silica-based fibers had 80-200 μm cladding diameter and were designed as single mode. A standard splicing machine designed for telecom fibers was used, but splicing procedure and arc power were tailored to each PCF. Splice loss varied between 0.7 and 2.8 dB at 1550 nm. Splices protected with heat-shrinkable sleeves served well for gripping fibers during mechanical tests and survived temperature cycling from -30°C to +70°C with stable loss. Collapse of holes in the PCF was limited by reducing fusion time to 0.2-0.5 s; additional measures included reduction of discharge power and shifting SMF-PCF contact point away from the axis of electrodes. Unfortunately, short fusion time sometimes precluded proper smoothing of glass surface, leading to a trade-off between splice loss and strength.

High spectral purity silicon ring resonator photon-pair source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steidle, Jeffrey A.; Fanto, Michael L.; Tison, Christopher C.; Wang, Zihao; Preble, Stefan F.; Alsing, Paul M.

2015-05-01

Here we present the experimental demonstration of a Silicon ring resonator photon-pair source. The crystalline Silicon ring resonator (radius of 18.5μm) was designed to realize low dispersion across multiple resonances, which allows for operation with a high quality factor of Q~50k. In turn, the source exhibits very high brightness of >3x105 photons/s/mW2/GHz since the produced photon pairs have a very narrow bandwidth. Furthermore, the waveguidefiber coupling loss was minimized to <1.5dB using an inverse tapered waveguide (tip width of ~150nm over a 300μm length) that is butt-coupled to a high-NA fiber (Nufern UHNA-7). This ensured minimal loss of photon pairs to the detectors, which enabled very high purity photon pairs with minimal noise, as exhibited by a very high Coincidental-Accidental Ratio of >1900. The low coupling loss (3dB fiber-fiber) also allowed for operation with very low off-chip pump power of <200μW. In addition, the zero dispersion of the ring resonator resulted in the production of a photon-pair comb across multiple resonances symmetric about the pump resonance (every ~5nm spanning >20nm), which could be used in future wavelength division multiplexed quantum networks.

Packaging of fiber lasers and components for use in harsh environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creeden, Daniel; Johnson, Benjamin R.; Jones, Casey; Ibach, Charles; Lemons, Michael; Budni, Peter A.; Zona, James P.; Marcinuk, Adam; Willis, Chris; Sweeney, James; Setzler, Scott D.

2016-03-01

High power continuous and pulsed fiber lasers and amplifiers have become more prevalent in laser systems over the last ten years. In fielding such systems, strong environmental and operational factors drive the packaging of the components. These include large operational temperature ranges, non-standard wavelengths of operation, strong vibration, and lack of water cooling. Typical commercial fiber components are not designed to survive these types of environments. Based on these constraints, we have had to develop and test a wide range of customized fiber-based components and systems to survive in these conditions. In this paper, we discuss some of those designs and detail the testing performed on those systems and components. This includes the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, modified to survive extended temperature ranges, as well as customized components designed specifically for performance in harsh environments. Some of these custom components include: ruggedized/monolithic fiber spools; detachable and repeatable fiber collimators; low loss fiber-to-fiber coupling schemes; and high power fiber-coupled isolators.

Exploring the effect of nested capillaries on core-cladding mode resonances in hollow-core antiresonant fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Provino, Laurent; Taunay, Thierry

2018-02-01

Optimal suppression of higher-order modes (HOMs) in hollow-core antiresonant fibers comprising a single ring of thin-walled capillaries was previously studied, and can be achieved when the condition on the capillary-tocore diameter ratio is satisfied (d/D ≍ 0.68). Here we report on the conditions for maximizing the leakage losses of HOMs in hollow-core nested antiresonant node-less fibers, while preserving low confinement loss for the fundamental mode. Using an analytical model based on coupled capillary waveguides, as well as full-vector finite element modeling, we show that optimal d/D value leading to high leakage losses of HOMs, is strongly correlated to the size of nested capillaries. We also show that extremely high value of degree of HOM suppression (˜1200) at the resonant coupling is almost unchanged on a wide range of nested capillary diameter dN ested values. These results thus suggest the possibility of designing antiresonant fibers with nested elements, which show optimal guiding performances in terms of the HOM loss compared to that of the fundamental mode, for clearly defined paired values of the ratios dN ested/d and d/D. These can also tend towards a single-mode behavior only when the dimensionless parameter dN ested/d is less than 0.30, with identical wall thicknesses for all of the capillaries.

Demonstration of Compact and Low-Loss Athermal Arrayed-Waveguide Grating Module Based on 2.5%-Δ Silica-Based Waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maru, Koichi; Abe, Yukio; Uetsuka, Hisato

2008-10-01

We demonstrated a compact and low-loss athermal arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) module utilizing silica-based planar lightwave circuit (PLC) technology. Spot-size converters based on a vertical ridge-waveguide taper were integrated with a 2.5%-Δ athermal AWG to reduce the loss at chip-to-fiber interface. Spot-size converters based on a segmented core were formed around resin-filled trenches for athermalization formed in the slab to reduce the diffraction loss at the trenches. A 16-channel athermal AWG module with 100-GHz channel spacing was fabricated. The use of a 2.5%-Δ athermal chip with a single-side fiber array enabled a compact package of the size of 41.6×16.6×4.5 mm3. Athermal characteristics and a small insertion loss of 3.5-3.8 dB were obtained by virtue of low fiber-to-chip coupling loss and athermalization with low excess loss.

Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source.

PubMed

Steidle, Jeffrey A; Fanto, Michael L; Preble, Stefan F; Tison, Christopher C; Howland, Gregory A; Wang, Zihao; Alsing, Paul M

2017-04-04

Silicon photonic chips have the potential to realize complex integrated quantum information processing circuits, including photon sources, qubit manipulation, and integrated single-photon detectors. Here, we present the key aspects of preparing and testing a silicon photonic quantum chip with an integrated photon source and two-photon interferometer. The most important aspect of an integrated quantum circuit is minimizing loss so that all of the generated photons are detected with the highest possible fidelity. Here, we describe how to perform low-loss edge coupling by using an ultra-high numerical aperture fiber to closely match the mode of the silicon waveguides. By using an optimized fusion splicing recipe, the UHNA fiber is seamlessly interfaced with a standard single-mode fiber. This low-loss coupling allows the measurement of high-fidelity photon production in an integrated silicon ring resonator and the subsequent two-photon interference of the produced photons in a closely integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer. This paper describes the essential procedures for the preparation and characterization of high-performance and scalable silicon quantum photonic circuits.

Improvements in Fabrication of 3D SU-8 Prisms for Low-Coupling-Loss Interconnections Between Fibers and Waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Minh-Hang; Chu, Thi-Xuan; Nguyen, Long; Nguyen, Hai-Binh; Lee, Chun-Wei; Tseng, Fan-Gang; Chen, Te-Chang; Lee, Ming-Chang

2016-11-01

Fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) SU-8 (an epoxy-based negative photoresist from MicroChem) prisms as low-loss couplers for interconnection between optical components, particularly optical fibers and silicon-on-isolator waveguides (SOI WGs), which have mismatched mode sizes, has been investigated. With an interfacial structure formed by a 3D SU-8 prism partly overlaying an SOI WG end with a portion of buried oxide (BOX) removed under the interface, low-loss coupling is ensured and the transmission efficiency can reach 70%. To fabricate these 3D SU-8 prisms, a simple method with two photolithography steps was used for SU-8 hinges and CYTOP (an amorphous fluoropolymer from AGC Chemicals) prism windows, with mild soft and hard bakes, to define the prism profiles with diluted SU-8 filled in the CYTOP prism windows. A buffered oxide etchant is used to remove BOX parts under the interfaces. Some of the fabricated structures were tested, demonstrating the contribution of overlaying SU-8 prisms to the transmission efficiency of optical interconnections between fibers and SOI WGs.

Experimental study on the statistic characteristics of a 3x3 RF MIMO channel over a single conventional multimode fiber.

PubMed

Lei, Yi; Li, Jianqiang; Wu, Rui; Fan, Yuting; Fu, Songnian; Yin, Feifei; Dai, Yitang; Xu, Kun

2017-06-01

Based on the observed random fluctuation phenomenon of speckle pattern across multimode fiber (MMF) facet and received optical power distribution across three output ports, we experimentally investigate the statistic characteristics of a 3×3 radio frequency multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel enabled by mode division multiplexing in a conventional 50 µm MMF using non-mode-selective three-dimensional waveguide photonic lanterns as mode multiplexer and demultiplexer. The impacts of mode coupling on the MIMO channel coefficients, channel matrix, and channel capacity have been analyzed over different fiber lengths. The results indicate that spatial multiplexing benefits from the greater fiber length with stronger mode coupling, despite a higher optical loss.

High power (2+1) ×1 taper-fused all-fiber side-pumped combiner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Juan; Ma, Yi; Yan, Hong

2018-03-01

A novel design and fabrication method of a (2+1) ×1 taper-fused all-fiber side-pumped combiner is reported. The pump coupling efficiency of this pump combiner was studied theoretically and experimentally. The measurement results indicated that the coupling efficiency of the pump light is 96.5%, the signal-to-pump isolation reaches 31dB, and the signal loss of the combiner is 0.19dB. A backward-pumped fiber laser system was established by using this (2+1) ×1 side-pumped combiner directly, achieving a signal laser output of 1007W with M2=1.33.

Optical loss analysis and parameter optimization for fan-shaped single-polarization grating coupler at wavelength of 1.3 µm band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ushida, Jun; Tokushima, Masatoshi; Sobu, Yohei; Shimura, Daisuke; Yashiki, Kenichiro; Takahashi, Shigeki; Kurata, Kazuhiko

2018-05-01

Fan-shaped grating couplers (F-GCs) can be smaller than straight ones but are less efficient in general in coupling to single-mode fibers. To find a small F-GC with sufficiently high fiber-coupling characteristics, we numerically compared the dependencies of coupling efficiencies on wavelengths, the starting width of gratings, and misalignment distances among 25, 45, and 60° tapered angles of fan shape by using the three-dimensional finite-difference time domain method. A F-GC with a tapered angle of 25° exhibited the highest performances for all dependencies. The optical loss origins of F-GCs were discussed in terms of the electric field structures in them and scattering at the joint between the fan-shaped slab and channel waveguide. We fabricated an optimized 25° F-GC by using ArF photolithography, which almost exactly reproduced the optical coupling efficiency and radiation angle characteristics that were numerically expected.

Few-mode fiber, splice and SDM component characterization by spatially-diverse optical vector network analysis.

PubMed

Rommel, Simon; Mendinueta, José Manuel Delgado; Klaus, Werner; Sakaguchi, Jun; Olmos, Juan José Vegas; Awaji, Yoshinari; Monroy, Idelfonso Tafur; Wada, Naoya

2017-09-18

This paper discusses spatially diverse optical vector network analysis for space division multiplexing (SDM) component and system characterization, which is becoming essential as SDM is widely considered to increase the capacity of optical communication systems. Characterization of a 108-channel photonic lantern spatial multiplexer, coupled to a 36-core 3-mode fiber, is experimentally demonstrated, extracting the full impulse response and complex transfer function matrices as well as insertion loss (IL) and mode-dependent loss (MDL) data. Moreover, the mode-mixing behavior of fiber splices in the few-mode multi-core fiber and their impact on system IL and MDL are analyzed, finding splices to cause significant mode-mixing and to be non-negligible in system capacity analysis.

Amplification and noise properties of an erbium-doped multicore fiber amplifier.

PubMed

Abedin, K S; Taunay, T F; Fishteyn, M; Yan, M F; Zhu, B; Fini, J M; Monberg, E M; Dimarcello, F V; Wisk, P W

2011-08-15

A multicore erbium-doped fiber (MC-EDF) amplifier for simultaneous amplification in the 7-cores has been developed, and the gain and noise properties of individual cores have been studied. The pump and signal radiation were coupled to individual cores of MC-EDF using two tapered fiber bundled (TFB) couplers with low insertion loss. For a pump power of 146 mW, the average gain achieved in the MC-EDF fiber was 30 dB, and noise figure was less than 4 dB. The net useful gain from the multicore-amplifier, after taking into consideration of all the passive losses, was about 23-27 dB. Pump induced ASE noise transfer between the neighboring channel was negligible. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Theory of fiber-optic, evanescent-wave spectroscopy and sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messica, A.; Greenstein, A.; Katzir, A.

1996-05-01

A general theory for fiber-optic, evanescent-wave spectroscopy and sensors is presented for straight, uncladded, step-index, multimode fibers. A three-dimensional model is formulated within the framework of geometric optics. The model includes various launching conditions, input and output end-face Fresnel transmission losses, multiple Fresnel reflections, bulk absorption, and evanescent-wave absorption. An evanescent-wave sensor response is analyzed as a function of externally controlled parameters such as coupling angle, f number, fiber length, and diameter. Conclusions are drawn for several experimental apparatuses.

Bidirectional optical coupler for plastic optical fibers.

PubMed

Sugita, Tatsuya; Abe, Tomiya; Hirano, Kouki; Itoh, Yuzo

2005-05-20

We have developed a low-loss bidirectional optical coupler for high-speed optical communication with plastic optical fibers (POFs). The coupler, which is fabricated by an injection molding method that uses poly (methyl methacrylate), has an antisymmetric tapered shape. We show that the coupler has low insertion and branching losses. The tapered shape of the receiving branch reduces beam diameter and increases detection efficiency coupling to a photodetector, whose area is smaller than that of the plastic optical fiber. The possibility of more than 15-m bidirectional transmission with a signaling bit rate up to 500 Mbits/s for simplex step-index POFs is demonstrated.

Fiber-based architectures for organic photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jiwen; Namboothiry, Manoj A. G.; Carroll, David L.

2007-02-01

Using poly(3-hexylthiophene) and 1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)-propyl-1-phenyl-(6,6)C61 bulk-heterojunction blends as the absorbing material, organic photovoltaic devices have been fabricated onto multimode optical fibers. The behavior of the short circuit current density, filling factor, and open circuit voltage as the angle of the incident light onto the cleaved fiber face is varied suggests that the evanescent field at the interface between the fiber and the transparent contact may play a role in coupling light from the fiber into the device. Further, optical loss into the device increases as the fiber diameter decreases.

Multi-wavelength transceiver integration on SOI for high-performance computing system applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aalto, Timo; Harjanne, Mikko; Ylinen, Sami; Kapulainen, Markku; Vehmas, Tapani; Cherchi, Matteo; Neumeyr, Christian; Ortsiefer, Markus; Malacarne, Antonio

2015-03-01

We present a vision for transceiver integration on a 3 μm SOI waveguide platform for systems scalable to Pb/s. We also present experimental results from the first building blocks developed in the EU-funded RAPIDO project. At 1.3 μm wavelength 80 Gb/s per wavelength is to be achieved using hybrid integration of III-V optoelectronics on SOI. Goals include athermal operation, low-loss I/O coupling, advanced modulation formats and packet switching. An example of the design results is an interposer chip that consists of 12 μm thick SOI waveguides locally tapered down to 3 μm to provide low-loss coupling between an optical single-mode fiber array and the 3 μm SOI chip. First example of experimental results is a 4x4 cyclic AWGs with 5 nm channel spacing, 0.4 dB/facet fiber coupling loss, 3.5 dB center-tocenter loss, and -23 dB adjacent channel crosstalk in 3.5x1.5 mm2 footprint. The second example result is a new VCSEL design that was demonstrated to have up to 40 Gb/s operation at 1.55 μm.

Rayleigh scattering in few-mode optical fibers

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhen; Wu, Hao; Hu, Xiaolong; Zhao, Ningbo; Mo, Qi; Li, Guifang

2016-01-01

The extremely low loss of silica fibers has enabled the telecommunication revolution, but single-mode fiber-optic communication systems have been driven to their capacity limits. As a means to overcome this capacity crunch, space-division multiplexing (SDM) using few-mode fibers (FMF) has been proposed and demonstrated. In single-mode optical fibers, Rayleigh scattering serves as the dominant mechanism for optical loss. However, to date, the role of Rayleigh scattering in FMFs remains elusive. Here we establish and experimentally validate a general model for Rayleigh scattering in FMFs. Rayleigh backscattering not only sets the intrinsic loss limit for FMFs but also provides the theoretical foundation for few-mode optical time-domain reflectometry, which can be used to probe perturbation-induced mode-coupling dynamics in FMFs. We also show that forward inter-modal Rayleigh scattering ultimately sets a fundamental limit on inter-modal-crosstalk for FMFs. Therefore, this work not only has implications specifically for SDM systems but also broadly for few-mode fiber optics and its applications in amplifiers, lasers, and sensors in which inter-modal crosstalk imposes a fundamental performance limitation. PMID:27775003

Rayleigh scattering in few-mode optical fibers.

PubMed

Wang, Zhen; Wu, Hao; Hu, Xiaolong; Zhao, Ningbo; Mo, Qi; Li, Guifang

2016-10-24

The extremely low loss of silica fibers has enabled the telecommunication revolution, but single-mode fiber-optic communication systems have been driven to their capacity limits. As a means to overcome this capacity crunch, space-division multiplexing (SDM) using few-mode fibers (FMF) has been proposed and demonstrated. In single-mode optical fibers, Rayleigh scattering serves as the dominant mechanism for optical loss. However, to date, the role of Rayleigh scattering in FMFs remains elusive. Here we establish and experimentally validate a general model for Rayleigh scattering in FMFs. Rayleigh backscattering not only sets the intrinsic loss limit for FMFs but also provides the theoretical foundation for few-mode optical time-domain reflectometry, which can be used to probe perturbation-induced mode-coupling dynamics in FMFs. We also show that forward inter-modal Rayleigh scattering ultimately sets a fundamental limit on inter-modal-crosstalk for FMFs. Therefore, this work not only has implications specifically for SDM systems but also broadly for few-mode fiber optics and its applications in amplifiers, lasers, and sensors in which inter-modal crosstalk imposes a fundamental performance limitation.

Process technologies of MPACVD planar waveguide devices and fiber attachment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Cheng-Chung; Qian, Fan; Boudreau, Robert A.; Rowlette, John R., Sr.; Bowen, Terry P.

1999-03-01

Optical circuits based on low-loss glass waveguide on silicon are a practical and promising approach to integrate different functional components. Fiber attachment to planar waveguide provides a practical application for optical communications. Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MPACVD) produces superior quality, low birefringence, low-loss, planar waveguides for integrated optical devices. Microwave plasma initiates the chemical vapor of SiCl4, GeCl4 and oxygen. A Ge-doped silica layer is thus deposited with a compatible high growth rate (i.e. 0.4 - 0.5 micrometer/min). Film properties are based on various parameters, such as chemical flow rates, chamber pressure and temperature, power level and injector design. The resultant refractive index can be varied between 1.46 (i.e. pure silica) and 1.60 (i.e. pure germania). Waveguides can be fabricated with any desired refractive index profile. Standard photolithography defines the waveguide pattern on a mask layer. The core layer is removed by plasma dry etch which has been investigated by both reactive ion etch (RIE) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etch. Etch rates of 3000 - 4000 angstrom/min have been achieved using ICP compared to typical etch rates of 200 - 300 angstrom/min using conventional RIE. Planar waveguides offer good mode matching to optical fiber. A polished fiber end can be glued to the end facet of waveguide with a very low optical coupling loss. In addition, anisotropic etching of silicon V- grooves provides a passive alignment capability. Epoxy and solder were used to fix the fiber within the guiding groove. Several designs of waveguide-fiber attachment will be discussed.

Tapered rib fiber coupler for semiconductor optical devices

DOEpatents

Vawter, Gregory A.; Smith, Robert Edward

2001-01-01

A monolithic tapered rib waveguide for transformation of the spot size of light between a semiconductor optical device and an optical fiber or from the fiber into the optical device. The tapered rib waveguide is integrated into the guiding rib atop a cutoff mesa type semiconductor device such as an expanded mode optical modulator or and expanded mode laser. The tapered rib acts to force the guided light down into the mesa structure of the semiconductor optical device instead of being bound to the interface between the bottom of the guiding rib and the top of the cutoff mesa. The single mode light leaving or entering the output face of the mesa structure then can couple to the optical fiber at coupling losses of 1.0 dB or less.

Transmission of 100-MHz-range ultrasound through a fused quartz fiber.

PubMed

Irie, Takasuke; Tagawa, Norio; Tanabe, Masayuki; Moriya, Tadashi; Yoshizawa, Masasumi; Iijima, Takashi; Itoh, Kouichi; Yokoyama, Taku; Kumagai, Hideki; Taniguchi, Nobuyuki

2011-07-01

This paper describes an investigation into direct observation of microscopic images of tissue using a thin acoustic wave guide. First, the characteristics of the ultrasonic wave propagated in a fused quartz fiber were measured using the reflection method in order to study the insertion loss and the frequency shift of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transducer. Next, a receiving transducer was placed close to the end of the fiber, and the characteristics of the ultrasonic waves propagated through the acoustic coupling medium were measured using the penetration method in order to study the insertion loss and the frequency-dependent attenuation of the penetrated waves. Finally, a C-mode image was obtained by optimizing the measuring conditions using the results of the above measurements and scanning the ultrasonic beams on a target (coin) in water. A reflected wave with a peak frequency of approximately 220 MHz was obtained from the end of the fiber. The transmitted ultrasonic waves propagated through the acoustic coupling medium were detected with a frequency range of approximately 125-170 MHz, and the maximum detectable distance of the waves was approximately 1.2 mm within the 100-MHz frequency range. Finally, a high-frequency C-mode image of a coin in water was obtained using a tapered fused quartz fiber. The results suggest that it is necessary to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and reduce the insertion loss in the experimental system in order to make it possible to obtain microscopic images of tissue.

Design of a multi-channel free space optical interconnection component

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Da-Gong; Zhang, Pei-Song; Jing, Wen-Cai; Tan, Jun; Zhang, Hong-Xia; Zhang, Yi-Mo

2008-11-01

A multi-channel free space optical interconnection component, fiber optic rotary joint, was designed using a Dove prism. When the Dove prism is rotated an angle of α around the longitudinal axis, the image rotates an angle of 2 α. The optical interconnection component consists of the signal transmission system, Dove prim and driving mechanism. The planetary gears are used to achieve the speed ratio of 2:1 between the total optical interconnection component and the Dove prism. The C-lenses are employed to couple different optical signals in the signal transmission system. The coupling loss between the receiving fiber of stationary part and the transmitting fiber of rotary part is measured.

High-brightness power delivery for fiber laser pumping: simulation and measurement of low-NA fiber guiding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanson, Dan; Levy, Moshe; Peleg, Ophir; Rappaport, Noam; Shamay, Moshe; Dahan, Nir; Klumel, Genady; Berk, Yuri; Baskin, Ilya

2015-02-01

Fiber laser manufacturers demand high-brightness laser diode pumps delivering optical pump energy in both a compact fiber core and narrow angular content. A pump delivery fiber of a 105 μm core and 0.22 numerical aperture (NA) is typically used, where the fiber NA is under-filled to ease the launch of laser diode emission into the fiber and make the fiber tolerant to bending. At SCD, we have developed multi-emitter fiber-coupled pump modules that deliver 50 W output from a 105 μm, 0.15 NA fiber at 915, 950 and 976 nm wavelengths enabling low-NA power delivery to a customer's fiber laser network. In this work, we address the challenges of coupling and propagating high optical powers from laser diode sources in weakly guiding step-index multimode fibers. We present simulations of light propagation inside the low-NA multimode fiber for different launch conditions and fiber bend diameters using a ray-racing tool and demonstrate how these affect the injection of light into cladding-bounded modes. The mode filling at launch and source NA directly limit the bend radius at which the fiber can be coiled. Experimentally, we measure the fiber bend loss using our 50 W fiber-coupled module and establish a critical bend diameter in agreement with our simulation results. We also employ thermal imaging to investigate fiber heating caused by macro-bends and angled cleaving. The low mode filling of the 0.15 NA fiber by our brightness-enhanced laser diodes allows it to be coiled with diameters down to 70 mm at full operating power despite the low NA and further eliminates the need for mode-stripping at fiber combiners and splices downstream from our pump modules.

Design of Multi-core Fiber Patch Panel for Space Division Multiplexing Implementations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, Luz E.; Morales, Alvaro; Rommel, Simon; Jørgensen, Bo F.; Porras-Montenegro, N.; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso

2018-03-01

A multi-core fiber (MCF) patch panel was designed, allowing easy coupling of individual signals to and from a 7-core MCF. The device was characterized, measuring insertion loss and cross talk, finding highest insertion loss and lowest crosstalk at 1300 nm with values of 9.7 dB and -36.5 dB respectively, while at 1600 nm insertion loss drops to 4.8 dB and crosstalk increases to -24.1 dB. Two MCF splices between the fan-in module, the MCF, and the fan-out module are included in the characterization, and splicing parameters are discussed.

Reconfigurable SDM Switching Using Novel Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit.

PubMed

Ding, Yunhong; Kamchevska, Valerija; Dalgaard, Kjeld; Ye, Feihong; Asif, Rameez; Gross, Simon; Withford, Michael J; Galili, Michael; Morioka, Toshio; Oxenløwe, Leif Katsuo

2016-12-21

Space division multiplexing using multicore fibers is becoming a more and more promising technology. In space-division multiplexing fiber network, the reconfigurable switch is one of the most critical components in network nodes. In this paper we for the first time demonstrate reconfigurable space-division multiplexing switching using silicon photonic integrated circuit, which is fabricated on a novel silicon-on-insulator platform with buried Al mirror. The silicon photonic integrated circuit is composed of a 7 × 7 switch and low loss grating coupler array based multicore fiber couplers. Thanks to the Al mirror, grating couplers with ultra-low coupling loss with optical multicore fibers is achieved. The lowest total insertion loss of the silicon integrated circuit is as low as 4.5 dB, with low crosstalk lower than -30 dB. Excellent performances in terms of low insertion loss and low crosstalk are obtained for the whole C-band. 1 Tb/s/core transmission over a 2-km 7-core fiber and space-division multiplexing switching is demonstrated successfully. Bit error rate performance below 10 -9 is obtained for all spatial channels with low power penalty. The proposed design can be easily upgraded to reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer capable of switching several multicore fibers.

Reconfigurable SDM Switching Using Novel Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Yunhong; Kamchevska, Valerija; Dalgaard, Kjeld; Ye, Feihong; Asif, Rameez; Gross, Simon; Withford, Michael J.; Galili, Michael; Morioka, Toshio; Oxenløwe, Leif Katsuo

2016-12-01

Space division multiplexing using multicore fibers is becoming a more and more promising technology. In space-division multiplexing fiber network, the reconfigurable switch is one of the most critical components in network nodes. In this paper we for the first time demonstrate reconfigurable space-division multiplexing switching using silicon photonic integrated circuit, which is fabricated on a novel silicon-on-insulator platform with buried Al mirror. The silicon photonic integrated circuit is composed of a 7 × 7 switch and low loss grating coupler array based multicore fiber couplers. Thanks to the Al mirror, grating couplers with ultra-low coupling loss with optical multicore fibers is achieved. The lowest total insertion loss of the silicon integrated circuit is as low as 4.5 dB, with low crosstalk lower than -30 dB. Excellent performances in terms of low insertion loss and low crosstalk are obtained for the whole C-band. 1 Tb/s/core transmission over a 2-km 7-core fiber and space-division multiplexing switching is demonstrated successfully. Bit error rate performance below 10-9 is obtained for all spatial channels with low power penalty. The proposed design can be easily upgraded to reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer capable of switching several multicore fibers.

Reconfigurable SDM Switching Using Novel Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit

PubMed Central

Ding, Yunhong; Kamchevska, Valerija; Dalgaard, Kjeld; Ye, Feihong; Asif, Rameez; Gross, Simon; Withford, Michael J.; Galili, Michael; Morioka, Toshio; Oxenløwe, Leif Katsuo

2016-01-01

Space division multiplexing using multicore fibers is becoming a more and more promising technology. In space-division multiplexing fiber network, the reconfigurable switch is one of the most critical components in network nodes. In this paper we for the first time demonstrate reconfigurable space-division multiplexing switching using silicon photonic integrated circuit, which is fabricated on a novel silicon-on-insulator platform with buried Al mirror. The silicon photonic integrated circuit is composed of a 7 × 7 switch and low loss grating coupler array based multicore fiber couplers. Thanks to the Al mirror, grating couplers with ultra-low coupling loss with optical multicore fibers is achieved. The lowest total insertion loss of the silicon integrated circuit is as low as 4.5 dB, with low crosstalk lower than −30 dB. Excellent performances in terms of low insertion loss and low crosstalk are obtained for the whole C-band. 1 Tb/s/core transmission over a 2-km 7-core fiber and space-division multiplexing switching is demonstrated successfully. Bit error rate performance below 10−9 is obtained for all spatial channels with low power penalty. The proposed design can be easily upgraded to reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer capable of switching several multicore fibers. PMID:28000735

Seven-core multicore fiber transmissions for passive optical network.

PubMed

Zhu, B; Taunay, T F; Yan, M F; Fini, J M; Fishteyn, M; Monberg, E M; Dimarcello, F V

2010-05-24

We design and fabricate a novel multicore fiber (MCF), with seven cores arranged in a hexagonal array. The fiber properties of MCF including low crosstalk, attenuation and splice loss are described. A new tapered MCF connector (TMC), showing ultra-low crosstalk and losses, is also designed and fabricated for coupling the individual signals in-and-out of the MCF. We further propose a novel network configuration using parallel transmissions with the MCF and TMC for passive optical network (PON). To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate the first bi-directional parallel transmissions of 1310 nm and 1490 nm signals over 11.3-km of seven-core MCF with 64-way splitter for PON.

Low-loss and single-mode tapered hollow-core waveguides optically coupled with interband and quantum cascade lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giglio, Marilena; Patimisco, Pietro; Sampaolo, Angelo; Kriesel, Jason M.; Tittel, Frank K.; Spagnolo, Vincenzo

2018-01-01

We report single-mode midinfrared laser beam delivery through a 50-cm-long tapered hollow-core waveguide (HCW) having bore diameter linearly increasing from 200 to 260 μm. We performed theoretical calculations to identify the best HCW-laser coupling conditions in terms of optical losses and single-mode fiber output. To validate our modeling, we coupled the HCW with an interband cascade laser and four quantum cascade lasers with their emission wavelengths spanning 3.5 to 7.8 μm, using focusing lenses with different focal lengths. With the best coupling conditions, we achieved single-mode output in the investigated 3.5 to 7.8 μm spectral range, with minimum transmission losses of 1.27 dB at 6.2 μm.

Excitation of epsilon-near-zero resonance in ultra-thin indium tin oxide shell embedded nanostructured optical fiber.

PubMed

Minn, Khant; Anopchenko, Aleksei; Yang, Jingyi; Lee, Ho Wai Howard

2018-02-05

We report a novel optical waveguide design of a hollow step index fiber modified with a thin layer of indium tin oxide (ITO). We show an excitation of highly confined waveguide mode in the proposed fiber near the wavelength where permittivity of ITO approaches zero. Due to the high field confinement within thin ITO shell inside the fiber, the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) mode can be characterized by a peak in modal loss of the hybrid waveguide. Our results show that such in-fiber excitation of ENZ mode is due to the coupling of the guided core mode to the thin-film ENZ mode. We also show that the phase matching wavelength, where the coupling takes place, varies depending on the refractive index of the constituents inside the central bore of the fiber. These ENZ nanostructured optical fibers have many potential applications, for example, in ENZ nonlinear and magneto-optics, as in-fiber wavelength-dependent filters, and as subwavelength fluid channel for optical and bio-photonic sensing.

Photonic lantern with multimode fibers embedded

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hai-Jiao; Yan, Qi; Huang, Zong-Jun; Tian, He; Jiang, Yu; Liu, Yong-Jun; Zhang, Jian-Zhong; Sun, Wei-Min

2014-08-01

A photonic lantern is studied which is formed by seven multimode fibers inserted into a pure silica capillary tube. The core of the tapered end has a uniform refractive index because the polymer claddings are removed before the fibers are inserted. Consequently, the light distribution is also uniform. Two theories describing a slowly varying waveguide and multimode coupling are used to analyze the photonic lantern. The transmission loss decreases as the length of the tapered part increases. For a device with a taper length of 3.4 cm, the loss is about 1.06 dB on average for light propagating through the taper from an inserted fiber to the tapered end and 0.99 dB in the reverse direction. For a device with a taper length of 0.7 cm, the two loss values are 2.63 dB and 2.53 dB, respectively. The results show that it is possible to achieve a uniform light distribution with the tapered end and a low-loss transmission in the device if parameters related to the lantern are reasonably defined.

Components for monolithic fiber chirped pulse amplification laser systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swan, Michael Craig

The first portion of this work develops techniques for generating femtosecond-pulses from conventional fabry-perot laser diodes using nonlinear-spectral-broadening techniques in Yb-doped positive dispersion fiber ampliers. The approach employed an injection-locked fabry-perot laser diode followed by two stages of nonlinear-spectral-broadening to generate sub-200fs pulses. This thesis demonstrated that a 60ps gain-switched fabry-perot laser-diode can be injection-locked to generate a single-longitudinal-mode pulse and compressed by nonlinear spectral broadening to 4ps. Two problems have been identified that must be resolved before moving forward with this approach. First, gain-switched pulses from a standard diode-laser have a number of characteristics not well suited for producing clean self-phase-modulation-broadened pulses, such as an asymmetric temporal shape, which has a long pulse tail. Second, though parabolic pulse formation occurs for any arbitrary temporal input pulse profile, deviation from the optimum parabolic input results in extensively spectrally modulated self-phase-modulation-broadened pulses. In conclusion, the approach of generating self-phase-modulation-broadened pulses from pulsed laser diodes has to be modified from the initial approach explored in this thesis. The first Yb-doped chirally-coupled-core ber based systems are demonstrated and characterized in the second portion of this work. Robust single-mode performance independent of excitation or any other external mode management techniques have been demonstrated in Yb-doped chirally-coupled-core fibers. Gain and power efficiency characteristics are not compromised in any way in this novel fiber structure up to the 87W maximum power achieved. Both the small signal gain at 1064nm of 30.3dB, and the wavelength dependence of the small signal gain were comparable to currently deployed large-mode-area-fiber technology. The efficiencies of the laser and amplifier were measured to be 75% and 54% respectively. With the inherent design tradeoff between the fundamental mode loss and higher order mode suppression, loss effects on system efficiency in different configurations were investigated. From these investigations it was seen that the slope-efficiency depends only on the total loss of the active fiber, and that when loss is present, the counter-propagating configuration has substantial advantages over the co-propagating case. In this thesis chirally-coupled-core fiber as the technological basis for the next generation of monolithic high power fiber laser systems has been established.

Effect of external index of refraction on multimode fiber couplers.

PubMed

Wang, G Z; Murphy, K A; Claus, R O

1995-12-20

The dependence of the performance of fused-taper multimode fiber couplers on the refractive index of the material surrounding the taper region has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. It has been identified that for a 2 × 2 multimode fiber coupler there is a range of output-power-coupling ratios for which the effect of the external refractive index is negligible. When the coupler is tapered beyond this region, the performance becomes dependent on the external index of refraction and lossy. To analyze the multimode coupler-loss mechanism, we develop a two-dimensional ray-optics model that incorporates trapped cladding-mode loss and core-mode loss through frustrated total internal reflection.

Computer-simulation results support the experimental observations. Related issues such as coupler fabrication and packaging are also discussed.

Three-photon excitation source at 1250 nm generated in a dual zero dispersion wavelength nonlinear fiber

DOE PAGES

Domingue, Scott R.; Bartels, Randy A.

2014-12-04

Here, we demonstrate 1250 nm pulses generated in dual-zero dispersion photonic crystal fiber capable of three-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy. The total power conversion efficiency from the 28 fs seed pulse centered at 1075 nm to pulses at 1250 nm, including coupling losses from the nonlinear fiber, is 35%, with up to 67% power conversion efficiency of the fiber coupled light. Frequency-resolved optical gating measurements characterize 1250 nm pulses at 0.6 nJ and 2 nJ, illustrating the change in nonlinear spectral phase accumulation with pulse energy even for nonlinear fiber lengths < 50 mm. The 0.6 nJ pulse has a 26more » fs duration and is the shortest nonlinear fiber derived 1250 nm pulse yet reported (to the best of our knowledge). The short pulse durations and energies make these pulses a viable route to producing light at 1250 nm for multiphoton microscopy, which we we demonstrate here, via a three-photon excitation fluorescence microscope.« less

24-ch microlens-integrated no-polish connector for optical interconnection with polymer waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiraishi, Takashi; Yagisawa, Takatoshi; Ikeuchi, Tadashi; Daikuhara, Osamu; Tanaka, Kazuhiro

2013-02-01

We successfully developed a new 24-ch optical connector for polymer waveguides. The connector consists of a transparent thermoplastic resin that has two rectangular slits on one side for alignment of the waveguide films and integrated microlens arrays on the other side for coupling to the MT connector. Two 12-ch waveguide films were cut to a 3-mm width. The thickness of each waveguide film was controlled at 100 μm. The waveguide films were inserted into the slits until they touched the bottom face of the slit. Ultraviolet curing adhesive was used to achieve a short hardening process. The expanded beam in the transparent material is focused by the microlens arrays formed on the connector surface. This lens structure enables assembly without the need for a polishing process. We designed the lens for coupling between a step-index 40-μm rectangular waveguide and a graded-index 50-μm fiber. We achieved low-loss optical coupling by designing a method of providing asymmetric magnification between the horizontal and vertical directions in order to compensate for the asymmetric numerical aperture of the waveguide. The typical measured coupling losses from/to the waveguide to/from the fiber were 1.2 dB and 0.6 dB, respectively. The total coupling loss was as small as that of a physical contact connection.

Effects of fiber manipulation methods on optical fiber properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynolds, Robert O.; Bechter, Andrew; Crass, Jonathan

2016-07-01

Optical fibers are routinely used to couple high-resolution spectrographs to modern telescopes, enabling important advantages in areas such as the search for extrasolar planets using spectroscopic radial velocity measurements of candidate stars. Optical fibers partially scramble the input illumination, and this feature enables a fiber feed to provide more uniform illumination to the spectrograph optics, thereby reducing systematic errors in radial velocity measurements. However fibers suffer from focal ratio degradation (FRD), a spreading of the beam at the output of the fiber with respect to that at the fiber input, which results in losses in throughput and resolution. Modal noise, a measurement uncertainty caused by inherent fiber properties and evident as a varying spatial intensity at the fiber exit plane, reduces the signal to noise ratio in the data. Devices such as double scramblers are often used to improve scrambling, and better fiber end preparation can mitigate FRD. Many instruments agitate the fiber during an observation to reduce modal noise, and stretching the fiber during use has been shown to offer a greater reduction in that noise. But effects of agitation and stretching on fiber parameters such as total transmission and focal ratio degradation have not been adequately studied. In this paper we present measurements of transmission loss and focal ratio degradation for both agitated and stretched fibers.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal device based photonic controllers for microwave antenna arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madamopoulos, Nicholas

For the first time, this dissertation proposes, studies, analyzes, and experimentally demonstrates the use of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) technology for wideband phased array control applications. FLC devices are used as polarization switches in photonic delay lines (PDLs) to control and process optical signals that drive the elements of a phased array antenna (PAA). The use of photonics for PAA control is, at present, a vital area of applied research. This dissertation work concludes with the demonstration of a multichannel 7-bit PDL system for a wideband PAA such as the Navy's advanced Aegis radar system. The unique system issues and problems to be examined and solved in this Ph.D. dissertation include the theoretical analysis and experimental demonstration of different PDL architectures covering a sub-nanosecond to several nanoseconds time delay range. New noise reduction/suppression schemes are proposed, studied and applied to give record level time delay system performance in terms of signal-to-leakage noise ratio, and switching speeds (e.g., 35 microseconds) required for fast radar scan. We show that the external modulation FO link gives more degrees of freedom to the system engineer, and we propose a novel synchronous RF signal calibration time delay control technique to obtain optimum dynamic range performance for our PDL. The use of low loss fibers for remoting of the photonic beamformer, as well as the losses associated with multiple fiber interconnects that limit the maximum number of array channels in the systems are studied. Different fiber optic coupling techniques are investigated for enhanced fiber coupling. Multimode fibers are used, for the first time, at the output plane of the PDL to obtain improved coupling efficiency. We demonstrate a low ~1.7 dB optical insertion loss/bit, which is very close to the desired insertion loss required for the Navy system. A novel approach for hardware reduction based on wavelength multiplexing is proposed, where the use of a combination of wavelength dependent and wavelength independent optical paths provides the required time delays. Finally, new switching fabric approaches are studied based on polarization selective holograms and their potential use for the implementation of PDLs is discussed.

Fiber optic moisture sensor

DOEpatents

Kirkham, R.R.

1984-08-03

A method and apparatus for sensing moisture changes by utilizing optical fiber technology. One embodiment uses a reflective target at the end of an optical fiber. The reflectance of the target varies with its moisture content and can be detected by a remote unit at the opposite end of the fiber. A second embodiment utilizes changes in light loss along the fiber length. This can be attributed to changes in reflectance of cladding material as a function of its moisture content. It can also be affected by holes or inserts interposed in the cladding material and/or fiber. Changing light levels can also be coupled from one fiber to another in an assembly of fibers as a function of varying moisture content in their overlapping lengths of cladding material.

A nanowaveguide platform for collective atom-light interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Y.; Lee, J.; Dagenais, M.; Rolston, S. L.

2015-08-01

We propose a nanowaveguide platform for collective atom-light interaction through evanescent field coupling. We have developed a 1 cm-long silicon nitride nanowaveguide can use evanescent fields to trap and probe an ensemble of 87Rb atoms. The waveguide has a sub-micrometer square mode area and was designed with tapers for high fiber-to-waveguide coupling efficiencies at near-infrared wavelengths (750 nm to 1100 nm). Inverse tapers in the platform adiabatically transfer a weakly guided mode of fiber-coupled light into a strongly guided mode with an evanescent field to trap atoms and then back to a weakly guided mode at the other end of the waveguide. The coupling loss is -1 dB per facet (˜80% coupling efficiency) at 760 nm and 1064 nm, which is estimated by a propagation loss measurement with waveguides of different lengths. The proposed platform has good thermal conductance and can guide high optical powers for trapping atoms in ultra-high vacuum. As an intermediate step, we have observed thermal atom absorption of the evanescent component of a nanowaveguide and have demonstrated the U-wire mirror magneto-optical trap that can transfer atoms to the proximity of the surface.

Collection of Light From an Optical Fiber With a Numerical Aperture Greater Than One

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Egalon, Claudio O. (Inventor); Rogowski, Robert S. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

In an optical fiber having NA greater than 1, light may be internally reflected when it strikes the fiber end at a fiber-air interface. This problem may be overcome by modification of the fiber by reverse tapering the core. Light is redirected by the taper to strike the interface at an angle closer to normal. This allows light to exit the fiber end that would by internally reflected in an untapered fiber of NA greater than 1. The novelty of the present invention lies in the tapering of the fiber core for increased through transmission of light. Prior art devices have made use of fiber tapers to achieve mode control or fiber coupling. The problem of internal reflection has not been addressed as it is one that is not as important in fibers having NA less than 1, which are more common. In chemical sensing it is advantageous to make use of fibers having higher NA due to an increased sensitivity. However the advantages in sensitivity are diminished due to the loss of signal at the fiber-air interface. The present invention overcomes the problem of loss at the interface, thus facilitating the use of high NA fibers for chemical sensing.

Novel high-brightness fiber coupled diode laser device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haag, Matthias; Köhler, Bernd; Biesenbach, Jens; Brand, Thomas

2007-02-01

High brightness becomes more and more important in diode laser applications for fiber laser pumping and materials processing. For OEM customers fiber coupled devices have great advantages over direct beam modules: the fiber exit is a standardized interface, beam guiding is easy with nearly unlimited flexibility. In addition to the transport function the fiber serves as homogenizer: the beam profile of the laser radiation emitted from a fiber is symmetrical with highly repeatable beam quality and pointing stability. However, efficient fiber coupling requires an adaption of the slow-axis beam quality to the fiber requirements. Diode laser systems based on standard 10mm bars usually employ beam transformation systems to rearrange the highly asymmetrical beam of the laser bar or laser stack. These beam transformation systems (prism arrays, lens arrays, fiber bundles etc.) are expensive and become inefficient with increasing complexity. This is especially true for high power devices with small fiber diameters. On the other hand, systems based on single emitters are claimed to have good potential in cost reduction. Brightness of the inevitable fiber bundles, though, is limited due to inherent fill-factor losses. At DILAS a novel diode laser device has been developed combining the advantages of diode bars and single emitters: high brightness at high reliability with single emitter cost structure. Heart of the device is a specially tailored laser bar (T-Bar), which epitaxial and lateral structure was designed such that only standard fast- and slow-axis collimator lenses are required to couple the beam into a 200μm fiber. Up to 30 of these T-Bars of one wavelength can be combined to reach a total of > 500W ex fiber in the first step. Going to a power level of today's single emitter diodes even 1kW ex 200μm fiber can be expected.

Inhibited-coupling HC-PCF based beam-delivery-system for high power green industrial lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chafer, M.; Gorse, A.; Beaudou, B.; Lekiefs, Q.; Maurel, M.; Debord, B.; Gérôme, F.; Benabid, F.

2018-02-01

We report on an ultra-low loss Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fiber (HC-PCF) beam delivery system (GLO-GreenBDS) for high power ultra-short pulse lasers operating in the green spectral range (including 515 nm and 532 nm). The GLOBDS- Green combines ease-of-use, high laser-coupling efficiency, robustness and industrial compatible cabling. It comprises a pre-aligned laser-injection head, a sheath-cable protected HC-PCF and a modular fiber-output head. It enables fiber-core gas loading and evacuation in a hermetic fashion. A 5 m long GLO-BDS were demonstrated for a green short pulse laser with a transmission coefficient larger than 80%, and a laser output profile close to single-mode (M2 <1.3).

FIBER AND INTEGRATED OPTICS: Polarization characteristics of anisotropic single-mode fiber waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arutyunyan, Z. É.; Grudinin, A. B.; Gur'yanov, A. N.; Gusovskiĭ, D. D.; Dianov, Evgenii M.; Ignat'ev, S. V.; Smirnov, O. B.; Khrushchev, I. Yu

1990-01-01

An experimental investigation was made of the polarization characteristics of anisotropic fiber waveguides with an elliptic stress-inducing cladding, operating in a wide spectral range. The maximum birefringence amounted to 3.4 × 10 - 4, the minimum mode coupling parameter was 2.5 × 10 - 5 m - 1 (λ = 1.1 μm), and the minimum losses were 0.7 dB/km (λ = 1.5 μm). A qualitative comparison was made with the theoretical data.

Printed freeform lens arrays on multi-core fibers for highly efficient coupling in astrophotonic systems.

PubMed

Dietrich, Philipp-Immanuel; Harris, Robert J; Blaicher, Matthias; Corrigan, Mark K; Morris, Tim M; Freude, Wolfgang; Quirrenbach, Andreas; Koos, Christian

2017-07-24

Coupling of light into multi-core fibers (MCF) for spatially resolved spectroscopy is of great importance to astronomical instrumentation. To achieve high coupling efficiencies along with fill-fractions close to unity, micro-optical elements are required to concentrate the incoming light to the individual cores of the MCF. In this paper we demonstrate facet-attached lens arrays (LA) fabricated by two-photon polymerization. The LA provide close to 100% fill-fraction along with efficiencies of up to 73% (down to 1.4 dB loss) for coupling of light from free space into an MCF core. We show the viability of the concept for astrophotonic applications by integrating an MCF-LA assembly in an adaptive-optics test bed and by assessing its performance as a tip/tilt sensor.

Low-Loss Hollow Waveguide Fibers for Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascade Laser Sensing Applications

PubMed Central

Patimisco, Pietro; Spagnolo, Vincenzo; Vitiello, Miriam S.; Scamarcio, Gaetano; Bledt, Carlos M.; Harrington, James A.

2013-01-01

We report on single mode optical transmission of hollow core glass waveguides (HWG) coupled with an external cavity mid-IR quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). The QCL mode results perfectly matched to the hybrid HE11 waveguide mode and the higher losses TE-like modes have efficiently suppressed by the deposited inner dielectric coating. Optical losses down to 0.44 dB/m and output beam divergence of ∼5 mrad were measured. Using a HGW fiber with internal core size of 300 μm we obtained single mode laser transmission at 10.54 μm and successful employed it in a quartz enhanced photoacoustic gas sensor setup. PMID:23337336

All-fiber mode converter based on superimposed long period fiber gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Yan-ru; Bi, Wei-hong; Jin, Wa; Tian, Peng-fei; Jiang, Peng; Liu, Qiang; Jin, Yun

2018-03-01

In this paper, a novel broadband all-fiber mode converter is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Through writing a pair of superimposed long period fiber gratings (SLPFGs) in tow-mode fiber (TMF) with a CO2 laser, the mode converter can realize the conversion from LP01 to LP11 owing to the phase matching condition. Numerical and experimental results show that the bandwidth of this mode converter is 3 times broader than that of a single grating converter. The converter has low loss, high coupling efficiency, small size and is easy to fabricate, so it can be widely used in mode-division multiplexing.

Selective excitation of LP01 and LP02 in dual-concentric cores fiber using an adiabatically tapered microstructured mode converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sammouda, Marwa; Taher, Aymen Belhadj; Bahloul, Faouzi; Bin, Philippe Di

2016-09-01

We propose to connect a single-mode fiber (SMF) to a dual-concentric cores fiber (DCCF) using an adiabatically tapered microstructured mode converter, and to evaluate the SMF LP01 mode and the DCCF LP01 and LP02 modes selective excitations performances. We theoretically and numerically study this selective excitation method by calculating the effective indices of the propagated modes, the adiabaticity criteria, the coupling loss, and the modes amplitudes along the tapered structure. This study shows that this method is able to achieve excellent selective excitations of the first two linearly polarized modes (LP01 and LP02) among the five guided modes in the DCCF with a negligible loss. The part of the LP01 and LP02 modes from the total power are 99% and 84% corresponding to 0.1 and 0.8 dB losses, respectively.

Enhanced chemiluminescent detection scheme for trace vapor sensing in pneumatically-tuned hollow core photonic bandgap fibers.

PubMed

Stolyarov, Alexander M; Gumennik, Alexander; McDaniel, William; Shapira, Ofer; Schell, Brent; Sorin, Fabien; Kuriki, Ken; Benoit, Gilles; Rose, Aimee; Joannopoulos, John D; Fink, Yoel

2012-05-21

We demonstrate an in-fiber gas phase chemical detection architecture in which a chemiluminescent (CL) reaction is spatially and spectrally matched to the core modes of hollow photonic bandgap (PBG) fibers in order to enhance detection efficiency. A peroxide-sensitive CL material is annularly shaped and centered within the fiber's hollow core, thereby increasing the overlap between the emission intensity and the intensity distribution of the low-loss fiber modes. This configuration improves the sensitivity by 0.9 dB/cm compared to coating the material directly on the inner fiber surface, where coupling to both higher loss core modes and cladding modes is enhanced. By integrating the former configuration with a custom-built optofluidic system designed for concomitant controlled vapor delivery and emission measurement, we achieve a limit-of-detection of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for hydrogen peroxide vapor. The PBG fibers are produced by a new fabrication method whereby external gas pressure is used as a control knob to actively tune the transmission bandgaps through the entire visible range during the thermal drawing process.

FIBER AND INTEGRATED OPTICS. FIBER WAVEGUIDE DEVICES: Stability of solitons in a two-mode fiber waveguide with a group velocity mismatch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kivshar', Yu S.

1990-12-01

A study is reported of the stability of soliton pulses propagating in a two-mode fiber waveguide under conditions of a mismatch between the group velocities of the optical modes. An analytic explanation is proposed of the dependence of the threshold amplitude of an initial pulse, responsible for intermode locking of the pulses, on the mismatch between the group velocities. An analytically derived dependence is shown to be in good agreement with earlier numerical experiments. Decay of coupled intermode states of solitons due to dissipative losses is predicted.

Fusion splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers and single-mode fibers by repeated arc discharges.

PubMed

Xiao, Limin; Jin, Wei; Demokan, M S

2007-01-15

We demonstrate a novel method for low-loss splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) and single-mode fibers (SMFs) by repeated arc discharges using a conventional fusion splicer. An optimum mode field match at the interface of PCF-SMF and an adiabatic mode field variation in the longitudinal direction of the small-core PCF can be achieved by repeated arc discharges applied over the splicing joint to gradually collapse the air holes of the small-core PCF. This method is simple and offers a practical solution for light coupling between small-core PCFs and SMFs.

Fusion splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers and single-mode fibers by repeated arc discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Limin; Jin, Wei; Demokan, M. S.

2007-01-01

We demonstrate a novel method for low-loss splicing small-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) and single-mode fibers (SMFs) by repeated arc discharges using a conventional fusion splicer. An optimum mode field match at the interface of PCF-SMF and an adiabatic mode field variation in the longitudinal direction of the small-core PCF can be achieved by repeated arc discharges applied over the splicing joint to gradually collapse the air holes of the small-core PCF. This method is simple and offers a practical solution for light coupling between small-core PCFs and SMFs.

Fiber optic moisture sensor with moisture-absorbing reflective target

DOEpatents

Kirkham, Randy R.

1987-01-01

A method and apparatus for sensing moisture changes by utilizing optical fiber technology. One embodiment uses a reflective target at the end of an optical fiber. The reflectance of the target varies with its moisture content and can be detected by a remote unit at the opposite end of the fiber. A second embodiment utilizes changes in light loss along the fiber length. This can be attributed to changes in reflectance of cladding material as a function of its moisture content. It can also be affected by holes or inserts interposed in the cladding material and/or fiber. Changing light levels can also be coupled from one fiber to another in an assembly of fibers as a function of varying moisture content in their overlapping lengths of cladding material.

Advanced specialty fiber designs for high power fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Guancheng

The output power of fiber lasers has increased rapidly over the last decade. There are two major limiting factors, namely nonlinear effects and transverse mode instability, prohibiting the power scaling capability of fiber lasers. The nonlinear effects, originating from high optical intensity, primarily limit the peak power scaling. The mode instability, on the other hand, arises from quantum-defect driven heating, causing undesired mode coupling once the power exceeds the threshold and degradation of beam quality. The mode instability has now become the bottleneck for average output power scaling of fiber lasers. Mode area scaling is the most effective way to mitigate nonlinear effects. However, the use of large mode area may increase the tendency to support multiple modes in the core, resulting in lower mode instability threshold. Therefore, it is critical to maintain single mode operation in a large mode area fiber. Sufficient higher order mode suppression can lead to effective single-transverse-mode propagation. In this dissertation, we explore the feasibility of using specialty fiber to construct high power fiber lasers with robust single-mode output. The first type of fiber discussed is the resonantly-enhanced leakage channel fiber. Coherent reflection at the fiber outer boundary can lead to additional confinement especially for highly leaky HOM, leading to lower HOM losses than what are predicted by conventional finite element mothod mode solver considering infinite cladding. In this work, we conducted careful measurements of HOM losses in two leakage channel fibers (LCF) with circular and rounded hexagonal boundary shapes respectively. Impact on HOM losses from coiling, fiber boundary shapes and coating indexes were studied in comparison to simulations. This work demonstrates the limit of the simulation method commonly used in the large-mode-area fiber designs and the need for an improved approach. More importantly, this work also demonstrates that a deviation from circular fiber outer shape may be an effective method to mitigate HOM loss reduction from coherent reflection from fiber outer boundary. In an all-solid photonic bandgap fiber, modes are only guided due to anti-resonance of cladding photonic crystal lattice. This provides strongly mode-dependent guidance, leading to very high differential mode losses, which is essential for lasing far from the gain peak and suppression of stimulated Raman scattering. We will show that all-solid photonic bandgap fibers with effective mode area of 920microm2 can be made with excellent higher order mode suppression. We then demonstrate a 50microm-core-diameter Yb-doped all-solid photonic bandgap fiber laser. 75W output power has been generated with a diffraction-limited beam and an efficiency of 70% relative to the launched pump power. We have also experimentally confirmed that a robust single-mode regime exists near the high frequency edge of the bandgap. It is well known that incorporation of additional smaller cores in the cladding can be used to resonantly out-couple higher-order modes from a main core to suppress higher-order-mode propagation in the main core. Using a novel design with multiple coupled smaller cores in the cladding, we further scaled up the mode area and have successfully demonstrated a single-mode photonic bandgap fiber with record effective mode area of 2650microm2. Detailed numeric studies have been conducted for multiple cladding designs. For the optimal designs, the simulated minimum higher-order-mode losses are well over two orders of magnitudes higher than that of fundamental mode when expressed in dBs. We have also experimentally validated one of the designs. M 2<1.08 across the transmission band was demonstrated. Lowering quantum defect heating is another approach to mitigate mode instability. Highly-efficient high-power fiber lasers operating at wavelength below 1020nm are critical for tandem-pumping in >10kW fiber lasers to provide high pump brightness and low thermal loading. Using an ytterbium-doped-phosphosilicate double-clad leakage-channel fiber with 50microm core and 420microm cladding, we have achieved 70% optical-to-optical efficiency at 1018nm. The much larger cladding than those in previous reports demonstrates the much lower required pump brightness, a key for efficient kW operation. The demonstrated 1018nm fiber laser has ASE suppression of 41dB. This is higher than previous reports and further demonstrates the advantages of the fiber used. Limiting factors to efficiency are also systematically studied.

Ultra-Linear Polymer Modulator

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-01

Experimental Setup and Data 3.1 Erbium fiber laser ( EFL ) spectrum The EFL spectrum is measured using an HP 70950A optical spectrum analyzer (OSA...the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE...Boulder SFDR Test bed; Early results were limited by the optical loss of the polymer modulator and fiber coupling mechanisms used during the SFDR

The study of the thermally expanded core technique in end-pumped (N+1)×1 type combiner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Juan; Sun, Yinhong; Wang, Yanshan; Li, Tenglong; Feng, Yujun; Ma, Yi

2015-02-01

Tapering will raise the signal loss in an end-pumped (N+1)×1 type combiner. In this paper, the Thermally Expanded Core (TEC) technique is used in the signal loss optimization experiment with the tapering ratio of the pump combiner is 0.6. The experimental results indicate that the coupling efficiency of the 1.55μm signal light increases from 81.1% to 86.6%, after being heated 10 minutes at the homo-waist region of the tapered signal fiber with an 8mm wide hydroxygen flame. Detail analysis shows that the TEC technique can both reduce the loss of the LP01 mode and the LP11 mode in the signal fiber.

Radiation Losses Due to Tapering of a Double-Core Optical Waveguide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyons, Donald R.; Khet, Myat; Pencil, Eric (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The theoretical model we designed parameterizes the power losses as a function of .the profile shape for a tapered, single mode, optical dielectric coupler. The focus of this project is to produce a working model that determines the power losses experienced by the fibers when light crosses a taper region. This phenomenon can be examined using coupled mode theory. The optical directional coupler consists of a parallel, dual-channel, waveguide with minimal spacing between the channels to permit energy exchange. Thus, power transfer is essentially a function of the taper profile. To find the fields in the fibers, the approach used was that of solving the Helmholtz equation in cylindrical coordinates involving Bessel and modified Bessel functions depending on the location.

Head-mounted LED for optogenetic experiments of freely-behaving animal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Ki Yong; Gnade, Andrew G.; Rush, Alexander D.; Patten, Craig D.

2016-03-01

Recent developments in optogenetics have demonstrated the ability to target specific types of neurons with sub-millisecond temporal precision via direct optical stimulation of genetically modified neurons in the brain. In most applications, the beam of a laser is coupled to an optical fiber, which guides and delivers the optical power to the region of interest. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are an alternative light source for optogenetics and they provide many advantages over a laser based system including cost, size, illumination stability, and fast modulation. Their compact size and low power consumption make LEDs suitable light sources for a wireless optogenetic stimulation system. However, the coupling efficiency of an LED's output light into an optical fiber is lower than a laser due to its noncollimated output light. In typical chronic optogenetic experiment, the output of the light source is transmitted to the brain through a patch cable and a fiber stub implant, and this configuration requires two fiber-to-fiber couplings. Attenuation within the patch cable is potential source of optical power loss. In this study, we report and characterize a recently developed light delivery method for freely-behaving animal experiments. We have developed a head-mounted light source that maximizes the coupling efficiency of an LED light source by eliminating the need for a fiber optic cable. This miniaturized LED is designed to couple directly to the fiber stub implant. Depending on the desired optical power output, the head-mounted LED can be controlled by either a tethered (high power) or battery-powered wireless (moderate power) controller. In the tethered system, the LED is controlled through 40 gauge micro coaxial cable which is thinner, more flexible, and more durable than a fiber optic cable. The battery-powered wireless system uses either infrared or radio frequency transmission to achieve real-time control. Optical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics of the head-mounted LED were evaluated.

Coupling Light Emitting Diodes with Photocatalyst-Coated Optical Fibers Improves Quantum Yield of Pollutant Oxidation.

PubMed

Ling, Li; Tugaoen, Heather; Brame, Jonathon; Sinha, Shahnawaz; Li, Chuanhao; Schoepf, Jared; Hristovski, Kiril; Kim, Jae-Hong; Shang, Chii; Westerhoff, Paul

2017-11-21

A photocatalyst-coated optical fiber was coupled with a 318 nm ultraviolet-A light emitting diode, which activated the photocatalysts by interfacial photon-electron excitation while minimizing photonic energy losses due to conventional photocatalytic barriers. The light delivery mechanism was explored via modeling of evanescent wave energy produced upon total internal reflection and photon refraction into the TiO 2 surface coating. This work explores aqueous phase LED-irradiated optical fibers for treating organic pollutants and for the first time proposes a dual-mechanistic approach to light delivery and photocatalytic performance. Degradation of a probe organic pollutant was evaluated as a function of optical fiber coating thickness, fiber length, and photocatalyst attachment method and compared against the performance of an equivalent catalyst mass in a completely mixed slurry reactor. Measured and simulated photon fluence through the optical fibers decreased as a function of fiber length, coating thickness, or TiO 2 mass externally coated on the fiber. Thinner TiO 2 coatings achieved faster pollutant removal rates from solution, and dip coating performed better than sol-gel attachment methods. TiO 2 attached to optical fibers achieved a 5-fold higher quantum yield compared against an equivalent mass of TiO 2 suspended in a slurry solution.

Performance of the CHIRON high-resolution Echelle spectrograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwab, Christian; Spronck, Julien F. P.; Tokovinin, Andrei; Szymkowiak, Andrew; Giguere, Matthew; Fischer, Debra A.

2012-09-01

CHIRON is a fiber-fed Echelle spectrograph with observing modes for resolutions from 28,000 to 120,000, built primarily for measuring precise radial velocities (RVs). We present the instrument performance as determined during integration and commissioning. We discuss the PSF, the effect of glass inhomogeneity on the cross-dispersion prism, temperature stabilization, stability of the spectrum on the CCD, and detector characteristics. The RV precision is characterized, with an iodine cell or a ThAr lamp as the wavelength reference. Including all losses from the sky to the detector, the overall efficiency is about 6%; the dominant limitation is coupling losses into the fiber due to poor guiding.

New approach for high reliability, low loss splicing between silica and ZBLAN fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carbonnier, Robin; Zheng, Wenxin

2018-02-01

In the past decade, ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-NaF) fibers have drawn increasing interest for laser operations at wavelengths where Fused Silica-based (SiO2) fibers do not perform well. One limitation to the expansion of ZBLAN fiber lasers today is the difficulty to efficiently inject and extract light in/from the guiding medium using SiO2 fibers. Although free space and butt coupling have provided acceptable results, consistent and long lasting physical joints between SiO2 and ZBLAN fibers will allow smaller, cheaper, and more robust component manufacturing. While low loss splices have been reported using a traditional splicing approach, the very low mechanical strength of the joint makes it difficult to scale. Difficulties in achieving a strong bond are mainly due to the large difference of transition temperature between ZBLAN and SiO2 fibers ( 260°C vs 1175°C). This paper presents results obtained by using the high thermal expansion coefficient of the ZBLAN fiber to encapsulate a smaller SiO2 fiber. A CO2 laser glass processing system was used to control the expansion and contraction of the ZBLAN material during the splicing process for optimum reliability. This method produced splices between 125μm ZBLAN to 80μm SiO2 fibers with average transmission loss of 0.225dB (measured at 1550nm) and average ultimate tension strength of 121.4gf. The Resulting splices can be durably packaged without excessive care. Other combinations using 125μm SiO2 fibers tapered to 80μm are also discussed.

Fabrication and demonstration of 1 × 8 silicon-silica multi-chip switch based on optical phased array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katayose, Satomi; Hashizume, Yasuaki; Itoh, Mikitaka

2016-08-01

We experimentally demonstrated a 1 × 8 silicon-silica hybrid thermo-optic switch based on an optical phased array using a multi-chip integration technique. The switch consists of a silicon chip with optical phase shifters and two silica-based planar lightwave circuit (PLC) chips composed of optical couplers and fiber connections. We adopted a rib waveguide as the silicon waveguide to reduce the coupling loss and increase the alignment tolerance for coupling between silicon and silica waveguides. As a result, we achieved a fast switching response of 81 µs, a high extinction ratio of over 18 dB and a low insertion loss of 4.9-8.1 dB including a silicon-silica coupling loss of 0.5 ± 0.3 dB at a wavelength of 1.55 µm.

Analysis of multi-mode to single-mode conversion at 635 nm and 1550 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamora, Vanessa; Bogatzki, Angelina; Arndt-Staufenbiel, Norbert; Hofmann, Jens; Schröder, Henning

2016-03-01

We propose two low-cost and robust optical fiber systems based on the photonic lantern (PL) technology for operating at 635 nm and 1550 nm. The PL is an emerging technology that couples light from a multi-mode (MM) fiber to several single-mode (SM) fibers via a low-loss adiabatic transition. This bundle of SM fibers is observed as a MM fiber system whose spatial modes are the degenerate supermodes of the bundle. The adiabatic transition allows that those supermodes evolve into the modes of the MM fiber. Simulations of the MM fiber end structure and its taper transition have been performed via functional mode solver tools in order to understand the modal evolution in PLs. The modelled design consists of 7 SM fibers inserted into a low-index capillary. The material and geometry of the PLs are chosen such that the supermodes match to the spatial modes of the desired step-index MM fiber in a moderate loss transmission. The dispersion of materials is also considered. These parameters are studied in two PL systems in order to reach a spectral transmission from 450 nm to 1600 nm. Additionally, an analysis of the geometry and losses due to the mismatching of modes is presented. PLs are typically used in the fields of astrophotonics and space photonics. Recently, they are demonstrated as mode converters in telecommunications, especially focusing on spatial division multiplexing. In this study, we show the use of PLs as a promising interconnecting tool for the development of miniaturized spectrometers operating in a broad wavelength range.

Mitigation of stimulated Raman scattering in high power fiber lasers using transmission gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heck, Maximilian; Bock, Victor; Krämer, Ria G.; Richter, Daniel; Goebel, Thorsten A.; Matzdorf, Christian; Liem, Andreas; Schreiber, Thomas; Tünnermann, Andreas; Nolte, Stefan

2018-02-01

The average output power of fiber lasers have been scaled deep into the kW regime within the recent years. However a further scaling is limited due to nonlinear effects like stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). Using the special characteristics of femtosecond laser pulse written transmission fiber gratings, it is possible to realize a notch filter that mitigates efficiently this negative effect by coupling the Raman wavelength from the core into the cladding of the fiber. To the best of our knowledge, we realized for the first time highly efficient gratings in large mode area (LMA) fibers with cladding diameters up to 400 μm. The resonances show strong attenuation at design wavelength and simultaneously low out of band losses. A high power fiber amplifier with an implemented passive fiber grating is shown and its performance is carefully investigated.

Solder glass sealing technology for use in packaging of fiber optic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kreutzmann, Gerd

1990-08-01

The solder glass sealing technology is an alternative to the direct sealing method of the socalled hboptocansu. Using solder glass for the junction of glass and the metal can the temperature at about 500 °C does not destroy the optical quality of the precision glass components. The glass can also be coated with an antireflective layer and even the sealing of filterglass is possible. In cases where coupling losses can't be tolerated, the fiber has to be fed directly through the wall into the housing. Fiber feedthroughs, using solder glass for the sealing of the fiber into a metal tube, are commonly metal soldered or welded into the wall and the fiber surface is directly leading to the semiconductor.

All-fiber radially/azimuthally polarized lasers based on mode coupling of tapered fibers.

PubMed

Mao, Dong; He, Zhiwen; Lu, Hua; Li, Mingkun; Zhang, Wending; Cui, Xiaoqi; Jiang, Biqiang; Zhao, Jianlin

2018-04-01

We demonstrate a mode converter with an insertion loss of 0.36 dB based on mode coupling of tapered single-mode and two-mode fibers, and realize all-fiber flexible cylindrical vector lasers at 1550 nm. Attributing to the continuous distribution of a tangential electric field at taper boundaries, the laser is switchable between the radially and azimuthally polarized states by adjusting the input polarization. In the temporal domain, the operation is controllable among continuous-wave, Q-switched, and mode-locked statuses by changing the saturable absorber or pump strength. The duration of Q-switched radially/azimuthally polarized laser spans from 10.4/10.8 to 6/6.4 μs at the pump range of 38 to 58 mW, while that of the mode-locked pulse varies from 39.2/31.9 to 5.6/5.2 ps by controlling the laser bandwidth. The proposed laser combines the features of a cylindrical vector beam, a fiber laser, and an ultrafast pulse, providing a special and cost-effective source for practical applications.

Dynamic optical coupled system employing Dammann gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di, Caihui; Zhou, Changhe; Ru, Huayi

2004-10-01

With the increasing of the number of users in optical fiber communications, fiber-to-home project has a larger market value. Then the need of dynamic optical couplers, especially of N broad-band couplers, becomes greater. Though some advanced fiber fusion techniques have been developed, they still have many shortcomings. In this paper we propose a dynamic optical coupled system employing even-numbered Dammann gratings, which have the characteristic that the phase distribution in the first half-period accurately equals to that in the second-period with π phase inversion. In our experiment, we divide a conventional even-numbered Dammann grating into two identical gratings. The system can achieve the beam splitter and combiner as the switch between them according to the relative shift between two complementary gratings. When there is no shift between the gratings, the demonstrated 1×8 dynamic optical coupler achieves good uniformity of 0.06 and insertion loss of around 10.8 dB for each channel as a splitter. When the two gratings have an accurate shift of a half-period between them, our system has a low insertion loss of 0.46 dB as a combiner at a wavelength of 1550 nm.

Spatial Combining of Laser-Diode Beams for Pumping an NPRO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelsinger, Paul; Liu, Duncan; Mulder, Jerry; Aguayo, Francisco

2008-01-01

A free-space optical beam combiner now undergoing development makes it possible to use the outputs of multiple multimode laser diodes to pump a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) non-planar ring oscillator (NPRO) laser while ensuring that the laser operates at only a single desired frequency. Heretofore, a Nd:YAG NPRO like the present one has been pumped by a single multimode laser-diode beam delivered via an optical fiber. It would be desirable to use multiple pump laser diodes to increase reliability beyond that obtainable from a single pump laser diode. However, as explained in this article, simplistically coupling multiple multimode laser-diode beams through a fiber-optic combiner would entail a significant reduction in coupling efficiency, and lasing would occur at one or more other frequencies in addition to the single desired frequency. To minimize coupling loss, one must ensure that the NA (approximately equal to 0.3) of the combined laser-diode beams is less than the NA of the fiber. The A(Omega) of the laser-diode beam in the slow-axis plane is 1/1.3 as large as that of the fiber. This A(Omega) is small enough to enable efficient coupling of light into the optical fiber, but too large for combining of beams in the slow-axis plane. Therefore, a pair of cylindrical lenses is used to cancel the slow-axis plane magnification introduced by the on-cylindrical lenses used to effect magnification in the fast-axis plane.

Development of a sapphire fiber thermometer using two wavelength bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Linhua; Shen, Yonghang

1996-09-01

This paper reports the development of a sapphire ((alpha) - Al2O3) single crystal optical fiber thermometer using two wavelength bands. A thin film of precious metal or ceramic deposited onto one end of the sapphire fiber forms a mini-radiation cavity. The other end of the sapphire fiber is coupled to a low-loss silica fiber. Radiation from the small cavity is transmitted along the silica fiber into a photodetection system which consists of a lens, beam splitter, two interference filters (820 nm and 940 nm center wavelength, 30 nm bandwidth) and two silicon photocells. The temperature measurement is based on the detection of radiation from the small cavity. The sapphire fiber (0.25 - 1.0 mm diameter, 100 - 450 mm length) was grown by the laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) methods. Transmission loss in the sapphire fiber was experimentally measured. Theoretical analysis shows the apparent emittance of the small cavity with a length to diameter (L/D) ratio greater than eight is a constant value near to one, so the small cavity can be considered as a small black-body cavity. Using the developed sapphire fiber temperature sensor, we have built a sapphire fiber thermometer based on a 8098 single-chip microcomputer system. It was calibrated at some known stable temperature point and uses the fundamental radiation law to extrapolate to other temperatures. By taking the ratio of the optical power at two wavelengths, errors due to changes in the system, such as emissivity and transmission losses, can be canceled out. The thermometer has an operating temperature range of 800 to 1900 degrees Celsius, and an accuracy of 0.2% at 1000 degrees Celsius. There are a number of applications of the thermometer both in science and industry.

Influence of vibration on the coupling efficiency in spatial receiver and its compensation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Qinggui; Mu, Yining

2018-04-01

In order to analyze the loss of the free-space optical receiver caused by the vibration, we set up the coordinate systems on both the receiving lens surface and the receiving fiber surface, respectively. Then, with Gauss optics theory, the coupling efficiency equation is obtained. And the solution is calculated with MATLAB® software. To lower the impact of the vibration, the directional tapered communication fiber receiver is proposed. In the next step, the sample was produced and two experiments were done. The first experiment shows that the coupling efficiency of the receiver is higher than that of the traditional one. The second experiment shows the bit error rate of the new receiver is lower. Both of the experiments show the new receiver could improve the receiving system's tolerance with the vibration.

Polymer electro-optic waveguide devices: Low-loss etchless fabrication techniques and passive-to-active integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geary, Kevin

The development of high-frequency polymer electro-optic modulators has seen steady and significant progress in recent years, yet applications of these promising materials to more complicated integrated optic structures and arrays of devices have been limited primarily due to high optical waveguide loss characteristics. This is unfortunate since a major advantage of polymers as photonic materials is their compatibility with photolithographic processing of large components. In this Dissertation, etchless waveguide writing techniques are presented in order to improve the overall optical insertion loss of electro-optic polymer waveguide devices. These techniques include poling-induced writing, stress-induced waveguide writing, and photobleaching. Using these waveguide writing mechanisms, we have demonstrated straight waveguides, phase modulators, Mach-Zehnder intensity modulators, variable optical attenuators, and multimode interference (MMI) power splitters, all with improved loss characteristics over their etched rib waveguide counterparts. Ultimately, the insertion loss of an integrated optic device is limited by the actual material loss of the core waveguide material. In this Dissertation, passive-to-active polymer waveguide transitions are proposed to circumvent this problem. These transitions are compact, in-plane, self-aligned, and require no tapering of any physical dimensions of the waveguides. By utilizing both the time-dependent and intensity-dependent photobleaching characteristics of electro-optic polymer materials, adiabatic refractive index tapers can be seamlessly coupled to in-plane butt couple transitions, resulting in losses as low as 0.1 dB per interface. By integrating passive polymer planar lightwave circuits with the high-speed phase shifting capability of electro-optic polymers, active wideband photonic devices of increased size and complexity can be realized. Optical fiber-to-device coupling can also result in significant contributions to the overall insertion loss of an integrated electro-optic polymer device. In this Dissertation, we leverage the photobleached refractive index taper component of our proposed passive-to-active polymer waveguide transitions in order to realize a two-dimensional optical mode transformer for improved overall fiber-to-device coupling of electro-optic polymer waveguide devices.

Mid-infrared performance of single mode chalcogenide fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, Justin; Sincore, Alex; Tan, Felix; El Halawany, Ahmed; Riggins, Anthony; Shah, Lawrence; Abouraddy, Ayman F.; Richardson, Martin C.; Schepler, Kenneth L.

2018-02-01

Due to the intrinsic absorption edge in silica near 2.4 μm, more exotic materials are required to transmit laser power in the IR such as fluoride or chalcogenide glasses (ChGs). In particular, ChG fibers offer broad IR transmission with low losses < 1 dB/m. Here, we report on the performance of in-house drawn multi-material chalcogenide fibers at four different infrared wavelengths: 2053 nm, 2520 nm and 4550 nm. Polymer clad ChG fibers were drawn with 12.3 μm and 25 μm core diameters. Testing at 2053 nm was accomplished using a > 15 W, CW Tm:fiber laser. Power handling up to 10.2 W with single mode beam quality has been demonstrated, limited only by the available Tm:fiber output power. Anti-reflective coatings were successfully deposited on the ChG fiber facets, allowing up to 90.6% transmission with 12.2 MW/cm2 intensity on the facet. Single mode guidance at 4550 nm was also demonstrated using a quantum cascade laser (QCL). A custom optical system was constructed to efficiently couple the 0.8 NA QCL radiation into the 0.2 NA ChG fiber, allowing for a maximum of 78% overlap between the QCL radiation and fundamental mode of the fiber. With an AR-coated, 25 μm core diameter fiber, >50 mW transmission was demonstrated with > 87% transmission. Finally, we present results on fiber coupling from a free space Cr:ZnSe resonator at 2520 nm.

Low-to-high refractive index contrast transition (RICT) device for low loss polymer-based optical coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calabretta, N.; Cooman, I. A.; Stabile, R.

2018-04-01

We propose for the first time a coupling device concept for passive low-loss optical coupling, which is compatible with the ‘generic’ indium phosphide (InP) multi-project-wafer manufacturing. A low-to-high vertical refractive index contrast transition InP waveguide is designed and tapered down to adiabatically couple light into a top polymer waveguide. The on-chip embedded polymer waveguide is engineered at the chip facets for offering refractive-index and spot-size-matching to silica fiber-arrays. Numerical analysis shows that coupling losses lower than 1.5 dB can be achieved for a TE-polarized light between the InP waveguide and the on-chip embedded polymer waveguide at 1550 nm wavelength. The performance is mainly limited by the difficulty to control single-mode operation. However, coupling losses lower than 1.9 dB can be achieved for a bandwidth as large as 200 nm. Moreover, the foreseen fabrication process steps are indicated, which are compatible with the ‘generic’ InP multi-project-wafer manufacturing. A fabrication error tolerance study is performed, indicating that fabrication errors occur only in 0.25 dB worst case excess losses, as long as high precision lithography is used. The obtained results are promising and may open the route to large port counts and cheap packaging of InP-based photonic integrated chips.

Design and fabrication of engineering model fiber-optics detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcsweeney, A.

1972-01-01

The design and fabrication of an annular ring detector consisting of optical fibers terminated with photodetectors is described. The maximum width of each concentric ring has to be small enough to permit the resolution of a Ronchi ruling transform with a dot spacing of 150 microns. A minimum of 100 concentric rings covering a circular area of 2.54 cm diameter also is necessary. A fiber-optic array consisting of approximately 89,000 fibers of 76 microns diameter was fabricated to meet the above requirements. The fibers within a circular area of 2.5 cm diameter were sorted into 168 adjacent rings concentric with the center fiber. The response characteristics of several photodetectors were measured, and the data used to compare their linearity of response and dynamic range. Also, coupling loss measurements were made for three different methods of terminating the optical fibers with a photodetector.

Optical coupling elements for coherent optical multiport receivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langenhorst, Ralf

1992-05-01

Three by three (3 by 3) and four by four (4 by 4) port coupling elements and receivers for heterodyne multiport systems are realized. Commercial (3 by 3) fiber coupling elements were used to achieve a usual (3 by 3) port receiver and a (3 by 3) port receiver in pushpull switching, whose concept was theoretically and experimentally analyzed. It is established that intensity oscillations of laser sources are suppressed by pushpull switching. The influence of thermal noise of opto-electronic input levels is shown to be weaker than in usual (3 by 3) port and (4 by 4) port receivers. Thermal noise effect in pushpull switching is similar to this one in heterodyne receivers. An integrated optical coupling element in LiNbO3 was made with bridge circuit from four waveguide coupling elements and two phase converters, which are electro-optically tunable so that a continuous regulation of intermediate frequency phase can be compensated by temperature variations of the element. To obtain fiber-to-fiber losses lower than a dB, a compact crystal optical coupling element was developed with reference to polarization properties of optical waves. This element supplied the eight necessary intermediate frequency output signals. A direct experimental comparison of bandwidth efficiency of multiport and heterodyne receivers shows a factor two in optical area and a factor three in electrical frequency area.

Improved Resolution Optical Time Stretch Imaging Based on High Efficiency In-Fiber Diffraction.

PubMed

Wang, Guoqing; Yan, Zhijun; Yang, Lei; Zhang, Lin; Wang, Chao

2018-01-12

Most overlooked challenges in ultrafast optical time stretch imaging (OTSI) are sacrificed spatial resolution and higher optical loss. These challenges are originated from optical diffraction devices used in OTSI, which encode image into spectra of ultrashort optical pulses. Conventional free-space diffraction gratings, as widely used in existing OTSI systems, suffer from several inherent drawbacks: limited diffraction efficiency in a non-Littrow configuration due to inherent zeroth-order reflection, high coupling loss between free-space gratings and optical fibers, bulky footprint, and more importantly, sacrificed imaging resolution due to non-full-aperture illumination for individual wavelengths. Here we report resolution-improved and diffraction-efficient OTSI using in-fiber diffraction for the first time to our knowledge. The key to overcome the existing challenges is a 45° tilted fiber grating (TFG), which serves as a compact in-fiber diffraction device offering improved diffraction efficiency (up to 97%), inherent compatibility with optical fibers, and improved imaging resolution owning to almost full-aperture illumination for all illumination wavelengths. 50 million frames per second imaging of fast moving object at 46 m/s with improved imaging resolution has been demonstrated. This conceptually new in-fiber diffraction design opens the way towards cost-effective, compact and high-resolution OTSI systems for image-based high-throughput detection and measurement.

Compact all-fiber quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy sensor with a 30.72 kHz quartz tuning fork and spatially resolved trace gas detection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Yufei, E-mail: mayufei@hit.edu.cn; Post-doctoral Mobile Station of Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001; He, Ying

An ultra compact all-fiber quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor using quartz tuning fork (QTF) with a low resonance frequency of 30.72 kHz was demonstrated. Such a sensor architecture has the advantages of easier optical alignment, lower insertion loss, lower cost, and more compact compared with a conventional QEPAS sensor using discrete optical components for laser delivery and coupling to the QTF. A fiber beam splitter and three QTFs were employed to perform multi-point detection and demonstrated the potential of spatially resolved measurements.

Possible application of urinary analysis to estimate dissolution of some man-made vitreous fibers.

PubMed Central

Wastiaux, A; Blanchard, O; Honnons, S

1994-01-01

A preliminary study at the institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS) examined the dissolution of three man-made vitreous fiber samples (glasswool, rockwool, glass microfibers: JM 100) after intraperitoneal injections in male Wistar rats. The chemical composition of the original fibers was determined by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP). The urine of the rats was collected at fixed times between day 1 and day 204, and the ICP was used to look for elements known to be present in the original fibers. At day 204, a piece of omentum was removed at autopsy, ashed and analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) to identify the elements remaining in the fibers. Silicon and aluminium were retained in the fibers from all samples at day 204. Losses in calcium, sodium, magnesium, and sulfur were observed, but these elements were not studied in the urine samples because they are naturally present in relatively high concentrations in rat cells and biological fluids. Although there was a loss of zinc from the glass microfibers, no corresponding difference was observed between the zinc levels excreted by the treated animals and by the controls. Similarly, despite the loss of manganese from the rockwool fibers at day 204, none was detectable in the urine samples. Titanium, present at the 0.3% level in rockwool, was not detectable by EDXA at day 204, but small quantities were detected in the first 2 weeks in the urine samples of rats treated with rockwool.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) PMID:7882936

Challenges in characterization of photonic crystal fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borzycki, Krzysztof; Kobelke, Jens; Mergo, Pawel; Schuster, Kay

2011-05-01

We present experience with photonic crystal fiber (PCF) characterization during COST Action 299, focusing on phenomena causing errors and ways to mitigate them. PCFs developed at IPHT Jena (Germany; UMCS Lublin, Poland), designed for single mode operation were coupled to test instruments by fusion splicing to intermediate lengths of telecom single mode fibers (SMF). PCF samples were short (0.5-100 m), with 20-70 dB/km attenuation at 1310 nm and 1550 nm. Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) was best for measuring loss as most PCFs produced strong backscattering, while variable splice losses and difficulties with PCF cleaving for optical power measurements made cutback and insertion loss measurements inaccurate. Experience with PCF handling and cleaving is also reviewed. Quality of splices to fiber under test was critical. Excitation of higher order modes produced strong "noise" during measurements of polarization parameters like PMD or PDL. Multimode propagation and vibration-induced interference precluded testing of fine dependence of PMD on temperature or strain, causing random variations comparable to true changes of PMD. OTDR measurements were not affected, but testing of short fiber sections with very different backscattering intensities puts special demands on instrument performance. Temperature testing of liquid-infiltrated PCF was time-consuming, as settling of parameters after temperature change took up to 40 minutes. PCFs were fragile, breaking below 2% linear expansion, sometimes in unusual way when twisted.

A Fiber-Optic Coupled Telescope for Water Vapor DIAL Receivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeYoung, Russell J.; Lonn, Frederick

1998-01-01

A fiber-optic coupled telescope of low complexity was constructed and tested. The major loss mechanisms of the optical system have been characterized. Light collected by the receiver mirror is focused onto an optical fiber, and the output of the fiber is filtered by an interference filter and then focused onto an APD detector. This system was used in lidar field measurements with a 532-nm Nd:YAG laser beam. The results were encouraging. A numerical model used for calculation of the expected return signal agreed with the lidar return signal obtained. The assembled system was easy to align and operate and weighed about 8 kg for a 30 cm (12") mirror system. This weight is low enough to allow mounting of the fiber-optic telescope receiver system in a UAV. Furthermore, the good agreement between the numerical lidar model and the performance of the actual receiver system, suggests that this model may be used for estimation of the performance of this and other lidar systems in the future. Such telescopes are relatively easy to construct and align. The fiber optic cable allows easy placement of the optical detector in any position. These telescope systems should find widespread use in aircraft and space home DIAL water vapor receiver systems.

LP01 to LP11 mode convertor based on side-polished small-core single-mode fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yan; Li, Yang; Li, Wei-dong

2018-03-01

An all-fiber LP01-LP11 mode convertor based on side-polished small-core single-mode fibers (SMFs) is numerically demonstrated. The linearly polarized incident beam in one arm experiences π shift through a fiber half waveplate, and the side-polished parts merge into an equivalent twin-core fiber (TCF) which spatially shapes the incident LP01 modes to the LP11 mode supported by the step-index few-mode fiber (FMF). Optimum conditions for the highest conversion efficiency are investigated using the beam propagation method (BPM) with an approximate efficiency as high as 96.7%. The proposed scheme can operate within a wide wavelength range from 1.3 μm to1.7 μm with overall conversion efficiency greater than 95%. The effective mode area and coupling loss are also characterized in detail by finite element method (FEM).

Tensile properties of SiC/aluminum filamentary composites - Thermal degradation effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skinner, A.; Koczak, M. J.; Lawley, A.

1982-01-01

Aluminium metal matrix composites with a low cost fiber, e.g. SiC, provide for an attractive combination of high elastic modulus and longitudinal strengths coupled with a low density. SiC (volume fraction 0.55)-aluminum (6061) systems have been studied in order to optimize fiber composite strength and processing parameters. A comparison of two SiC/aluminum composites produced by AVCO and DWA is provided. Fiber properties are shown to alter composite tensile properties and fracture morphology. The room temperature tensile strengths appear to be insensitive to thermal exposures at 500 C up to 150 h. The elastic modulus of the composites also appears to be stable up to 400 C, however variations in the loss modulus are apparent. The fracture morphology reflects the quality of the interfacial bond, fiber strengths and fiber processing.

Mid infrared LHS system packaging using flexible waveguides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Chung

1987-01-01

As mid IR fiber optic systems are rapidly approaching a reality, so is the feasibility of fiber optic laser heterodyne systems. Laser heterodyne spectroscopy for high resolution monitoring of atmospheric gaseous pollutants is necessarily in the mid IR, the region in which the absorption signature of gaseous species is most prominent. It so happens that the lowest theoretical loss due to Rayleigh-Brillouin scattering also lies in the mid IR. Prospects of highly efficient laser heterodyne systems are thus very good. Such fibers are now beginning to be commercially available, and a test program is being conducted for such fibers with ambient temperature ranging from cryogenic to above room, and stringest mechanical flexibility requirements. Preliminary results are encouraging. A program is being started to explore the possibility of mid IR fiber optic device applications, by taking advantage of this phonon rich region. The potential long interaction length in fibers coupled with predicted extremely low losses point to stimulated Brillouin scattering based devices in the mW range. The generation of backscattered sBs at low laser powers is significant not only as an ultimate power limiting factor for laser transmission in fibers in the mid IR, but also the presence of frequency-shifted multiple order sBs Stokes and antiStokes lines will certainly have severe effect on the laser beats crucial in high resolution heterodyne spectroscopy.

Optical transmission through a polarization preserving single mode optical fiber at two Ar(+) laser wavelengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tedjojuwono, Ken K.; Hunter, William W., Jr.

1989-01-01

The transmission characteristics of two Ar(+) laser wavelengths through a twenty meter Panda type Polarization Preserving Single Mode Optical Fiber (PPSMOF) were measured. The measurements were done with both single and multi-longitudinal mode radiation. In the single longitudinal mode case, a degrading Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) is observed as a backward scattering loss. By choosing an optimum coupling system and manipulating the input polarization, the threshold of the SBS onset can be raised and the transmission efficiency can be increased.

Fast generation of three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state based on the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariants in coupled cavities.

PubMed

Huang, Xiao-Bin; Chen, Ye-Hong; Wang, Zhe

2016-05-24

In this paper, we propose an efficient scheme to fast generate three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state by constructing shortcuts to adiabatic passage (STAP) based on the "Lewis-Riesenfeld (LR) invariants" in spatially separated cavities connected by optical fibers. Numerical simulations illustrate that the scheme is not only fast, but robust against the decoherence caused by atomic spontaneous emission, cavity losses and the fiber photon leakages. This might be useful to realize fast and noise-resistant quantum information processing for multi-qubit systems.

Investigation of evanescent coupling between tapered fiber and a multimode slab waveguide.

PubMed

Dong, Shaofei; Ding, Hui; Liu, Yiying; Qi, Xiaofeng

2012-04-01

A tapered fiber-slab waveguide coupler (TFSC) is proposed in this paper. Both the numerical analysis based on the beam propagation method and experiments are used for investigating the dependencies of TFSC transmission features on their geometric parameters. From the simulations and experimental results, the rules for fabricating a TFSC with low transmission loss and sharp resonant spectra by optimizing the configuration parameters are presented. The conclusions derived from our work may provide helpful references for optimally designing and fabricating TFSC-based devices, such as sensors, wavelength filters, and intensity modulators.

Strain of optic-fiber/giant magnetostrictive film structure in magnetic field by finite element analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Jiafei; Pan, Mengchun; Xin, Jianguang; Chen, Dixiang

2008-12-01

The magnetostrictive transducer is the most important part of the optic-fiber magnetic field sensor, and the optic-fiber/giant magnetostrictive(GMS) film coupled structure is a novel coupling form of the magnetostrictive transducer. Always we analyze the coupled structure based on the entire coupled structure being sputtered GMS material without tail-fibers. In practical application, the coupled structure has tail-fibers without films at two ends. When the entire coupled structure is immersed in the detected magnetic field, the detected magnetic field causes the GMS film strain then causing optic-fiber strain. This strain transmission process is different from it in the coupled structure entirely with GMS films without tail-fibers. The strain transmission relationship can be calculated theoretically in the coupled structure without tail-fibers, but it's complicated to theoretically calculate the strain transmission relationship in the coupled structure with tail-fibers. After large numbers of calculations and analyses by ANSYS software, we figure out some relationships of the two strain transmission processes in the respective structures and the stress distribution in the tail-fibers. These results are helpful to the practical application of the optic-fiber/ GMS film coupled structure.

FIBER AND INTEGRATED OPTICS: Anisotropic waveguides with an elliptic stress-inducing cladding and a circular core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arutyunyan, Z. É.; Grudinin, A. B.; Gur'yanov, A. N.; Gusovskiĭ, D. D.; Dianov, Evgenii M.; Ignat'ev, S. V.; Smirnov, O. B.

1990-10-01

A technology of fabrication of anisotropic single-mode fiber waveguides with an elliptic stress-inducing cladding and a circular core was developed. This technology was used to make fiber waveguides with a birefringence (1-3) × 10 - 4, a coefficient representing the coupling between the polarization modes h = (5-7) × 10 - 5 m - 1, and optical losses a = 0.5 dB/km in the vicinity of 1.6 μm. A comparison was made of the experimental data with the results of a theoretical analysis. It was found that certain mechanisms restricted the ability of these waveguides to maintain a constant polarization of the injected linearly polarized radiation.

Tunable Filter Made From Three Coupled WGM Resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Savchenkov, Anatoliy; Iltchenko, Vladimir; Maleki, Lute; Matsko, Andrey

2006-01-01

A tunable third-order band-pass optical filter has been constructed as an assembly of three coupled, tunable, whispering-gallery-mode resonators similar to the one described in Whispering-Gallery-Mode Tunable Narrow-Band-Pass Filter (NPO-30896), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 4 (April 2004), page 5a. This filter offers a combination of four characteristics that are desirable for potential applications in photonics: (1) wide real-time tunability accompanied by a high-order filter function, (2) narrowness of the passband, (3) relatively low loss between input and output coupling optical fibers, and (4) a sparse spectrum. In contrast, prior tunable band-pass optical filters have exhibited, at most, two of these four characteristics. As described in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonator is a spheroidal, disklike, or toroidal body made of a highly transparent material. It is so named because it is designed to exploit whispering-gallery electromagnetic modes, which are waveguide modes that propagate circumferentially and are concentrated in a narrow toroidal region centered on the equatorial plane and located near the outermost edge. Figure 1 depicts the optical layout of the present filter comprising an assembly of three coupled, tunable WGM resonators. Each WGM resonator is made from a disk of Z-cut LiNbO3 of 3.3-mm diameter and 50-m thickness. The perimeter of the disk is polished and rounded to a radius of curvature of 40 microns. The free spectral range of each WGM resonator is about 13.3 GHz. Gold coats on the flat faces of the disk serve as electrodes for exploiting the electro-optical effect in LiNbO3 for tuning. There is no metal coat on the rounded perimeter region, where the whispering-gallery modes propagate. Light is coupled from an input optical fiber into the whispering-gallery-modes of the first WGM resonator by means of a diamond prism. Another diamond prism is used to couple light from the whispering-gallery-modes of the third WGM resonator to an output optical fiber. The filter operates at a nominal wavelength of 1,550 nm and can be tuned over a frequency range of plus or minus 12 GHz by applying a potential in the range of plus or minus 150 V to the electrodes. The insertion loss (the loss between the input and output coupling optical fibers) was found to be repeatable at 6 dB. The resonance quality factor (Q) of the main sequence of resonator modes was found to be 5 x 10(exp 6), which corresponds to a bandwidth of 30 MHz. The filter can be shifted from one operating frequency to another within a tuning time less than or equal to 30 micro seconds. The transmission curve of the filter at frequencies near the middle of the passband closely approximates a theoretical third-order Butterworth filter profile, as shown in Figure 2.

Theoretical model for a thin cylindrical film optical fiber fluorosensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Egalon, Claudio O.; Rogowski, Robert S.

1992-01-01

The analytical treatment of power efficiency (P(eff) is undertaken for the case of a positively guiding optical fiber with a thin-film source distributed in the core-cladding interface. The approach adopts the exact solution of the cylindrical optical fiber with an infinite cladding to account for differences between the indices of refraction of the core and the cladding. The excitation of low-loss leaky modes by the cladding is ignored, and only the injection by the evanescent field is considered. The formulas permit the analysis of the power-injection efficiency of fibers with arbitrary differences in indices of refraction. P(eff) does not always increase with V number, but rather varies slightly with wavelength and fiber-core radius and varies significantly with the difference in the indices of refraction. The theoretical results of the work are of interest for designing an atomic-O chemical sensor based on evanescent-wave coupling.

Characterization of a Fiber Optic Coupled Dosimeter for Clinical Electron Beam Dosimetry

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-29

2010 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2010 to 00-00-2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Characterization of a Fiber Optic Coupled Dosimeter for...Fiber Optic Coupled Dosimeter for Clinical Electron Beam Dosimetry. Abstract approved: Camille J. Lodwick Fiber-optic-coupled dosimeters ...Rights Reserved CHARACTERIZATION OF A FIBER OPTIC COUPLED DOSIMETER FOR CLINICAL ELECTRON

Spectral characterization of porous dielectric subwavelength THz fibers fabricated using a microstructured molding technique.

PubMed

Dupuis, Alexandre; Mazhorova, Anna; Désévédavy, Frédéric; Rozé, Mathieu; Skorobogatiy, Maksim

2010-06-21

We report two novel fabrication techniques, as well as THz spectral transmission and propagation loss measurements of subwavelength plastic wires with highly porous (up to 86%) and non-porous transverse geometries. The two fabrication techniques we describe are based on the microstructured molding approach. In one technique the mold is made completely from silica by stacking and fusing silica capillaries to the bottom of a silica ampoule. The melted material is then poured into the silica mold to cast the microstructured preform. Another approach uses a microstructured mold made of a sacrificial plastic which is co-drawn with a cast preform. Material from the sacrificial mold is then dissolved after fi ber drawing. We also describe a novel THz-TDS setup with an easily adjustable optical path length, designed to perform cutback measurements using THz fibers of up to 50 cm in length. We fi nd that while both porous and non-porous subwavelength fibers of the same outside diameter have low propagation losses (alpha

Fiber-chip edge coupler with large mode size for silicon photonic wire waveguides.

PubMed

Papes, Martin; Cheben, Pavel; Benedikovic, Daniel; Schmid, Jens H; Pond, James; Halir, Robert; Ortega-Moñux, Alejandro; Wangüemert-Pérez, Gonzalo; Ye, Winnie N; Xu, Dan-Xia; Janz, Siegfried; Dado, Milan; Vašinek, Vladimír

2016-03-07

Fiber-chip edge couplers are extensively used in integrated optics for coupling of light between planar waveguide circuits and optical fibers. In this work, we report on a new fiber-chip edge coupler concept with large mode size for silicon photonic wire waveguides. The coupler allows direct coupling with conventional cleaved optical fibers with large mode size while circumventing the need for lensed fibers. The coupler is designed for 220 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. It exhibits an overall coupling efficiency exceeding 90%, as independently confirmed by 3D Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) and fully vectorial 3D Eigenmode Expansion (EME) calculations. We present two specific coupler designs, namely for a high numerical aperture single mode optical fiber with 6 µm mode field diameter (MFD) and a standard SMF-28 fiber with 10.4 µm MFD. An important advantage of our coupler concept is the ability to expand the mode at the chip edge without leading to high substrate leakage losses through buried oxide (BOX), which in our design is set to 3 µm. This remarkable feature is achieved by implementing in the SiO 2 upper cladding thin high-index Si 3 N 4 layers. The Si 3 N 4 layers increase the effective refractive index of the upper cladding near the facet. The index is controlled along the taper by subwavelength refractive index engineering to facilitate adiabatic mode transformation to the silicon wire waveguide while the Si-wire waveguide is inversely tapered along the coupler. The mode overlap optimization at the chip facet is carried out with a full vectorial mode solver. The mode transformation along the coupler is studied using 3D-FDTD simulations and with fully-vectorial 3D-EME calculations. The couplers are optimized for operating with transverse electric (TE) polarization and the operating wavelength is centered at 1.55 µm.

Design, Fabrication, and Packaging of Mach-Zehnder Interferometers for Biological Sensing Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novak, Joseph

Optical biological sensors are widely used in the fields of medical testing, water treatment and safety, gene identification, and many others due to advances in nanofabrication technology. This work focuses on the design of fiber-coupled Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) based biosensors fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. Silicon waveguide sensors are designed with multimode and single-mode dimensions. Input coupling efficiency is investigated by design of various taper structures. Integration processing and packaging is performed for fiber attachment and enhancement of input coupling efficiency. Optical guided-wave sensors rely on single-mode operation to extract an induced phase-shift from the output signal. A silicon waveguide MZI sensor designed and fabricated for both multimode and single-mode dimensions. Sensitivity of the sensors is analyzed for waveguide dimensions and materials. An s-bend structure is designed for the multimode waveguide to eliminate higher-order mode power as an alternative to single-mode confinement. Single-mode confinement is experimentally demonstrated through near field imaging of waveguide output. Y-junctions are designed for 3dB power splitting to the MZI arms and for power recombination after sensing to utilize the interferometric function of the MZI. Ultra-short 10microm taper structures with curved geometries are designed to improve insertion loss from fiber-to-chip without significantly increasing device area and show potential for applications requiring misalignment tolerance. An novel v-groove process is developed for self-aligned integration of fiber grooves for attachment to sensor chips. Thermal oxidation at temperatures from 1050-1150°C during groove processing creates an SiO2 layer on the waveguide end facet to protect the waveguide facet during integration etch processing without additional e-beam lithography processing. Experimental results show improvement of insertion loss compared to dicing preparation and Focused Ion Beam methods using the thermal oxidation process.

Applications of plastic optical fiber in communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tayahi, Moncef Ben

In this thesis, we report the results of our theoretical and experimental studies of large core polymer fibers. This relatively low loss and high bandwidth plastic optical fiber (POF) potentially have important applications in LAN. We measured the power penalty due to modal noise. We also developed a model to calculate the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and the bit error rate (BER) floor just by knowing the coupling coefficient in the mode selective loss being considered. The calculated bandwidth using the WKB approximation was found to be 0.44 GHz per 100 m, which is much lower than the measured bandwidth of 3 GHz per 100 m. This discrepancy was explained by the presence of strong mode coupling in POFs. We studied distortions products in CATV systems. Composite second order (CSO) and composite triple beat (CTB) for different channels were measured using a spectrum analyzer and adjustable band pass filter. Since the CSO and the CTB did not meet the CATV standard, a predistortion circuit was used to minimize CSO and CTB products produced by the laser. The predistortion circuit provides a signal comprising multiple subcarrier signals substantially equal in magnitude and opposite in phase to those associated with the nonlinear transfer function of the laser being deployed. The RF signal is split into a primary branch that has a time delayed portion (80% of the RF signal), the secondary branch (10% of the RF signal) is where the second order products are generated with a 180 °phase shift from the fundamental, and the last remaining 10% of the RF signal is where the third order distortion products are generated with a 180 °phase shift from the fundamental. The output signal is taken as the summation of three signals processed by the branch circuits and coupled to the directly to the laser to be linearized. Finally, using cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP), a perfluorinated graded index fiber, different transmission characteristics were investigated. CYTOP fiber has many outstanding characteristics superior to any other polymer waveguide. It can support multi-Gb/s date rates from 800 run to 1300 nm.

Fiber-coupling efficiency for free-space optical communication through atmospheric turbulence.

PubMed

Dikmelik, Yamaç; Davidson, Frederic M

2005-08-10

High-speed free-space optical communication systems have recently used fiber-optic components. The received laser beam in such a system must be coupled into a single-mode fiber at the input of the receiver module. However, propagation through atmospheric turbulence degrades the spatial coherence of a laser beam and limits the fiber-coupling efficiency. We numerically evaluate the fiber-coupling efficiency for laser light distorted by atmospheric turbulence. We also investigate the use of a coherent fiber array as a receiver structure and find that a coherent fiber array that consists of seven subapertures would significantly increase the fiber-coupling efficiency.

Thin-Ribbon Tapered Couplers For Dielectric Waveguides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otoshi, Tom Y.; Shimabukuro, Fred I.; Yeh, Cavour

1996-01-01

Thin-ribbon tapered couplers proposed for launching electro-magnetic waves into dielectric waveguides, which include optical fibers. Intended for use with ribbon dielectric waveguides designed for operation at millimeter or submillimeter wavelengths, made of high-relative-permittivity, low-loss materials and thicknesses comparable to or less than free-space design wavelengths. Coupling efficiencies exceeds those of older tapered couplers.

Internal Mirror Optical Fiber Couplers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Jong-Dug

A fusion splicing technique has been used to produce angled dielectric mirrors in multimode and single-mode silica fibers. These mirrored fiber couplers serve as compact directional couplers with low excess optical loss (~0.2 dB for multimode and 0.5 dB for single mode at 1.3 μm) and excellent mechanical properties. The reflectance is found to be wavelength dependent and strongly polarization dependent, as expected. Far-field scans of the reflected output power measured with a white-light source show a pattern which is almost circularly symmetric. The splitting ratio in a multimode coupler measured with a laser source is much less dependent on input coupling conditions than in conventional fused biconical-taper couplers. Spectral properties of multilayer fiber mirrors have been investigated experimentally, and a matrix analysis has been used to explain the results.

Nonlinear response of silicon photonic crystal microresonators excited via an integrated waveguide and fiber taper.

PubMed

Barclay, Paul; Srinivasan, Kartik; Painter, Oskar

2005-02-07

A technique is demonstrated which efficiently transfers light between a tapered standard single-mode optical fiber and a high-Q, ultra-small mode volume, silicon photonic crystal resonant cavity. Cavity mode quality factors of 4.7x10(4) are measured, and a total fiber-to-cavity coupling efficiency of 44% is demonstrated. Using this efficient cavity input and output channel, the steady-state nonlinear absorption and dispersion of the photonic crystal cavity is studied. Optical bistability is observed for fiber input powers as low as 250 microW, corresponding to a dropped power of 100 microW and 3 fJ of stored cavity energy. A high-density effective free-carrier lifetime for these silicon photonic crystal resonators of ~ 0.5 ns is also estimated from power dependent loss and dispersion measurements.

Dry-film polymer waveguide for silicon photonics chip packaging.

PubMed

Hsu, Hsiang-Han; Nakagawa, Shigeru

2014-09-22

Polymer waveguide made by dry film process is demonstrated for silicon photonics chip packaging. With 8 μm × 11.5 μm core waveguide, little penalty is observed up to 25 Gbps before or after the light propagate through a 10-km long single-mode fiber (SMF). Coupling loss to SMF is 0.24 dB and 1.31 dB at the polymer waveguide input and output ends, respectively. Alignment tolerance for 0.5 dB loss increase is +/- 1.0 μm along both vertical and horizontal directions for the coupling from the polymer waveguide to SMF. The dry-film polymer waveguide demonstrates promising performance for silicon photonics chip packaging used in next generation optical multi-chip module.

Multiwaveguide implantable probe for light delivery to sets of distributed brain targets.

PubMed

Zorzos, Anthony N; Boyden, Edward S; Fonstad, Clifton G

2010-12-15

Optical fibers are commonly inserted into living tissues such as the brain in order to deliver light to deep targets for neuroscientific and neuroengineering applications such as optogenetics, in which light is used to activate or silence neurons expressing specific photosensitive proteins. However, an optical fiber is limited to delivering light to a single target within the three-dimensional structure of the brain. We here demonstrate a multiwaveguide probe capable of independently delivering light to multiple targets along the probe axis, thus enabling versatile optical control of sets of distributed brain targets. The 1.45-cm-long probe is microfabricated in the form of a 360-μm-wide array of 12 parallel silicon oxynitride (SiON) multimode waveguides clad with SiO(2) and coated with aluminum; probes of custom dimensions are easily created as well. The waveguide array accepts light from a set of sources at the input end and guides the light down each waveguide to an aluminum corner mirror that efficiently deflects light away from the probe axis. Light losses at each stage are small (input coupling loss, 0.4 ± 0.3 dB; bend loss, negligible; propagation loss, 3.1 ± 1 dB/cm using the outscattering method and 3.2 ± 0.4 dB/cm using the cutback method; corner mirror loss, 1.5 ± 0.4 dB); a waveguide coupled, for example, to a 5 mW source will deliver over 1.5 mW to a target at a depth of 1 cm.

Design optimization and tolerance analysis of a spot-size converter for the taper-assisted vertical integration platform in InP.

PubMed

Tolstikhin, Valery; Saeidi, Shayan; Dolgaleva, Ksenia

2018-05-01

We report on the design optimization and tolerance analysis of a multistep lateral-taper spot-size converter based on indium phosphide (InP), performed using the Monte Carlo method. Being a natural fit to (and a key building block of) the regrowth-free taper-assisted vertical integration platform, such a spot-size converter enables efficient and displacement-tolerant fiber coupling to InP-based photonic integrated circuits at a wavelength of 1.31 μm. An exemplary four-step lateral-taper design featuring 0.35 dB coupling loss at optimal alignment of a standard single-mode fiber; ≥7  μm 1 dB displacement tolerance in any direction in a facet plane; and great stability against manufacturing variances is demonstrated.

Fiber-coupling efficiency of Gaussian-Schell model beams through an ocean to fiber optical communication link

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Beibei; Shi, Haifeng; Zhang, Yixin

2018-06-01

We theoretically study the fiber-coupling efficiency of Gaussian-Schell model beams propagating through oceanic turbulence. The expression of the fiber-coupling efficiency is derived based on the spatial power spectrum of oceanic turbulence and the cross-spectral density function. Our work shows that the salinity fluctuation has a greater impact on the fiber-coupling efficiency than temperature fluctuation does. We can select longer λ in the "ocean window" and higher spatial coherence of light source to improve the fiber-coupling efficiency of the communication link. We also can achieve the maximum fiber-coupling efficiency by choosing design parameter according specific oceanic turbulence condition. Our results are able to help the design of optical communication link for oceanic turbulence to fiber sensor.

Dissipative vector soliton in a dispersion-managed fiber laser with normal dispersion.

PubMed

Wang, Siming; Fan, Xuliang; Zhao, Luming; Wang, Yong; Tang, Dingyuan; Shen, Deyuan

2014-12-10

We numerically study the vector dynamics of dissipative solitons (DSs) in a 2 μm dispersion-managed fiber laser mode locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and operated in the normal dispersion regime. It is shown that the effective gain bandwidth is crucial for the DS generation. The steep spectral edges of DSs are the consequence of the interaction among the normal dispersion, fiber nonlinearity, gain and loss, and gain dispersion effect, etc. We numerically duplicate the experimental results and further explore the vector features of the generated DSs. Two DSs formed along the two orthogonal polarization directions which, incoherently coupled with each other, could propagate in the birefringent cavity with the same group velocity.

A Self-Referencing Intensity Based Polymer Optical Fiber Sensor for Liquid Detection

PubMed Central

Montero, David Sánchez; Vázquez, Carmen; Möllers, Ingo; Arrúe, Jon; Jäger, Dieter

2009-01-01

A novel self-referencing fiber optic intensity sensor based on bending losses of a partially polished polymer optical fiber (POF) coupler is presented. The coupling ratio (K) depends on the external liquid in which the sensor is immersed. It is possible to distinguish between different liquids and to detect their presence. Experimental results for the most usual liquids found in industry, like water and oil, are given. K value increases up to 10% from the nominal value depending on the liquid. Sensor temperature dependence has also been studied for a range from 25 °C (environmental condition) to 50 °C. Any sector requiring liquid level measurements in flammable atmospheres can benefit from this intrinsically safe technology. PMID:22454594

Side-pumping combiner for high-power fiber laser based on tandem pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Yanran; Lei, Chengmin; Liu, Jun; Li, Ruixian; Liu, Le; Xiao, Hu; Chen, Zilun

2017-11-01

We investigate a (2+1)×1 side-pumping combiner numerically and experimentally for high-power fiber laser based on tandem pumping for the first time. The influence of taper ratio and launch mode on the 1018-nm pump coupling efficiency and the leakage power into the coating of the signal fiber (LPC) is analyzed numerically. A side-pumping combiner is developed successfully by tapered-fused splicing technique based on the numerical analysis, consisting of two pump fibers (220/242 μm, NA=0.22) and a signal fiber (40/400 μm, NA=0.06/0.46). The total 1018-nm pump efficiency of the combiner is 98.1%, and the signal light insertion loss is <3%. The results show that, compared with laser diodes pumping, the combiner appears to have a better LPC performance and power handling capability when using 1018-nm fiber as the pump light. Meanwhile, an all-fiber MOPA laser based on tandem pumping with 1080-nm output of 2533 W and the slope efficiency of 82.8% is achieved based on the home-made combiner.

Waveguide-loaded silica fibers for coupling to high-index micro-resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latawiec, P.; Burek, M. J.; Venkataraman, V.; Lončar, M.

2016-01-01

Tapered silica fibers are often used to rapidly probe the optical properties of micro-resonators. However, their low refractive index precludes phase-matching when coupling to high-index micro-resonators, reducing efficiency. Here, we demonstrate efficient optical coupling from tapered fibers to high-index micro-resonators by loading the fibers with an ancillary adiabatic waveguide-coupler fabricated via angled-etching. We demonstrate greatly enhanced coupling to a silicon multimode micro-resonator when compared to coupling via the bare fiber only. Signatures of resonator optical bistability are observed at high powers. This scheme can be applied to resonators of any size and material, increasing the functional scope of fiber coupling.

Temperature sensing through long period fiber gratings mechanically induced on tapered optical fibers.

PubMed

Pulido-Navarro, María Guadalupe; Escamilla-Ambrosio, Ponciano Jorge; Marrujo-García, Sigifredo; Álvarez-Chávez, José Alfredo; Martínez-Piñón, Fernando

2017-07-01

In this work the feasibility of employing two well-known techniques already used on designing optical fiber sensors is explored. The first technique employed involves monomode tapered fibers, which were fabricated using a taper machine designed, built, and implemented in our laboratory. This implementation greatly reduced the costs and fabrication time allowing us to produce the desired taper length and transmission conditions. The second technique used fiber Bragg gratings, which we decided to have mechanically induced and for that reason we devised and produced our own mechanical gratings with the help of a computer numerical control tool. This grating had to be fabricated with aluminum to withstand temperatures of up to 600°C. When light traveling through an optical fiber reaches a taper it couples into the cladding layer and comes back into the core when the taper ends. In the same manner, when the light encounters gratings in the fiber, it couples to the cladding modes, and when the gratings end, the light couples back into the core. For our experimentation, the tapering machine was programmed to fabricate single-mode tapers with 3 cm length, and the mechanically induced gratings characteristics were 5 cm length, and had a period of 500 μm and depth of the period of 300 μm. For the conducting tests, the tapered fiber is positioned in between two aluminum slabs, one grooved and the other plane. These two blocks accomplish the mechanically induced long period grating (LPG); the gratings on the grooved plaque are imprinted on the taper forming the period gratings. An optical spectrum analyzer is used to observe the changes on the transmission spectrum as the temperature varies from 20°C to 600°C. The resultant attenuation peak wavelength in the transmission spectrum shifts up to 8 nm, which is a higher shift compared to what has been reported using nontapered fibers. As the temperature increases there is no longer a shift, but there is significant power loss. Such a characteristic can be used as well for sensing applications.

Wideband tunable wavelength-selective coupling in asymmetric side-polished fiber coupler with dispersive interlayer.

PubMed

Chen, Nan-Kuang; Lee, Cheng-Ling; Chi, Sien

2007-12-24

We demonstrate tunable highly wavelength-selective filter based on a 2 x 2 asymmetric side-polished fiber coupler with dispersive interlayer in one of the coupling arms. The asymmetric fiber coupler is made of two side-polished fibers using identical single-mode fibers and one of the polished fibers is further chemically etched at the central evanescent coupling region to gain closer to the core. An optical liquid with different dispersion characteristics than that of silica fiber is used to fill up the etched hollow and therefore the propagation constant for the polished fiber with dispersive liquid becomes more dispersive and crosses with that of another untreated polished fiber. The location of the cross point and the cross angle between two propagation constant curves determine the coupling wavelength and coupling bandwidth as well as channel wavelength separation, respectively. The coupling wavelength can be tuned at least wider than 84 nm (1.326-1.410 microm) under index variation of 0.004 and with coupling ratios of higher than 30 dB.

Analysis and design of fiber-coupled high-power laser diode array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Chongxi; Liu, Yinhui; Xie, Weimin; Du, Chunlei

2003-11-01

A conclusion that a single conventional optical system could not realize fiber coupled high-power laser diode array is drawn based on the BPP of laser beam. According to the parameters of coupled fiber, a method to couple LDA beams into a single multi-mode fiber including beams collimating, shaping, focusing and coupling is present. The divergence angles after collimating are calculated and analyzed; the shape equation of the collimating micro-lenses array is deprived. The focusing lens is designed. A fiber coupled LDA result with the core diameter of 800 um and numeric aperture of 0.37 is gotten.

Sympathetic sprouting drives hippocampal cholinergic reinnervation that prevents loss of a muscarinic receptor-dependent long-term depression at CA3-CA1 synapses.

PubMed

Scheiderer, Cary L; McCutchen, Eve; Thacker, Erin E; Kolasa, Krystyna; Ward, Matthew K; Parsons, Dee; Harrell, Lindy E; Dobrunz, Lynn E; McMahon, Lori L

2006-04-05

Degeneration of septohippocampal cholinergic neurons results in memory deficits attributable to loss of cholinergic modulation of hippocampal synaptic circuits. A remarkable consequence of cholinergic degeneration is the sprouting of noradrenergic sympathetic fibers from the superior cervical ganglia into hippocampus. The functional impact of sympathetic ingrowth on synaptic physiology has never been investigated. Here, we report that, at CA3-CA1 synapses, a Hebbian form of long-term depression (LTD) induced by muscarinic M1 receptor activation (mLTD) is lost after medial septal lesion. Unexpectedly, expression of mLTD is rescued by sympathetic sprouting. These effects are specific because LTP and other forms of LTD are unaffected. The rescue of mLTD expression is coupled temporally with the reappearance of cholinergic fibers in hippocampus, as assessed by the immunostaining of fibers for VAChT (vesicular acetylcholine transporter). Both the cholinergic reinnervation and mLTD rescue are prevented by bilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy, which also prevents the noradrenergic sympathetic sprouting. The new cholinergic fibers likely originate from the superior cervical ganglia because unilateral ganglionectomy, performed when cholinergic reinnervation is well established, removes the reinnervation on the ipsilateral side. Thus, the temporal coupling of the cholinergic reinnervation with mLTD rescue, together with the absence of reinnervation and mLTD expression after ganglionectomy, demonstrate that the autonomic-driven cholinergic reinnervation is essential for maintaining mLTD after central cholinergic cell death. We have discovered a novel phenomenon whereby the autonomic and central nervous systems experience structural rearrangement to replace lost cholinergic innervation in hippocampus, with the consequence of preserving a form of LTD that would otherwise be lost as a result of cholinergic degeneration.

Expanded beam non-imaging fiber optic connector

DOEpatents

Jannson, Tommasz; Jannson, Joanna; Yeung, Peter

1990-01-01

There is disclosed an expanded beam fiber to fiber connector, based on non-imaging optic principles for coupling light beams from one optical fiber to another. The system consists of two identical connector parts, referred to herein as a collimating part and a concentrating part, each having a preferred partially curved reflective boundary surface for minimizing power loss and surrounding either a hollow space or a space filled with a uniform transparent medium. In one embodiment the boundary is metallic while in a second embodiment the boundary is in the form of an interface allowing total internal reflection. In both the hollow and filled case a lens may be located at the expanded end of both the collimater part and the concentrator part forming the connector. The connector is preferably located in a housing in order to protect and preserve the mechanical stability of the coupler.

Expanded beam non-imaging fiber optic connector

DOEpatents

Jannson, T.; Jannson, J.; Yeung, P.

1990-02-06

There is disclosed an expanded beam fiber to fiber connector, based on non-imaging optic principles for coupling light beams from one optical fiber to another. The system consists of two identical connector parts, referred to herein as a collimating part and a concentrating part, each having a preferred partially curved reflective boundary surface for minimizing power loss and surrounding either a hollow space or a space filled with a uniform transparent medium. In one embodiment the boundary is metallic while in a second embodiment the boundary is in the form of an interface allowing total internal reflection. In both the hollow and filled case a lens may be located at the expanded end of both the collimator part and the concentrator part forming the connector. The connector is preferably located in a housing in order to protect and preserve the mechanical stability of the coupler. 13 figs.

High power passive mode-locked L-band fiber laser based on microfiber topological insulator saturable absorber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semaan, Georges; Meng, Yichang; Salhi, Mohamed; Niang, Alioune; Guesmi, Khmaies; Luo, Zhi-Chao; Sanchez, Francois

2016-04-01

In this communication, we demonstrate a passive mode-locked Er:Yb co-doped double-clad fiber laser using a tapered microfiber topological insulator (Bi2Se3) saturable absorber (TISA). The topological insulator is drop-casted onto the tapered fiber and optically deposited by optical tweezer effect. We use a ring laser setup including the fabricated TISA. By carefully optimizing the cavity losses and output coupling ratio, the mode-locked laser can operate in L-band with a high average output power. At a maximum pump power of 5 W, we obtain the 91st harmonic mode-locking of soliton bunches with a 3dB spectral bandwidth of 1.06nm, a repetition rate of 640.9 MHz and an average output power of 308mW. As far as we know, this is the highest output power yet reported of a mode-locked fiber laser operating with a TISA.

A new generation of ultra-dense optical I/O for silicon photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wlodawski, Mitchell S.; Kopp, Victor I.; Park, Jongchul; Singer, Jonathan; Hubner, Eric E.; Neugroschl, Daniel; Chao, Norman; Genack, Azriel Z.

2014-03-01

In response to the optical packaging needs of a rapidly growing silicon photonics market, Chiral Photonics, Inc. (CPI) has developed a new generation of ultra-dense-channel, bi-directional, all-optical, input/output (I/O) couplers that bridge the data transport gap between standard optical fibers and photonic integrated circuits. These couplers, called Pitch Reducing Optical Fiber Arrays (PROFAs), provide a means to simultaneously match both the mode field and channel spacing (i.e. pitch) between an optical fiber array and a photonic integrated circuit (PIC). Both primary methods for optically interfacing with PICs, via vertical grating couplers (VGCs) and edge couplers, can be addressed with PROFAs. PROFAs bring the signal-carrying cores, either multimode or singlemode, of many optical fibers into close proximity within an all-glass device that can provide low loss coupling to on-chip components, including waveguides, gratings, detectors and emitters. Two-dimensional (2D) PROFAs offer more than an order of magnitude enhancement in channel density compared to conventional one-dimensional (1D) fiber arrays. PROFAs can also be used with low vertical profile solutions that simplify optoelectronic packaging while reducing PIC I/O real estate usage requirements. PROFA technology is based on a scalable production process for microforming glass preform assemblies as they are pulled through a small oven. An innovative fiber design, called the "vanishing core," enables tailoring the mode field along the length of the PROFA to meet the coupling needs of disparate waveguide technologies, such as fiber and onchip. Examples of single- and multi-channel couplers fabricated using this technology will be presented.

Integration of GaN/AlN all-optical switch with SiN/AlN waveguide utilizing spot-size conversion.

PubMed

Iizuka, Norio; Yoshida, Haruhiko; Managaki, Nobuto; Shimizu, Toshimasa; Hassanet, Sodabanlu; Cumtornkittikul, Chiyasit; Sugiyama, Masakazu; Nakano, Yoshiaki

2009-12-07

Spot-size converters for an all-optical switch utilizing the intersubband transition in GaN/AlN multiple quantum wells are studied with the purpose of reducing operation power by improving the coupling efficiency between the input fiber and the switch. With a stair-like spot-size converter, the absorption saturation of 5 dB is achieved with a pulse energy of 25 pJ. The switch is integrated with a SiN/AlN waveguide and spot-size converters, and the structure provides the possibility of an integration of the switch with other functional devices. To further improve the coupling loss between the waveguide and the switch, triangular-shaped converters are investigated, demonstrating losses as low as 2 dB/facet.

Design and fabrication of N x N optical couplers based on organic polymer optical waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krchnavek, Robert R.; Rode, Daniel L.

1994-08-01

In this report, we examine the design and fabrication of a planar, 10x10 optical coupler utilizing photopolymerizable organic polymers. Background information on the theory of operation of the coupler culminating in a set of design equations is presented. The details of the material processing are described, including the preparation of monomer mixtures that result in single-mode polymer waveguides (lambda = 1300 nm) that have core dimensions approximately equal to those of single-mode fiber. This is necessary to insure high coupling efficiency between the planar device and optical fiber. A unique method of aligning and attaching optical fibers to the coupler is demonstrated. This method relies on patterned alignment ways, a transcision cut, and single-mode D-fiber. A theoretical analysis of the in situ monitoring technique used to fabricate the single-mode D-fiber is presented and compared favorably with the experimental results. Finally, the 10x10 coupler is characterized. We have measured an excess loss of approximately 8 dB.

Acrylic and metal based Y-branch plastic optical fiber splitter with optical NOA63 polymer waveguide taper region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehsan, Abang Annuar; Shaari, Sahbudin; Rahman, Mohd Kamil Abd.

2011-01-01

We proposed a simple low-cost acrylic and metal-based Y-branch plastic optical fiber (POF) splitter which utilizes a low cost optical polymer glue NOA63 as the main waveguiding medium at the waveguide taper region. The device is composed of three sections: an input POF waveguide, a middle waveguide taper region and output POF waveguides. A desktop high speed CNC engraver is utilized to produce the mold inserts used for the optical devices. Short POF fibers are inserted into the engraved slots at the input and output ports. UV curable optical polymer glue NOA63 is injected into the waveguide taper region and cured. The assembling is completed when the top plate is positioned to enclose the device structure and connecting screws are secured. Both POF splitters have an average insertion loss of 7.8 dB, coupling ratio of 55: 45 and 57: 43 for the acrylic and metal-based splitters respectively. The devices have excess loss of 4.82 and 4.73 dB for the acrylic and metal-based splitters respectively.

Design of cladding rods-assisted depressed-core few-mode fibers with improved modal spacing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jiawei; Zhang, Jie

2018-03-01

This paper investigates the design details of cladding rods-assisted (CRA) depressed-core (DC) few-mode fibers (FMFs) that feature more equally spaced linearly polarized (LP) modal effective indices, suitable for high-spatial-density weakly-coupled mode-division multiplexing systems. The influences of the index profile of cladding rods on LP mode-resolved effective index, bending sensitivity, and effective area Aeff, are numerically described. Based on the design considerations of LP modal Aeff-dependent spatial efficiency and LP modal bending loss-dependent robustness, the small LP21-LP02 and LP22-LP03 modal spacing limitations, encountered in state-of-the-art weakly-coupled step-index FMFs, have been substantially improved by at least 25%. In addition, the proposed CRA DC FMFs also show sufficiently large effective areas (in excess of 110 μm2) for all guided LP modes, which are expected to exhibit good nonlinear performance.

Quantum optics. All-optical routing of single photons by a one-atom switch controlled by a single photon.

PubMed

Shomroni, Itay; Rosenblum, Serge; Lovsky, Yulia; Bechler, Orel; Guendelman, Gabriel; Dayan, Barak

2014-08-22

The prospect of quantum networks, in which quantum information is carried by single photons in photonic circuits, has long been the driving force behind the effort to achieve all-optical routing of single photons. We realized a single-photon-activated switch capable of routing a photon from any of its two inputs to any of its two outputs. Our device is based on a single atom coupled to a fiber-coupled, chip-based microresonator. A single reflected control photon toggles the switch from high reflection (R ~ 65%) to high transmission (T ~ 90%), with an average of ~1.5 control photons per switching event (~3, including linear losses). No additional control fields are required. The control and target photons are both in-fiber and practically identical, making this scheme compatible with scalable architectures for quantum information processing. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Multidimensional microstructured photonic device based on all-solid waveguide array fiber and magnetic fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Yinping; Ma, Xixi; He, Yong; Zhang, Hongmin; Yang, Xiaoping; Yao, Jianquan

2017-01-01

An all-solid waveguide array fiber (WAF) is one kind of special microstructured optical fiber in which the higher-index rods are periodically distributed in a low-index silica host to form the transverse two-dimensional photonic crystal. In this paper, one kind of multidimensional microstructured optical fiber photonic device is proposed by using electric arc discharge method to fabricate periodic tapers along the fiber axis. By tuning the applied magnetic field intensity, the propagation characteristics of the all-solid WAF integrated with magnetic fluid are periodically modulated in both radial and axial directions. Experimental results show that the wavelength changes little while the transmission loss increases for an applied magnetic field intensity range from 0 to 500 Oe. The magnetic field sensitivity is 0.055 dB/Oe within the linear range from 50 to 300 Oe. Meanwhile, the all-solid WAF has very similar thermal expansion coefficient for both high- and low-refractive index glasses, and thermal drifts have a little effect on the mode profile. The results show that the temperature-induced transmission loss is <0.3 dB from 26°C to 44°C. Further tuning coherent coupling of waveguides and controlling light propagation, the all-solid WAF would be found great potential applications to develop new micro-nano photonic devices for optical communications and optical sensing applications.

A fiber-optic interferometer based on non-adiabatic fiber taper and long-period fiber grating for simultaneous measurement of magnetic field and temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Shouxin; Zhang, Hao; Liu, Bo; Lin, Wei; Zhang, Ning; Miao, Yinping

2016-01-01

A dual-parameter sensor based on a fiber-optic interferometer consisting of a non-adiabatic fiber taper and a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) integrated with magnetic nanoparticle fluids has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Due to the Mach-Zehnder interference induced by the concatenation of the fiber taper and long-period grating, an interferometric spectrum could be acquired within the transmission resonance spectral envelope of the LPFG. Thanks to different magnetic field and temperature sensitivities of difference interference dips, simultaneous measurement of the magnetic field intensity and environmental temperature could be achieved. Moreover, due to the variation in coupling coefficients of the fiber taper and the LPFG in response to the change of the applied magnetic field intensity, some of the interference dips would exhibit opposite magnetic-field-intensity-dependent transmission loss variation behavior. Magnetic field intensity and temperature sensitivities of 0.017 31 dB Oe-1 and 0.0315 dB K-1, and -0.024 55 dB Oe-1 and -0.056 28 dB K-1 were experimentally acquired for the experimentally monitored interference dips.

Comparison of fiber lasers based on distributed side-coupled cladding-pumped fibers and double-cladding fibers.

PubMed

Huang, Zhihe; Cao, Jianqiu; Guo, Shaofeng; Chen, Jinbao; Xu, Xiaojun

2014-04-01

We compare both analytically and numerically the distributed side-coupled cladding-pumped (DSCCP) fiber lasers and double cladding fiber (DCF) lasers. We show that, through optimization of the coupling and absorbing coefficients, the optical-to-optical efficiency of DSCCP fiber lasers can be made as high as that of DCF lasers. At the same time, DSCCP fiber lasers are better than the DCF lasers in terms of thermal management.

Extremely high-brightness kW-class fiber coupled diode lasers with wavelength stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Robin K.; Chann, Bien; Glenn, John D.

2011-06-01

TeraDiode has produced ultra-high brightness fiber-coupled direct diode lasers. A fiber-coupled direct diode laser with a power level of 1,040 W from a 200 μm core diameter, 0.18 numerical aperture (NA) output fiber at a single center wavelength was demonstrated. This was achieved with a novel beam combining and shaping technique using COTS diode lasers. The fiber-coupled output corresponds to a Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of 18 mm-mrad and is the lowest BPP kW-class direct diode laser yet reported. The laser has been used to demonstrate laser cutting and welding of steel sheet metal up to 6.65 mm thick. Higher brightness fiber-coupled diode lasers, including a module with 418 W of power coupled to a 100 μm, 0.15 NA fiber, have also been demonstrated.

TriPleX: a versatile dielectric photonic platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wörhoff, Kerstin; Heideman, René G.; Leinse, Arne; Hoekman, Marcel

2015-04-01

Photonic applications based on planar waveguide technology impose stringent requirements on properties such as optical propagation losses, light coupling to optical fibers, integration density, as well as on reliability and reproducibility. The latter is correlated to a high level of control of the refractive index and waveguide geometry. In this paper, we review a versatile dielectric waveguide platform, called TriPleX, which is based on alternating silicon nitride and silicon dioxide films. Fabrication with CMOS-compatible equipment based on low-pressure chemical vapor deposition enables the realization of stable material compositions being a prerequisite to the control of waveguide properties and modal shape. The transparency window of both materials allows for the realization of low-loss waveguides over a wide wavelength range (400 nm-2.35 μm). Propagation losses as low as 5×10-4 dB/cm are reported. Three basic geometries (box shell, double stripe, and filled box) can be distinguished. A specific tapering technology is developed for on-chip, low-loss (<0.1 dB) spotsize convertors, allowing for combining efficient fiber to chip coupling with high-contrast waveguides required for increased functional complexity as well as for hybrid integration with other photonic platforms such as InP and SOI. The functionality of the TriPleX platform is captured by verified basic building blocks. The corresponding library and associated design kit is available for multi-project wafer (MPW) runs. Several applications of this platform technology in communications, biomedicine, sensing, as well as a few special fields of photonics are treated in more detail.

Fiber optic connector

DOEpatents

Rajic, Slobodan; Muhs, Jeffrey D.

1996-01-01

A fiber optic connector and method for connecting composite materials within which optical fibers are imbedded. The fiber optic connector includes a capillary tube for receiving optical fibers at opposing ends. The method involves inserting a first optical fiber into the capillary tube and imbedding the unit in the end of a softened composite material. The capillary tube is injected with a coupling medium which subsequently solidifies. The composite material is machined to a desired configuration. An external optical fiber is then inserted into the capillary tube after fluidizing the coupling medium, whereby the optical fibers are coupled.

Coupled-mode propagation in multicore fibers characterized by optical low-coherence reflectometry.

PubMed

Salathé, R P; Gilgen, H; Bodmer, G

1996-07-01

A fiber-optical low-coherence ref lectometer has been used to probe a multicore fiber locally at a wavelength of 1.3 microm. This technique allows one to determine the group index of refraction of the modes in the multicore fiber with high accuracy. Light propagation that is due to noncoherent coupling of energy from one fiber core to adjacent cores through cladding modes can be distinguished quantitatively from light propagating in coherently coupled modes. Intercore coupling constants in the range of 0.6-2 mm(-1) have been evaluated for the coupled modes.

Microstructure analysis in the coupling region of fiber coupler with a novel electrical micro-heater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuai, Cijun; Gao, Chengde; Nie, Yi; Hu, Huanlong; Peng, Shuping

2011-12-01

Fused-tapered fiber coupler is widely used in optical-fiber communication, optical-fiber sensor and optical signal processing. Its optical performance is mainly determined by the glass properties in the coupling region. In this study, the effect of fused biconical taper (FBT) process on glass microstructure of fiber coupler was investigated by testing the microstructure of the cross-section of coupling region. The fiber coupler is fabricated with a novel home-designed electrical heater. Our experimental results show that the boundary between fiber core and fiber cladding become vague or indistinct after FBT under transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Ge 2+ in fiber core diffuses into fiber cladding. Crystallizations are observed in coupling region under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and microscopic infrared (IR), and the micro crystallizations become smaller with the drawing speed increasing. The wave number of fiberglass increases after FBT and it is in proportion to the drawing speed. The analysis of the microstructure in the coupling region explored the mechanism of the improvement in the performance of fiber couplers which can be used for the guidance of fabrication process.

Fiber-Coupled Cavity-QED Source of Identical Single Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snijders, H.; Frey, J. A.; Norman, J.; Post, V. P.; Gossard, A. C.; Bowers, J. E.; van Exter, M. P.; Löffler, W.; Bouwmeester, D.

2018-03-01

We present a fully fiber-coupled source of high-fidelity single photons. An (In,Ga)As semiconductor quantum dot is embedded in an optical Fabry-Perot microcavity with a robust design and rigidly attached single-mode fibers, which enables through-fiber cross-polarized resonant laser excitation and photon extraction. Even without spectral filtering, we observe that the incident coherent light pulses are transformed into a stream of single photons with high purity (97%) and indistinguishability (90%), which is measured at an in-fiber brightness of 5% with an excellent cavity-mode-to-fiber coupling efficiency of 85%. Our results pave the way for fully fiber-integrated photonic quantum networks. Furthermore, our method is equally applicable to fiber-coupled solid-state cavity-QED-based photonic quantum gates.

Coupling efficiency of laser beam to multimode fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Jinfu; Xu, Jianqiu

2007-06-01

The coupling efficiency of laser beam to multimode fiber is given by geometrical optics, and the relation between the maximum coupling efficiency and the beam propagation factor M2 is analyzed. An equivalent factor MF2 for the multimode fiber is introduced to characterize the fiber coupling capability. The coupling efficiency of laser beam to multimode fiber is calculated in respect of the ratio M2/MF2 by the overlapping integral theory. The optimal coupling efficiency can be roughly estimated by the ratio of M2 to MF2 but with a large error range. The deviation comes from the lacks of information on the detail of phase and intensity profile in the beam factor M2.

Design of 6 kw fiber-coupled system for semiconductor laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yulong; Dong, Zhiyong; Chen, Yongqi; Qi, Yunfei; Ding, Lushuang; Zhao, Pengfei; Zou, Yonggang; Xu, Li; Lin, Xuechun

2016-10-01

In this paper, we present the design of a 6 kW fiber-coupled laser diode system by using ZEMAX, and power scaling and fiber coupling techniques for high-power laser diode stacks were introduced in detail. Beams emitted from eight laser diode stacks comprised of four 960 W stacks with center wavelength of 938 nm and four 960 W stacks with center wavelength of 976 nm are combined and coupled into a standard fiber with a core diameter of 800 μm and numerical aperture of 0.22. Simulative result shows that the final power came out of the fiber could reach 6283.9 W, the fiber-coupling efficiency is 87%, and the brightness is 8.2 MW/ (cm2·sr).

Growth of single-crystal YAG fiber optics.

PubMed

Nie, Craig D; Bera, Subhabrata; Harrington, James A

2016-07-11

Single-crystal YAG (Y₃Al₅O₁₂) fibers have been grown by the laser heated pedestal growth technique with losses as low as 0.3 dB/m at 1.06 μm. These YAG fibers are as long as about 60 cm with diameters around 330 μm. The early fibers were grown from unoriented YAG seed fibers and these fibers exhibited facet steps or ridges on the surface of the fiber. However, recently we have grown fibers using an oriented seed to grow step-free fibers. Scattering losses made on the fibers indicate that the scattering losses are equal to about 30% of the total loss.

Micromanipulation studies of chromosome movement. II. Birefringent chromosomal fibers and the mechanical attachment of chromosomes to the spindle

PubMed Central

1979-01-01

The degree of mechanical coupling of chromosomes to the spindles of Nephrotoma and Trimeratropis primary spermatocytes varies with the stage of meiosis and the birefringent retardation of the chromosomal fibers. In early prometaphase, before birefringent chromosomal fibers have formed, a bivalent can be displaced toward a spindle pole by a single, continuous pull with a microneedle. Resistance to poleward displacement increases with increased development of the chromosomal fibers, reaching a maximum at metaphase. At this stage kinetochores cannot be displaced greater than 1 micrometer toward either spindle pole, even by a force which is sufficient to displace the entire spindle within the cell. The abolition of birefringence with either colcemid or vinblastine results in the loss of chromosome-spindle attachment. In the absence of birefringent fibers a chromosome can be displaced anywhere within the cell. The photochemical inactivation of colcemid by irradiation with 366-nm light results in the reformation of birefringent chromosomal fibers and the concomitant re-establishment of chromosome attachment to the spindle. These results support the hypothesis that the birefringent chromosomal fibers anchor the chromosomes to the spindle and transmit the force for anaphase chromosome movement. PMID:479316

Low-loss, submicron chalcogenide integrated photonics with chlorine plasma etching

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chiles, Jeff; Malinowski, Marcin; Rao, Ashutosh

A chlorine plasma etching-based method for the fabrication of high-performance chalcogenide-based integrated photonics on silicon substrates is presented. By optimizing the etching conditions, chlorine plasma is employed to produce extremely low-roughness etched sidewalls on waveguides with minimal penalty to propagation loss. Using this fabrication method, microring resonators with record-high intrinsic Q-factors as high as 450 000 and a corresponding propagation loss as low as 0.42 dB/cm are demonstrated in submicron chalcogenide waveguides. Furthermore, the developed chlorine plasma etching process is utilized to demonstrate fiber-to-waveguide grating couplers in chalcogenide photonics with high power coupling efficiency of 37% for transverse-electric polarized modes.

INTEGRATED AND FIBER OPTICS: Unidirectional coupling of radiation out of a composite dielectric waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avrutskiĭ, I. A.; Sychugov, V. A.; Tishchenko, A. V.; Svakhin, A. S.

1989-02-01

An analysis is made of the emission of light from a composite system representing a thin film on the surface of a corrugated diffused waveguide. Expressions are obtained for the radiative light losses in this waveguide. There is no emission of light into the substrate for certain relationships between the amplitudes and phases of the corrugations at the interfaces between the film and the adjoining medium and between the film and the waveguide. Numerical estimates of the losses are obtained for a case of practical importance, which is a corrugated diffused waveguide in glass with a film of Nb2O5 on the surface. A report is given of an experiment in which a grating was formed for coupling radiation out of a composite Cs+-diffused waveguide coated by a film of Nb2O5, which was capable of preferential (80%) emission of radiation into air, and in the presence of an immersion liquid ensured practically unidirectional coupling out of radiation into air.

Fiber optic connector

DOEpatents

Rajic, S.; Muhs, J.D.

1996-10-22

A fiber optic connector and method for connecting composite materials within which optical fibers are imbedded are disclosed. The fiber optic connector includes a capillary tube for receiving optical fibers at opposing ends. The method involves inserting a first optical fiber into the capillary tube and imbedding the unit in the end of a softened composite material. The capillary tube is injected with a coupling medium which subsequently solidifies. The composite material is machined to a desired configuration. An external optical fiber is then inserted into the capillary tube after fluidizing the coupling medium, whereby the optical fibers are coupled. 3 figs.

Lens ion homeostasis relies on the assembly and/or stability of large connexin 46 gap junction plaques on the broad sides of differentiating fiber cells

PubMed Central

Cheng, Catherine; Nowak, Roberta B.; Gao, Junyuan; Sun, Xiurong; Biswas, Sondip K.; Lo, Woo-Kuen; Mathias, Richard T.

2015-01-01

The eye lens consists of layers of tightly packed fiber cells, forming a transparent and avascular organ that is important for focusing light onto the retina. A microcirculation system, facilitated by a network of gap junction channels composed of connexins 46 and 50 (Cx46 and Cx50), is hypothesized to maintain and nourish lens fiber cells. We measured lens impedance in mice lacking tropomodulin 1 (Tmod1, an actin pointed-end capping protein), CP49 (a lens-specific intermediate filament protein), or both Tmod1 and CP49. We were surprised to find that simultaneous loss of Tmod1 and CP49, which disrupts cytoskeletal networks in lens fiber cells, results in increased gap junction coupling resistance, hydrostatic pressure, and sodium concentration. Protein levels of Cx46 and Cx50 in Tmod1−/−;CP49−/− double-knockout (DKO) lenses were unchanged, and electron microscopy revealed normal gap junctions. However, immunostaining and quantitative analysis of three-dimensional confocal images showed that Cx46 gap junction plaques are smaller and more dispersed in DKO differentiating fiber cells. The localization and sizes of Cx50 gap junction plaques in DKO fibers were unaffected, suggesting that Cx46 and Cx50 form homomeric channels. We also demonstrate that gap junction plaques rest in lacunae of the membrane-associated actin-spectrin network, suggesting that disruption of the actin-spectrin network in DKO fibers may interfere with gap junction plaque accretion into micrometer-sized domains or alter the stability of large plaques. This is the first work to reveal that normal gap junction plaque localization and size are associated with normal lens coupling conductance. PMID:25740157

Lens ion homeostasis relies on the assembly and/or stability of large connexin 46 gap junction plaques on the broad sides of differentiating fiber cells.

PubMed

Cheng, Catherine; Nowak, Roberta B; Gao, Junyuan; Sun, Xiurong; Biswas, Sondip K; Lo, Woo-Kuen; Mathias, Richard T; Fowler, Velia M

2015-05-15

The eye lens consists of layers of tightly packed fiber cells, forming a transparent and avascular organ that is important for focusing light onto the retina. A microcirculation system, facilitated by a network of gap junction channels composed of connexins 46 and 50 (Cx46 and Cx50), is hypothesized to maintain and nourish lens fiber cells. We measured lens impedance in mice lacking tropomodulin 1 (Tmod1, an actin pointed-end capping protein), CP49 (a lens-specific intermediate filament protein), or both Tmod1 and CP49. We were surprised to find that simultaneous loss of Tmod1 and CP49, which disrupts cytoskeletal networks in lens fiber cells, results in increased gap junction coupling resistance, hydrostatic pressure, and sodium concentration. Protein levels of Cx46 and Cx50 in Tmod1(-/-);CP49(-/-) double-knockout (DKO) lenses were unchanged, and electron microscopy revealed normal gap junctions. However, immunostaining and quantitative analysis of three-dimensional confocal images showed that Cx46 gap junction plaques are smaller and more dispersed in DKO differentiating fiber cells. The localization and sizes of Cx50 gap junction plaques in DKO fibers were unaffected, suggesting that Cx46 and Cx50 form homomeric channels. We also demonstrate that gap junction plaques rest in lacunae of the membrane-associated actin-spectrin network, suggesting that disruption of the actin-spectrin network in DKO fibers may interfere with gap junction plaque accretion into micrometer-sized domains or alter the stability of large plaques. This is the first work to reveal that normal gap junction plaque localization and size are associated with normal lens coupling conductance. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Mode coupling in 340 μm GeO2 doped core-silica clad optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djordjevich, Alexandar; Savović, Svetislav

2017-03-01

The state of mode coupling in 340 μm GeO2 doped core-silica clad optical fibers is investigated in this article using the power flow equation. The coupling coefficient in this equation was first tuned such that the equation could correctly reconstruct previously reported measured output power distributions. It was found that the GeO2 doped core-silica clad optical fiber showed stronger mode coupling than both, glass and popular plastic optical fibers. Consequently, the equilibrium as well as steady state mode distributions were achieved at shorter fiber lengths in GeO2 doped core-silica clad optical fibers.

Custom ceramic microchannel-cooled array for high-power fiber-coupled application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junghans, Jeremy; Feeler, Ryan; Stephens, Ed

2018-03-01

A low-SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) diode array has been developed for a high-power fiber-coupled application. High efficiency ( 65%) diodes enable high optical powers while minimizing thermal losses. A large amount of waste heat is still generated and must be extracted. Custom ceramic microchannel-coolers (MCCs) are used to dissipate the waste heat. The custom ceramic MCC was designed to accommodate long cavity length diodes and micro-lenses. The coolers provide similar thermal performance as copper MCCs however they are not susceptible to erosion and can be cooled with standard filtered water. The custom ceramic micro-channel cooled array was designed to be a form/fit replacement for an existing copperbased solution. Each array consisted of three-vertically stacked MCCs with 4 mm CL, 976 nm diodes and beamshaping micro-optics. The erosion and corrosion resistance of ceramic array is intended to mitigate the risk of copperbased MCC corrosion failures. Elimination of the water delivery requirements (pH, resistivity and dissolved oxygen control) further reduces the system SWaP while maintaining reliability. The arrays were fabricated and fully characterized. This work discusses the advantages of the ceramic MCC technology and describes the design parameters that were tailored for the fiber-coupled application. Additional configuration options (form/fit, micro-lensing, alternate coolants, etc.) and on-going design improvements are also discussed.

Effects of 780 nm Optical Illumination on Loss in Superconducting Microwave Resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budoyo, R. P.; Hertzberg, J. B.; Ballard, C. J.; Voigt, K. D.; Hoffman, J. E.; Grover, J. A.; Solano, P.; Lee, J.; Rolston, S. L.; Orozco, L. A.; Anderson, J. R.; Lobb, C. J.; Wellstood, F. C.

2015-03-01

Understanding the effects of light incident on a superconducting circuit is an important step toward building a hybrid quantum system where a superconducting qubit or resonator is coupled to atoms trapped on a tapered optical fiber. We fabricated a microscale thin-film Al superconducting LC resonator (frequency 6.72 GHz) on sapphire substrate and mounted it inside an Al 3d cavity (TE101 mode frequency 7.50 GHz). Using an optical fiber, we illuminated the resonator with 780 nm light, and measured the change in internal quality factor and resonant frequency of the resonator as a function of applied optical power. The results suggest that the illumination causes an increase in rf drive-dependent dissipation. While optical illumination is expected to enhance dissipation due to quasiparticles, rf drive dependence is more typically seen in two-level-system dissipation. We compare the results with the change in loss from increased resonator temperature, and discuss various mechanisms of loss from optical illumination. Work supported by NSF through the Physics Frontier Center at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), and by the Center of Nanophysics and Advanced Materials (CNAM).

Fiber optic laser rod

DOEpatents

Erickson, G.F.

1988-04-13

A laser rod is formed from a plurality of optical fibers, each forming an individual laser. Synchronization of the individual fiber lasers is obtained by evanescent wave coupling between adjacent optical fiber cores. The fiber cores are dye-doped and spaced at a distance appropriate for evanescent wave coupling at the wavelength of the selected dye. An interstitial material having an index of refraction lower than that of the fiber core provides the optical isolation for effective lasing action while maintaining the cores at the appropriate coupling distance. 2 figs.

Research and investigation of a communication chain on optical fiber with a Fabry-Perot power diode for the automotive industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacis, Irina Bristena; Vasile, Alexandru; Ionescu, Ciprian; Marghescu, Cristina

2016-12-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyze different power devices - emitters of optical flow, from the point of view of optical coupling, emitted optical powers, optical fiber losses and receiver. The research and characterization of the transmission through a power optical system is done using a computer system specialized for the automotive industry. This system/platform can deliver current pulses that are controlled by a computer through a software (it is possible to set different parameters such as pulse repetition frequency, duty cycle, and current intensity). For the experiments a power Fabry Perot 1035 laser diode operating in pulse with μφ 1055 nm, Ith = 40 mA, and Iop =750 mA was used with a single-mode SFM 128 optical fiber and an EM type optical coupler connected through alignment. Two types of measurements were conducted to demonstrate the usefulness of the experimental structure. In the first case the amplitude of the voltage pulses was measured at the output of an optical detector with receiving diode in a built-in amplifier with a 50 kΩ load resistance. In the second stage measurements were conducted to determine the optical power injected in the optical fiber and received at the reception cell of a power meter. Another parameter of optical coupling that can be measured using the experimental structure is irradiation. This parameter is very important to determine the optimum cutting angle of the fiber for continuity welding.

Estimation of coupling efficiency of optical fiber by far-field method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kataoka, Keiji

2010-09-01

Coupling efficiency to a single-mode optical fiber can be estimated with the field amplitudes at far-field of an incident beam and optical fiber mode. We call it the calculation by far-field method (FFM) in this paper. The coupling efficiency by FFM is formulated including effects of optical aberrations, vignetting of the incident beam, and misalignments of the optical fiber such as defocus, lateral displacements, and angle deviation in arrangement of the fiber. As the results, it is shown the coupling efficiency is proportional to the central intensity of the focused spot, i.e., Strehl intensity of a virtual beam determined by the incident beam and mode of the optical fiber. Using the FFM, a typical optics in which a laser beam is coupled to an optical fiber with a lens of finite numerical aperture (NA) is analyzed for several cases of amplitude distributions of the incident light.

Hybrid optical fiber add-drop filter based on wavelength dependent light coupling between micro/nano fiber ring and side-polished fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jianhui; Jin, Shaoshen; Wei, Qingsong; Zang, Zhigang; Lu, Huihui; He, Xiaoli; Luo, Yunhan; Tang, Jieyuan; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Zhe

2015-01-01

In this paper, we report our experimental study on directly coupling a micro/nano fiber (MNOF) ring with a side-polished fiber(SPF). As a result of the study, the behavior of an add-drop filter was observed. The demonstrated add-drop filter explored the wavelength dependence of light coupling between a MNOF ring and a SPF. The characteristics of the filter and its performance dependence on the MNOF ring diameter were investigated experimentally. The investigation resulted in an empirically obtained ring diameter that showed relatively good filter performance. Since light coupling between a (MNOF) and a conventional single mode fiber has remained a challenge in the photonic integration community, the present study may provide an alternative way to couple light between a MNOF device and a conventional single mode fiber based device or system. The hybridization approach that uses a SPF as a platform to integrate a MNOF device may enable the realization of other all-fiber optical hybrid devices.

Hybrid optical fiber add-drop filter based on wavelength dependent light coupling between micro/nano fiber ring and side-polished fiber.

PubMed

Yu, Jianhui; Jin, Shaoshen; Wei, Qingsong; Zang, Zhigang; Lu, Huihui; He, Xiaoli; Luo, Yunhan; Tang, Jieyuan; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Zhe

2015-01-12

In this paper, we report our experimental study on directly coupling a micro/nano fiber (MNOF) ring with a side-polished fiber(SPF). As a result of the study, the behavior of an add-drop filter was observed. The demonstrated add-drop filter explored the wavelength dependence of light coupling between a MNOF ring and a SPF. The characteristics of the filter and its performance dependence on the MNOF ring diameter were investigated experimentally. The investigation resulted in an empirically obtained ring diameter that showed relatively good filter performance. Since light coupling between a (MNOF) and a conventional single mode fiber has remained a challenge in the photonic integration community, the present study may provide an alternative way to couple light between a MNOF device and a conventional single mode fiber based device or system. The hybridization approach that uses a SPF as a platform to integrate a MNOF device may enable the realization of other all-fiber optical hybrid devices.

Group delay spread analysis of coupled-multicore fibers: A comparison between weak and tight bending conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujisawa, Takeshi; Saitoh, Kunimasa

2017-06-01

Group delay spread of coupled three-core fiber is investigated based on coupled-wave theory. The differences between supermode and discrete core mode models are thoroughly investigated to reveal applicability of both models for specific fiber bending condition. A macrobending with random twisting is taken into account for random modal mixing in the fiber. It is found that for weakly bent condition, both supermode and discrete core mode models are applicable. On the other hand, for strongly bent condition, the discrete core mode model should be used to account for increased differential modal group delay for the fiber without twisting and short correlation length, which were experimentally observed recently. Results presented in this paper indicate the discrete core mode model is superior to the supermode model for the analysis of coupled-multicore fibers for various bent condition. Also, for estimating GDS of coupled-multicore fiber, it is critically important to take into account the fiber bending condition.

Practical Aspects of Access Network Indoor Extensions Using Multimode Glass and Plastic Optical Fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keiser, Gerd; Liu, Hao-Yu; Lu, Shao-Hsi; Devi Pukhrambam, Puspa

2012-07-01

Low-cost multimode glass and plastic optical fibers are attractive for high-capacity indoor telecom networks. Many existing buildings already have glass multimode fibers installed for local area network applications. Future indoor applications will use combinations of glass multimode fibers with plastic optical fibers that have low losses in the 850-nm-1,310-nm range. This article examines real-world link losses when randomly interconnecting glass and plastic fiber segments having factory-installed connectors. Potential interconnection issues include large variations in connector losses among randomly selected fiber segments, asymmetric link losses in bidirectional links, and variations in bandwidths among different types of fibers.

Large-aperture, tapered fiber-coupled, 10-kHz particle-image velocimetry.

PubMed

Hsu, Paul S; Roy, Sukesh; Jiang, Naibo; Gord, James R

2013-02-11

We demonstrate the design and implementation of a fiber-optic beam-delivery system using a large-aperture, tapered step-index fiber for high-speed particle-image velocimetry (PIV) in turbulent combustion flows. The tapered fiber in conjunction with a diffractive-optical-element (DOE) fiber-optic coupler significantly increases the damage threshold of the fiber, enabling fiber-optic beam delivery of sufficient nanosecond, 532-nm, laser pulse energy for high-speed PIV measurements. The fiber successfully transmits 1-kHz and 10-kHz laser pulses with energies of 5.3 mJ and 2 mJ, respectively, for more than 25 min without any indication of damage. It is experimentally demonstrated that the tapered fiber possesses the high coupling efficiency (~80%) and moderate beam quality for PIV. Additionally, the nearly uniform output-beam profile exiting the fiber is ideal for PIV applications. Comparative PIV measurements are made using a conventionally (bulk-optic) delivered light sheet, and a similar order of measurement accuracy is obtained with and without fiber coupling. Effective use of fiber-coupled, 10-kHz PIV is demonstrated for instantaneous 2D velocity-field measurements in turbulent reacting flows. Proof-of-concept measurements show significant promise for the performance of fiber-coupled, high-speed PIV using a tapered optical fiber in harsh laser-diagnostic environments such as those encountered in gas-turbine test beds and the cylinder of a combustion engine.

4 channel × 10 Gb/s bidirectional optical subassembly using silicon optical bench with precise passive optical alignment.

PubMed

Kang, Eun Kyu; Lee, Yong Woo; Ravindran, Sooraj; Lee, Jun Ki; Choi, Hee Ju; Ju, Gun Wu; Min, Jung Wook; Song, Young Min; Sohn, Ik-Bu; Lee, Yong Tak

2016-05-16

We demonstrate an advanced structure for optical interconnect consisting of 4 channel × 10 Gb/s bidirectional optical subassembly (BOSA) formed using silicon optical bench (SiOB) with tapered fiber guiding holes (TFGHs) for precise and passive optical alignment of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-to-multi mode fiber (MMF) and MMF-to-photodiode (PD). The co-planar waveguide (CPW) transmission line (Tline) was formed on the backside of silicon substrate to reduce the insertion loss of electrical data signal. The 4 channel VCSEL and PD array are attached at the end of CPW Tline using a flip-chip bonder and solder pad. The 12-channel ribbon fiber is simply inserted into the TFGHs of SiOB and is passively aligned to the VCSEL and PD in which no additional coupling optics are required. The fabricated BOSA shows high coupling efficiency and good performance with the clearly open eye patterns and a very low bit error rate of less than 10^-12 order at a data rate of 10 Gb/s with a PRBS pattern of 2³¹-1.

Fiber optic temperature sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sawatari, Takeo (Inventor); Gaubis, Philip A. (Inventor)

2000-01-01

A fiber optic temperature sensor uses a light source which transmits light through an optical fiber to a sensor head at the opposite end of the optical fiber from the light source. The sensor head has a housing coupled to the end of the optical fiber. A metallic reflective surface is coupled to the housing adjacent the end of the optical fiber to form a gap having a predetermined length between the reflective surface and the optical fiber. A detection system is also coupled to the optical fiber which determines the temperature at the sensor head from an interference pattern of light which is reflected from the reflective surface.

Fiber optic temperature sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sawatari, Takeo (Inventor); Gaubis, Philip A. (Inventor); Mattes, Brenton L. (Inventor); Charnetski, Clark J. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

A fiber optic temperature sensor uses a light source which transmits light through an optical fiber to a sensor head at the opposite end of the optical fiber from the light source. The sensor head has a housing coupled to the end of the optical fiber. A metallic reflective surface is coupled to the housing adjacent the end of the optical fiber to form a gap having a predetermined length between the reflective surface and the optical fiber. A detection system is also coupled to the optical fiber which determines the temperature at the sensor head from an interference pattern of light which is reflected from the reflective surface.

Optical-fiber-to-waveguide coupling using carbon-dioxide-laser-induced long-period fiber gratings.

PubMed

Bachim, Brent L; Ogunsola, Oluwafemi O; Gaylord, Thomas K

2005-08-15

Optical fibers are expected to play a role in chip-level and board-level optical interconnects because of limitations on the bandwidth and level of integration of electrical interconnects. Therefore, methods are needed to couple optical fibers directly to waveguides on chips and on boards. We demonstrate optical-fiber-to-waveguide coupling using carbon-dioxide laser-induced long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs). Such gratings can be written in standard fiber and offer wavelength multiplexing-demultiplexing performance. The coupler fabrication process and the characterization apparatus are presented. The operation and the wavelength response of a LPFG-based optical-fiber-to-waveguide directional coupler are demonstrated.

Laser printed glass planar lightwave circuits with integrated fiber alignment structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desmet, A.; Radosavljevic, A.; Missinne, J.; Van Thourhout, D.; Van Steenberge, G.

2018-02-01

Femtosecond laser inscription allows straightforward manufacturing of glass planar lightwave circuits such as waveguides, interferometers, directional couplers, resonators and more complex structures. Fiber alignment structures are needed to facilitate communication with the glass planar lightwave circuit. In this study, a technique is described to create optical waveguides and alignment structures in the same laser exposure step. Using an industrial ytterbium-doped 1030 nm fiber laser pulses of 400 fs were focused into glass with a 0.4 NA objective causing permanent alteration of the material. Depending on laser parameters this modification allows direct writing of waveguides or the creation of channels after exposing the irradiated volumes to an etchant such as KOH. Writing of channels and waveguides with different laser powers, frequencies, polarisations, stage translation speeds and scan densities were investigated in fused silica and borosilicate glass. Waveguides with controlled dimensions were created, as well as etched U-grooves with a diameter of 126 μm and a sidewall roughness Ra of 255 nm. Cut back measurements were performed giving a waveguide propagation loss of 1.1 dB/cm in borosilicate glass. A coupling loss of 0.7 dB was measured for a transition between the waveguide and standard single mode fiber at 1550 nm, using index matching liquid. The described technique eliminates active alignment requirements and is useful for many applications such as microfluidic sensing, PLCs, fan-out connectors for multicore fibers and quantum optical networks.

Scalable boson sampling with time-bin encoding using a loop-based architecture.

PubMed

Motes, Keith R; Gilchrist, Alexei; Dowling, Jonathan P; Rohde, Peter P

2014-09-19

We present an architecture for arbitrarily scalable boson sampling using two nested fiber loops. The architecture has fixed experimental complexity, irrespective of the size of the desired interferometer, whose scale is limited only by fiber and switch loss rates. The architecture employs time-bin encoding, whereby the incident photons form a pulse train, which enters the loops. Dynamically controlled loop coupling ratios allow the construction of the arbitrary linear optics interferometers required for boson sampling. The architecture employs only a single point of interference and may thus be easier to stabilize than other approaches. The scheme has polynomial complexity and could be realized using demonstrated present-day technologies.

Fiber-based three-dimensional multi-mode interference device as efficient power divider and vector curvature sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ziyang; Fiebrandt, Julia; Haynes, Dionne; Sun, Kai; Madhav, Kalaga; Stoll, Andreas; Makan, Kirill; Makan, Vadim; Roth, Martin

2018-03-01

Three-dimensional multi-mode interference devices are demonstrated using a single-mode fiber (SMF) center-spliced to a section of polygon-shaped core multimode fiber (MMF). This simple structure can effectively generate well-localized self-focusing spots that match to the layout of a chosen multi-core fiber (MCF) as a launcher device. An optimized hexagon-core MMF can provide efficient coupling from a SMF to a 7-core MCF with an insertion loss of 0.6 dB and a power imbalance of 0.5 dB, while a square-core MMF can form a self-imaging pattern with symmetrically distributed 2 × 2, 3 × 3 or 4 × 4 spots. These spots can be directly received by a two-dimensional detector array. The device can work as a vector curvature sensor by comparing the relative power among the spots with a resolution of ∼0.1° over a 1.8 mm-long MMF.

Bend measurement using an etched fiber incorporating a fiber Bragg grating.

PubMed

Rauf, Abdul; Zhao, Jianlin; Jiang, Biqiang; Jiang, Yajun; Jiang, Wei

2013-01-15

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based bend measurement method using an etched fiber is proposed that utilizes the coupling of the core mode to the cladding and radiation modes at the bending region. An etching region of 99 µm diameter that serves as bend sensing head is achieved at 10 mm upstream the FBG through processing in 40% hydrofluoric acid, while the FBG acts as a narrowband reflector to enhance the sensitivity. The power variation curves are obtained for a wide range of bend angles, but the performance is limited due to the presence of the loss peaks. The sensing response is improved by immersing the etching region in a refractive index matching gel. The results are analyzed by using curve fitting formulas and are in good agreement. A large dynamic range of -27° to +27° and sensitivity of 0.43 dBm/deg is achieved, which can be enhanced by reducing the etched diameter.

Design and fabrication of elliptical-core few-mode fiber for MIMO-less data transmission.

PubMed

Liang, Junpeng; Mo, Qi; Fu, Songnian; Tang, Ming; Shum, P; Liu, Deming

2016-07-01

We propose a design strategy of elliptical core few-mode fiber (e-FMF) that supports three spatial modes with enhanced mode spacing between LP_11a and LP_11b, to suppress intra-mode coupling during mode-division multiplexing (MDM) transmission. Our theoretical investigations show that there exist two optimization regimes for the e-FMF, as a comparison with traditional circular core FMF(c-FMF). At the regime of three-mode operation, there occurs a trade-off between mode spacing and bending-induced loss. Meanwhile, in terms of five-mode regime, a trade-off between mode spacing and high-order mode crosstalk happens. Finally, we fabricate 7.94 km e-FMF with the optimal parameters, based on the commercial fiber manufacture facility. The primary characterizations at 1550 nm show that three spatial modes of e-FMF can be transmitted with a loss less than 0.3 dB/km. Meanwhile, -22.44  dB crosstalk between LP_11a and LP_11b is observed, even when the 2 km e-FMF is under stress-induced strong perturbation.

Free-space to few-mode-fiber coupling under atmospheric turbulence.

PubMed

Zheng, Donghao; Li, Yan; Chen, Erhu; Li, Beibei; Kong, Deming; Li, Wei; Wu, Jian

2016-08-08

High speed free space optical communication (FSOC) has taken advantages of components developed for fiber-optic communication systems. Recently, with the rapid development of few-mode-fiber based fiber communication systems, few-mode-fiber components might further promote their applications in FSOC system. The coupling efficiency between free space optical beam and few-mode fibers under atmospheric turbulence effect are investigated in this paper. Both simulation and experimental results show that, compared with single-mode fiber, the coupling efficiencies for a 2-mode fiber and a 4-mode fiber are improved by ~4 dB and ~7 dB respectively in the presence of medium moderate and strong turbulence. Compared with single-mode fiber, the relative standard deviation of received power is restrained by 51% and 66% respectively with a 4-mode and 2-mode fiber.

Comparison of lens- and fiber-coupled CCD detectors for X-ray computed tomography

PubMed Central

Uesugi, K.; Hoshino, M.; Yagi, N.

2011-01-01

X-ray imaging detectors with an identical phosphor and a CCD chip but employing lens- and fiber-coupling between them have been compared. These are designed for X-ray imaging experiments, especially computed tomography, at the medium-length beamline at the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility. It was found that the transmittance of light to the CCD is about four times higher in the fiber-coupled detector. The uniformity of response in the lens-coupled detector has a global shading of up to 40%, while pixel-to-pixel variation owing to a chicken-wire pattern was dominant in the fiber-coupled detector. Apart from the higher transmittance, the fiber-coupled detector has a few characteristics that require attention when it is used for computed tomography, which are browning of the fiber, discontinuity in the image, image distortion, and dark spots in the chicken-wire pattern. Thus, it is most suitable for high-speed tomography of samples that tend to deform, for example biological and soft materials. PMID:21335908

Hybrid optical fiber add-drop filter based on wavelength dependent light coupling between micro/nano fiber ring and side-polished fiber

PubMed Central

Yu, Jianhui; Jin, Shaoshen; Wei, Qingsong; Zang, Zhigang; Lu, Huihui; He, Xiaoli; Luo, Yunhan; Tang, Jieyuan; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Zhe

2015-01-01

In this paper, we report our experimental study on directly coupling a micro/nano fiber (MNOF) ring with a side-polished fiber(SPF). As a result of the study, the behavior of an add-drop filter was observed. The demonstrated add-drop filter explored the wavelength dependence of light coupling between a MNOF ring and a SPF. The characteristics of the filter and its performance dependence on the MNOF ring diameter were investigated experimentally. The investigation resulted in an empirically obtained ring diameter that showed relatively good filter performance. Since light coupling between a (MNOF) and a conventional single mode fiber has remained a challenge in the photonic integration community, the present study may provide an alternative way to couple light between a MNOF device and a conventional single mode fiber based device or system. The hybridization approach that uses a SPF as a platform to integrate a MNOF device may enable the realization of other all-fiber optical hybrid devices. PMID:25578467

Fiber-Coupled Acousto-Optical-Filter Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levin, Kenneth H.; Li, Frank Yanan

1993-01-01

Fiber-coupled acousto-optical-filter spectrometer steps rapidly through commanded sequence of wavelengths. Sample cell located remotely from monochromator and associated electronic circuitry, connected to them with optical fibers. Optical-fiber coupling makes possible to monitor samples in remote, hazardous, or confined locations. Advantages include compactness, speed, and no moving parts. Potential applications include control of chemical processes, medical diagnoses, spectral imaging, and sampling of atmospheres.

Optical microscope and tapered fiber coupling apparatus for a dilution refrigerator.

PubMed

MacDonald, A J R; Popowich, G G; Hauer, B D; Kim, P H; Fredrick, A; Rojas, X; Doolin, P; Davis, J P

2015-01-01

We have developed a system for tapered fiber measurements of optomechanical resonators inside a dilution refrigerator, which is compatible with both on- and off-chip devices. Our apparatus features full three-dimensional control of the taper-resonator coupling conditions enabling critical coupling, with an overall fiber transmission efficiency of up to 70%. Notably, our design incorporates an optical microscope system consisting of a coherent bundle of 37,000 optical fibers for real-time imaging of the experiment at a resolution of ∼1 μm. We present cryogenic optical and optomechanical measurements of resonators coupled to tapered fibers at temperatures as low as 9 mK.

All-fiber bandpass filter based on asymmetrical modes exciting and coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qiang; Zhu, Tao; Shi, Leilei; Liu, Min

2013-01-01

A low cost all-fiber bandpass filter is demonstrated by fabricating an asymmetric long-period fiber grating (LPFG) in an off-set splicing fiber structure of two single mode fibers in this paper. The main principle of the filter is that the asymmetric LPFG written by single-side CO2 laser irradiation is used to couple the asymmetric cladding modes excited by the offset-coupling of the splicing point between the single mode fiber and the grating, and the left core mode of the splicing point cannot be coupled to the right fiber core, hence the interference effect is avoided. So the bandpass characteristics in the transmission spectrum are achieved. The designed filter exhibits a pass band at a central wavelength of 1565.0 nm with a full-width at half-maximum bandwidth of 12.3 nm.

Efficient fiber-coupled single-photon source based on quantum dots in a photonic-crystal waveguide

PubMed Central

DAVEAU, RAPHAËL S.; BALRAM, KRISHNA C.; PREGNOLATO, TOMMASO; LIU, JIN; LEE, EUN H.; SONG, JIN D.; VERMA, VARUN; MIRIN, RICHARD; NAM, SAE WOO; MIDOLO, LEONARDO; STOBBE, SØREN; SRINIVASAN, KARTIK; LODAHL, PETER

2017-01-01

Many photonic quantum information processing applications would benefit from a high brightness, fiber-coupled source of triggered single photons. Here, we present a fiber-coupled photonic-crystal waveguide single-photon source relying on evanescent coupling of the light field from a tapered out-coupler to an optical fiber. A two-step approach is taken where the performance of the tapered out-coupler is recorded first on an independent device containing an on-chip reflector. Reflection measurements establish that the chip-to-fiber coupling efficiency exceeds 80 %. The detailed characterization of a high-efficiency photonic-crystal waveguide extended with a tapered out-coupling section is then performed. The corresponding overall single-photon source efficiency is 10.9 % ± 2.3 %, which quantifies the success probability to prepare an exciton in the quantum dot, couple it out as a photon in the waveguide, and subsequently transfer it to the fiber. The applied out-coupling method is robust, stable over time, and broadband over several tens of nanometers, which makes it a highly promising pathway to increase the efficiency and reliability of planar chip-based single-photon sources. PMID:28584859

Low loss fusion splicing polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber and conventional polarization-maintaining fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuoming, Sun; Ningfang, Song; Jing, Jin; Jingming, Song; Pan, Ma

2012-12-01

An efficient and simple method of fusion splicing of a Polarization-Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fiber (PM-PCF) and a conventional Polarization-Maintaining Fiber (PMF) with a low loss of 0.65 dB in experiment is reported. The minimum bending diameter of the joint can reach 2 cm. Theoretical calculation of the splicing loss based on mode field diameters (MFDs) mismatch of the two kinds of fibers is given. All parameters affected the splicing loss were studied.

Packaged silica microsphere-taper coupling system for robust thermal sensing application.

PubMed

Yan, Ying-Zhan; Zou, Chang-Ling; Yan, Shu-Bin; Sun, Fang-Wen; Ji, Zhe; Liu, Jun; Zhang, Yu-Guang; Wang, Li; Xue, Chen-Yang; Zhang, Wen-Dong; Han, Zheng-Fu; Xiong, Ji-Jun

2011-03-28

We propose and realize a novel packaged microsphere-taper coupling structure (PMTCS) with a high quality factor (Q) up to 5×10(6) by using the low refractive index (RI) ultraviolet (UV) glue as the coating material. The optical loss of the PMTCS is analyzed experimentally and theoretically, which indicate that the Q is limited by the glue absorption and the radiation loss. Moreover, to verify the practicability of the PMTCS, thermal sensing experiments are carried out, showing the excellent convenience and anti-jamming ability of the PMTCS with a high temperature resolution of 1.1×10(-3) ◦C. The experiments also demonstrate that the PMTCS holds predominant advantages, such as the robustness, mobility, isolation, and the PMTCS can maintain the high Q for a long time. The above advantages make the PMTCS strikingly attractive and potential in the fiber-integrated sensors and laser.

Coupled resonator optical waveguide sensors: sensitivity and the role of slow light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terrel, Matthew A.; Digonnet, Michel J. F.; Fan, Shanhui

2009-05-01

We compare the sensitivity of two configurations of coupled resonator optical waveguide (CROW) gyroscopes proposed by others to conventional optical gyroscopes. In both cases, we demonstrate that for equal device footprint and loss, neither of these CROW gyroscopes configurations is more sensitive than its conventional counterpart. In all cases, loss ultimately limits the maximum rotation sensitivity. The fact that light travels more slowly (i.e., with a greater group delay) in a CROW than in a fiber therefore has no effect on sensitivity. The only benefit slow light does have is that it reduces the device length requirement, or equivalently it increases the sensitivity per unit length. However, we show that this improvement is quantitatively the same as in an RFOG. These conclusions are not limited to these two CROW configurations or to rotation sensing, but applicable to any measurand that modifies the phase of the signal(s) traveling in the resonators.

Zero-lag synchronization and bubbling in delay-coupled lasers.

PubMed

Tiana-Alsina, J; Hicke, K; Porte, X; Soriano, M C; Torrent, M C; Garcia-Ojalvo, J; Fischer, I

2012-02-01

We show experimentally that two semiconductor lasers mutually coupled via a passive relay fiber loop exhibit chaos synchronization at zero lag, and study how this synchronized regime is lost as the lasers' pump currents are increased. We characterize the synchronization properties of the system with high temporal resolution in two different chaotic regimes, namely, low-frequency fluctuations and coherence collapse, identifying significant differences between them. In particular, a marked decrease in synchronization quality develops as the lasers enter the coherence collapse regime. Our high-resolution measurements allow us to establish that synchronization loss is associated with bubbling events, the frequency of which increases with increasing pump current.

Scalable Engineering of Quantum Optical Information Processing Architectures (SEQUOIA)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-13

arrays. Figure 4: An 8-channel fiber-coupled SNSPD array. 1.4 Post -fabrication-tunable linear optic fabrication We have analyzed the...performance of the programmable nanophotonic processor (PNP) that is dynamically tunable via post -fabrication active phase tuning to predict the scaling of...various device losses. PACS numbers: 42.50. Ex , 03.67.Dd, 03.67.Lx, 42.50.Dv I. INTRODUCTION Quantum key distribution (QKD) enables two distant authenticated

Coupling system to a microsphere cavity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iltchenko, Vladimir (Inventor); Maleki, Lute (Inventor); Yao, Steve (Inventor); Wu, Chi (Inventor)

2002-01-01

A system of coupling optical energy in a waveguide mode, into a resonator that operates in a whispering gallery mode. A first part of the operation uses a fiber in its waveguide mode to couple information into a resonator e.g. a microsphere. The fiber is cleaved at an angle .PHI. which causes total internal reflection within the fiber. The energy in the fiber then forms an evanescent field and a microsphere is placed in the area of the evanescent field. If the microsphere resonance is resonant with energy in the fiber, then the information in the fiber is effectively transferred to the microsphere.

Design of elliptical-core mode-selective photonic lanterns with six modes for MIMO-free mode division multiplexing systems.

PubMed

Sai, Xiaowei; Li, Yan; Yang, Chen; Li, Wei; Qiu, Jifang; Hong, Xiaobin; Zuo, Yong; Guo, Hongxiang; Tong, Weijun; Wu, Jian

2017-11-01

Elliptical-core few mode fiber (EC-FMF) is used in a mode division multiplexing (MDM) transmission system to release multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) digital-signal-processing, which reduces the cost and the complexity of the receiver. However, EC-FMF does not match with conventional multiplexers/de-multiplexers (MUXs/DeMUXs) such as a photonic lantern, leading to extra mode coupling loss and crosstalk. We design elliptical-core mode-selective photonic lanterns (EC-MSPLs) with six modes, which can match well with EC-FMF in MIMO-free MDM systems. Simulation of the EC-MSPL using the beam propagation method was demonstrated employing a combination of either step-index or graded-index fibers with six different sizes of cores, and the taper transition length of 8 cm or 4 cm. Through numerical simulations and optimizations, both types of photonic lanterns can realize low loss transmission and low crosstalk of below -20.0  dB for all modes.

Projective filtering of the fundamental eigenmode from spatially multimode radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez, A. M.; Sharapova, P. R.; Straupe, S. S.; Miatto, F. M.; Tikhonova, O. V.; Leuchs, G.; Chekhova, M. V.

2015-11-01

Lossless filtering of a single coherent (Schmidt) mode from spatially multimode radiation is a problem crucial for optics in general and for quantum optics in particular. It becomes especially important in the case of nonclassical light that is fragile to optical losses. An example is bright squeezed vacuum generated via high-gain parametric down conversion or four-wave mixing. Its highly multiphoton and multimode structure offers a huge increase in the information capacity provided that each mode can be addressed separately. However, the nonclassical signature of bright squeezed vacuum, photon-number correlations, are highly susceptible to losses. Here we demonstrate lossless filtering of a single spatial Schmidt mode by projecting the spatial spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum on the eigenmode of a single-mode fiber. Moreover, we show that the first Schmidt mode can be captured by simply maximizing the fiber-coupled intensity. Importantly, the projection operation does not affect the targeted mode and leaves it usable for further applications.

Atomic Source of Single Photons in the Telecom Band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dibos, A. M.; Raha, M.; Phenicie, C. M.; Thompson, J. D.

2018-06-01

Single atoms and atomlike defects in solids are ideal quantum light sources and memories for quantum networks. However, most atomic transitions are in the ultraviolet-visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, where propagation losses in optical fibers are prohibitively large. Here, we observe for the first time the emission of single photons from a single Er3 + ion in a solid-state host, whose optical transition at 1.5 μ m is in the telecom band, allowing for low-loss propagation in optical fiber. This is enabled by integrating Er3 + ions with silicon nanophotonic structures, which results in an enhancement of the photon emission rate by a factor of more than 650. Dozens of distinct ions can be addressed in a single device, and the splitting of the lines in a magnetic field confirms that the optical transitions are coupled to the electronic spin of the Er3 + ions. These results are a significant step towards long-distance quantum networks and deterministic quantum logic for photons based on a scalable silicon nanophotonics architecture.

Effect of Surface-Modified TiO2 Nanoparticles on the Anti-Ultraviolet Aging Performance of Foamed Wheat Straw Fiber/Polypropylene Composites

PubMed Central

Xuan, Lihui; Han, Guangping; Wang, Dong; Cheng, Wanli; Gao, Xun; Chen, Feng; Li, Qingde

2017-01-01

Surface modification and characterization of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and their roles in thermal, mechanical, and accelerated aging behavior of foamed wheat straw fiber/polypropylene (PP) composites are investigated. To improve the dispersion of nanoparticles and increase the possible interactions between wheat straw fiber and the PP matrix, the surface of the TiO2 nanoparticles was modified with ethenyltrimethoxy silane (A171), a silane coupling agent. The grafting of A171 on the TiO2 nanoparticles’ surface was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The wheat straw fibers treated with A171 and modified TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). FTIR spectra confirmed that the organic functional groups of A171 were successfully grafted onto the TiO2 nanoparticles and wheat straw fibers, and the modified TiO2 nanoparticles were adsorbed onto the wheat straw fibers. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that a higher thermal stability of the wheat straw fiber was obtained with the modified TiO2 nanoparticles. The flexural, tensile, and impact properties were improved. A higher ultraviolet (UV) stability of the samples treated with modified TiO2 nanoparticles was exhibited by the study of the color change and loss in mechanical properties. PMID:28772816

High-sensitivity sucrose erbium-doped fiber ring laser sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaleel, Wurood Abdulkhaleq; Al-Janabi, Abdul Hadi M.

2017-02-01

We investigate a high-sensitivity sucrose sensor based on a standard erbium-doped fiber ring laser incorporating a coreless fiber (CF). A single-mode-coreless-single mode (SCS) structure with a very low insertion loss has been constructed. The SCS fiber structure performed dual function as an intracavity fiber filter and/or a sensing element. The gain medium (erbium-doped fiber) is pumped by a 975-nm wavelength fiber coupled diode laser. Laser emission around 1537 nm with -2 dBm peak output power is obtained when a CF in SCS structure has a diameter of 125 μm. The 3-dB line-width of the laser is <0.14 nm, which is beneficial to high precision sensing. The sucrose concentration varied from 0% to 60%, and the relationship between the lasing wavelength and the sucrose concentration exhibited linear behavior (R2=0.996), with sensitivity of 0.16 nm/% was obtained. To improve the measurement sensitivity, the CF is etched by hydrofluoric acid. The splice joint of etched CF with SMF is a taper, which improves its sensitivity to sucrose changes. An average sensitivity of 0.57 nm/% and a high signal-to-noise ratio of 50 dB make the proposed sensor suitable for potential applications.

Nde of Lumber and Natural Fiber Based Products with Air Coupled Ultrasound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, David K.; Utrata, David; Kuo, Monlin

2010-02-01

Due to the porous nature of wood and natural fiber based products, conventional fluid or gel coupled ultrasonic inspection is unsuitable. Air-coupled ultrasonic transmission scanning, being non-contact, is ideally suited for inspecting lumber, wood and natural fiber based products. We report here several successful applications of air-coupled ultrasound for the inspection of wood. Air-coupled ultrasonic scan at 120 kHz can easily detect "sinker-stock" lumber in which bacterial damage of ray tissue cells had occurred during anaerobic pond storage. Channels in ash lumber board caused by insect bore were imaged in transmission scan. Delamination and material inhomogeneities were mapped out in manufactured wood and natural fiber products including medium density fiberboards, compression molded shredded waste wood with formaldehyde resin, and acoustic panels molded with kenaf fibers. The study has demonstrated some of the capabilities of air-coupled ultrasound in the NDE of forest products.

Long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides operating at telecommunication wavelengths.

PubMed

Volkov, Valentyn S; Han, Zhanghua; Nielsen, Michael G; Leosson, Kristjan; Keshmiri, Hamid; Gosciniak, Jacek; Albrektsen, Ole; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I

2011-11-01

We report on the realization of long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides (LR-DLSPPWs) consisting of straight and bent subwavelength dielectric ridges deposited on thin and narrow metal stripes supported by a dielectric buffer layer covering a low-index substrate. Using imaging with a near-field optical microscope and end-fire coupling with a tapered fiber connected to a tunable laser at telecommunication wavelengths (1425-1545 nm), we demonstrate low-loss (propagation length ∼500 μm) and well-confined (mode width ∼1 μm) LR-DLSPPW mode guiding and determine the propagation and bend loss.

Ultra-short pulse delivery at high average power with low-loss hollow core fibers coupled to TRUMPF's TruMicro laser platforms for industrial applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumbach, S.; Pricking, S.; Overbuschmann, J.; Nutsch, S.; Kleinbauer, J.; Gebs, R.; Tan, C.; Scelle, R.; Kahmann, M.; Budnicki, A.; Sutter, D. H.; Killi, A.

2017-02-01

Multi-megawatt ultrafast laser systems at micrometer wavelength are commonly used for material processing applications, including ablation, cutting and drilling of various materials or cleaving of display glass with excellent quality. There is a need for flexible and efficient beam guidance, avoiding free space propagation of light between the laser head and the processing unit. Solid core step index fibers are only feasible for delivering laser pulses with peak powers in the kW-regime due to the optical damage threshold in bulk silica. In contrast, hollow core fibers are capable of guiding ultra-short laser pulses with orders of magnitude higher peak powers. This is possible since a micro-structured cladding confines the light within the hollow core and therefore minimizes the spatial overlap between silica and the electro-magnetic field. We report on recent results of single-mode ultra-short pulse delivery over several meters in a lowloss hollow core fiber packaged with industrial connectors. TRUMPF's ultrafast TruMicro laser platforms equipped with advanced temperature control and precisely engineered opto-mechanical components provide excellent position and pointing stability. They are thus perfectly suited for passive coupling of ultra-short laser pulses into hollow core fibers. Neither active beam launching components nor beam trackers are necessary for a reliable beam delivery in a space and cost saving packaging. Long term tests with weeks of stable operation, excellent beam quality and an overall transmission efficiency of above 85 percent even at high average power confirm the reliability for industrial applications.

Mechanical properties of kenaf composites using dynamic mechanical analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loveless, Thomas A.

Natural fibers show potential to replace glass fibers in thermoset and thermoplastic composites. Kenaf is a bast-type fiber with high specific strength and great potential to compete with glass fibers. In this research kenaf/epoxy composites were analyzed using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). A three-point bend apparatus was used in the DMA testing. The samples were tested at 1 hertz, at a displacement of 10 ?m, and at room temperature. The fiber volume content of the kenaf was varied from 20% - 40% in 5% increments. Ten samples of each fiber volume fraction were manufactured and tested. The flexural storage modulus, the flexural loss modulus, and the loss factor were reported. Generally as the fiber volume fraction of kenaf increased, the flexural storage and flexural loss modulus increased. The loss factor remained relatively constant with increasing fiber volume fraction. Woven and chopped fiberglass/epoxy composites were manufactured and tested to be compared with the kenaf/epoxy composites. Both of the fiberglass/epoxy composites reported higher flexural storage and flexural loss modulus values. The kenaf/epoxy composites reported higher loss factor values. The specific flexural storage and specific flexural loss modulus were calculated for both the fiberglass and kenaf fiber composites. Even though the kenaf composites reported a lower density, the fiberglass composites reported higher specific mechanical properties.

Direct diode lasers with comparable beam quality to fiber, CO2, and solid state lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Robin K.; Chann, Bien; Burgess, James; Kaiman, Michael; Overman, Robert; Glenn, John D.; Tayebati, Parviz

2012-03-01

TeraDiode has produced kW-class ultra-high brightness fiber-coupled direct diode lasers. A fiber-coupled direct diode laser with a power level of 2,040 W from a 50 μm core diameter, 0.15 numerical aperture (NA) output fiber at a single center wavelength was demonstrated. This was achieved with a novel beam combining and shaping technique using COTS diode lasers. The fiber-coupled output corresponds to a Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of 3.75 mm-mrad and is the lowest BPP kW-class direct diode laser yet reported. This laser is suitable for industrial materials processing applications, including sheet metal cutting and welding. This 2-kW fiber-coupled direct diode laser has comparable brightness to that of industrial fiber lasers and CO2 lasers, and is over 10x brighter than state-of-the-art direct diode lasers.

Fiber optic coupling of a microlens conditioned, stacked semiconductor laser diode array

DOEpatents

Beach, Raymond J.; Benett, William J.; Mills, Steven T.

1997-01-01

The output radiation from the two-dimensional aperture of a semiconductor laser diode array is efficiently coupled into an optical fiber. The two-dimensional aperture is formed by stacking individual laser diode bars on top of another in a "rack and stack" configuration. Coupling into the fiber is then accomplished using individual microlenses to condition the output radiation of the laser diode bars. A lens that matches the divergence properties and wavefront characteristics of the laser light to the fiber optic is used to focus this conditioned radiation into the fiber.

Optimized coupling of cold atoms into a fiber using a blue-detuned hollow-beam funnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulin, Jerome; Light, Philip S.; Kashyap, Raman; Luiten, Andre N.

2011-11-01

We theoretically investigate the process of coupling cold atoms into the core of a hollow-core photonic-crystal optical fiber using a blue-detuned Laguerre-Gaussian beam. In contrast to the use of a red-detuned Gaussian beam to couple the atoms, the blue-detuned hollow beam can confine cold atoms to the darkest regions of the beam, thereby minimizing shifts in the internal states and making the guide highly robust to heating effects. This single optical beam is used as both a funnel and a guide to maximize the number of atoms into the fiber. In the proposed experiment, Rb atoms are loaded into a magneto-optical trap (MOT) above a vertically oriented optical fiber. We observe a gravito-optical trapping effect for atoms with high orbital momentum around the trap axis, which prevents atoms from coupling to the fiber: these atoms lack the kinetic energy to escape the potential and are thus trapped in the laser funnel indefinitely. We find that by reducing the dipolar force to the point at which the trapping effect just vanishes, it is possible to optimize the coupling of atoms into the fiber. Our simulations predict that by using a low-power (2.5 mW) and far-detuned (300 GHz) Laguerre-Gaussian beam with a 20-μm-radius core hollow fiber, it is possible to couple 11% of the atoms from a MOT 9 mm away from the fiber. When the MOT is positioned farther away, coupling efficiencies over 50% can be achieved with larger core fibers.

Low-loss polarization-maintaining fusion splicing of single-mode fibers and hollow-core photonic crystal fibers, relevant for monolithic fiber laser pulse compression.

PubMed

Kristensen, Jesper T; Houmann, Andreas; Liu, Xiaomin; Turchinovich, Dmitry

2008-06-23

We report on highly reproducible low-loss fusion splicing of polarization-maintaining single-mode fibers (PM-SMFs) and hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCFs). The PM-SMF-to-HC-PCF splices are characterized by the loss of 0.62 +/- 0.24 dB, and polarization extinction ratio of 19 +/- 0.68 dB. The reciprocal HC-PCF-to-PM-SMF splice loss is found to be 2.19 +/- 0.33 dB, which is caused by the mode evolution in HC-PCF. The return loss in both cases was measured to be -14 dB. We show that a splice defect is caused by the HC-PCF cleave defect, and the lossy splice can be predicted at an early stage of the splicing process. We also demonstrate that the higher splice loss compromises the PM properties of the splice. Our splicing technique was successfully applied to the realization of a low-loss, environmentally stable monolithic PM fiber laser pulse compressor, enabling direct end-of-the-fiber femtosecond pulse delivery.

Fiber optic to integrated optical chip coupler

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pikulski, Joseph I. (Inventor); Ramer, O. Glenn (Inventor)

1987-01-01

Optical fibers are clamped by a block onto a substrate. Thereupon, metal is plated over the fibers to hold them in place upon the substrate. The clamp block is removed and the opening, resulting from the clamp block's presence, is then plated in. The built-up metallic body is a coupling which holds the fibers in position so that the ends can be polished for coupling to an integrated optical chip upon a coupling fixture.

Experimental investigation of an inhomogeneous loss and its influence on multiwavelength fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qing; Liu, Xiaoming; Xing, Lei; Feng, Xue; Zhou, Bingkun

2005-11-01

Inhomogeneous loss generated by multimode laser linewidth broadening in an optical fiber is experimentally studied. With this mechanism, multiwavelength lasing is achieved by use of either fiber Raman gain or erbium-doped fiber gain. Through various pump powers and optical filter bandwidths, the relationship between inhomogeneous loss and the performance of a multiwavelength fiber laser is studied, and a physical explanation is provided.

Research and Development on Ultra-Lightweight Low-Loss Optical Fiber Communication Cable.

DTIC Science & Technology

FIBER OPTICS TRANSMISSION LINES, LIGHTWEIGHT), GLASS , FIBERS , ORGANIC COATINGS, POLYURETHANE RESINS, SOLUTIONS(GENERAL), POWDERS, ELECTROSTATICS...EXTRUSION, RUGGEDIZED EQUIPMENT, BROADBAND, OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS, TACTICAL COMMUNICATIONS, FIBER OPTICS, LOSSES.

LED backlight system with fiber-optic red, green, blue to white color combiner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hye R.; Jeong, Yunsong; Lee, Jhang-Woo; Oh, Kyunghwan

2006-09-01

As an application in the backlight system of small LCD display, we realized a pure white light source by mixing red, green, blue (RGB) lights using a 3 X 3 Hard Plastic Cladding Fiber (HPCF) coupler. We also proposed the 0.44 inch LED backlight system with these fiber-optic pure white sources and characterized its illumination characteristics. Using optimized fusion-tapering technique, we fabricated HPCF coupler which combines three input lights over the circularly formed waist. HPCF has the core diameter of 200 μm and clad diameter of 230 μm. The fabricated 3 X 3 HPCF coupler has the perfect uniformity of about 0.3 dB, low insertion loss of 5.5 dB, and low excess loss of 0.8 dB, which shows excellent uniform power splitting ratio. In order to improve the transmission performance, The RGB chip LEDs were butt-coupled directly to the ferruled input ports of the coupler and packaged by TO46-can type. In the produced white color by HPCF coupler, the photometric brightness at the circular endface of outputs of HPCF coupler was in a rage of 10062 ~ 10094 cd/m2. The fiber optic white color combiner provides tunable white sources excluding heat source and having thickness of 200 μm. We also proposed a 0.44 inch LED backlight system with these fiber-optic pure white sources. With the proposed device, we obtain the improved uniformity in luminance distribution and wide color gamut by using the white light mixing red, green and blue lights.

Quasi-distributed and wavelength selective addressing of optical micro-resonators based on long period fiber gratings.

PubMed

Farnesi, D; Chiavaioli, F; Baldini, F; Righini, G C; Soria, S; Trono, C; Conti, G Nunzi

2015-08-10

A novel all-in-fiber method for coupling light to high-Q silica whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical micro-resonators is presented, which is based on a pair of long period fiber gratings (LPGs) written in the same silica fiber, along with a thick fiber taper (15-18 μm in waist) in between the LPGs. The proposed coupling structure is robust and can be replicated many times along the same fiber simply cascading LPGs with different bands. Typical Q-factors of the order of 10(8) and total coupling efficiency up to 60% were measured collecting the resonances of microspheres or microbubbles at the fiber end. This approach uniquely allows quasi-distributed and wavelength selective addressing of different micro-resonators along the same fiber.

Quantitative real-time monitoring of dryer effluent using fiber optic near-infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Harris, S C; Walker, D S

2000-09-01

This paper describes a method for real-time quantitation of the solvents evaporating from a dryer. The vapor stream in the vacuum line of a dryer was monitored in real time using a fiber optic-coupled acousto-optic tunable filter near-infrared (AOTF-NIR) spectrometer. A balance was placed in the dryer, and mass readings were recorded for every scan of the AOTF-NIR. A partial least-squares (PLS) calibration was subsequently built based on change in mass over change in time for solvents typically used in a chemical manufacturing plant. Controlling software for the AOTF-NIR was developed. The software collects spectra, builds the PLS calibration model, and continuously fits subsequently collected spectra to the calibration, allowing the operator to follow the mass loss of solvent from the dryer. The results indicate that solvent loss can be monitored and quantitated in real time using NIR for the optimization of drying times. These time-based mass loss values have also been used to calculate "dynamic" vapor density values for the solvents. The values calculated are in agreement with values determined from the ideal gas law and could prove valuable as tools to measure temperature or pressure indirectly.

SiN-assisted polarization-insensitive multicore fiber to silicon photonics interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulopoulos, Giannis N.; Kalavrouziotis, Dimitrios; Mitchell, Paul; Macdonald, John R.; Bakopoulos, Paraskevas; Avramopoulos, Hercules

2015-06-01

We demonstrate a polarization-insensitive coupler interfacing multicore-fiber (MCF) to silicon waveguides. It comprises a 3D glass fanout transforming the circular MCF core-arrangement to linear and performing initial tapering, followed by a Spot-Size-Converter on the silicon chip. Glass waveguides are formed of multiple overlapped modification elements and appropriate offsetting thereof yields tapers with symmetric cross-section. The Spot-Size-Converter is an inverselytapered silicon waveguide with a tapered polymer overcladding where light is initially coupled, whereas phase-matching gradually shifts it towards the silicon core. Co-design of the glass fanout and Spot-Size-Converter obtains theoretical loss below 1dB for the overall Si-to-MCF transition in both polarizations.

New method for calculating the coupling coefficient in graded index optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savović, Svetislav; Djordjevich, Alexandar

2018-05-01

A simple method is proposed for determining the mode coupling coefficient D in graded index multimode optical fibers. It only requires observation of the output modal power distribution P(m, z) for one fiber length z as the Gaussian launching modal power distribution changes, with the Gaussian input light distribution centered along the graded index optical fiber axis (θ0 = 0) without radial offset (r0 = 0). A similar method we previously proposed for calculating the coupling coefficient D in a step-index multimode optical fibers where the output angular power distributions P(θ, z) for one fiber length z with the Gaussian input light distribution launched centrally along the step-index optical fiber axis (θ0 = 0) is needed to be known.

Influence of wavelength-dependent-loss on dispersive wave in nonlinear optical fibers.

PubMed

Herrera, Rodrigo Acuna

2012-11-01

In this work, we study numerically the influence of wavelength-dependent loss on the generation of dispersive waves (DWs) in nonlinear fiber. This kind of loss can be obtained, for instance, by the acousto-optic effect in fiber optics. We show that this loss lowers DW frequency in an opposite way that the Raman effect does. Also, we see that the Raman effect does not change the DW frequency too much when wavelength-dependent loss is included. Finally, we show that the DW frequency is not practically affected by fiber length.

Non-autonomous multi-rogue waves for spin-1 coupled nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii equation and management by external potentials.

PubMed

Li, Li; Yu, Fajun

2017-09-06

We investigate non-autonomous multi-rogue wave solutions in a three-component(spin-1) coupled nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii(GP) equation with varying dispersions, higher nonlinearities, gain/loss and external potentials. The similarity transformation allows us to relate certain class of multi-rogue wave solutions of the spin-1 coupled nonlinear GP equation to the solutions of integrable coupled nonlinear Schrödinger(CNLS) equation. We study the effect of time-dependent quadratic potential on the profile and dynamic of non-autonomous rogue waves. With certain requirement on the backgrounds, some non-autonomous multi-rogue wave solutions exhibit the different shapes with two peaks and dip in bright-dark rogue waves. Then, the managements with external potential and dynamic behaviors of these solutions are investigated analytically. The results could be of interest in such diverse fields as Bose-Einstein condensates, nonlinear fibers and super-fluids.

Skeletal muscle fiber size and fiber type distribution in human cancer: Effects of weight loss and relationship to physical function.

PubMed

Toth, Michael J; Callahan, Damien M; Miller, Mark S; Tourville, Timothy W; Hackett, Sarah B; Couch, Marion E; Dittus, Kim

2016-12-01

Cancer patients frequently experience weight loss, with negative consequences for functionality and prognosis. The extent to which muscle atrophy contributes to weight loss, however, is not clear, as few studies have directly measured muscle fiber morphology in cancer patients. Whole body and regional tissue composition were measured, along with the cross-sectional area (CSA) and fiber type of mechanically-isolated, single muscle fibers, in 19 cancer patients (8 with a history of weight loss, 11 weight-stable) and 15 non-diseased controls. Whole body fat mass was reduced in cancer patients with a history of weight loss, but no differences in whole body or leg fat-free mass were apparent. In contrast, reductions (∼20%) in single muscle fiber CSA were found in both slow-twitch, myosin heavy chain (MHC) I and fast-twitch, MHC IIA fibers in both weight-stable patients and those with a history of weight loss. Fiber type distribution showed a shift towards a fast-twitch phenotype compared to controls, which may preserve muscle function in cancer patients despite atrophy, as positive relationships were found between the fractions of hybrid MHC IIAX and I/IIA fibers and 6-min walk performance. Our results suggest that, although not apparent from whole body or regional measurements, cancer is associated with reduced skeletal muscle fiber size independent of weight loss history and a shift towards fast-twitch fibers, phenotypes that resemble adaptations to muscle disuse. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Fiber-coupled THz spectroscopy for monitoring polymeric compounding processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vieweg, N.; Krumbholz, N.; Hasek, T.; Wilk, R.; Bartels, V.; Keseberg, C.; Pethukhov, V.; Mikulics, M.; Wetenkamp, L.; Koch, M.

2007-06-01

We present a compact, robust, and transportable fiber-coupled THz system for inline monitoring of polymeric compounding processes in an industrial environment. The system is built on a 90cm x 90cm large shock absorbing optical bench. A sealed metal box protects the system against dust and mechanical disturbances. A closed loop controller unit is used to ensure optimum coupling of the laser beam into the fiber. In order to build efficient and stable fiber-coupled antennas we glue the fibers directly onto photoconductive switches. Thus, the antenna performance is very stable and it is secured from dust or misalignment by vibrations. We discuss fabrication details and antenna performance. First spectroscopic data obtained with this system is presented.

Is in vivo analysis of urinary stone composition feasible? Evaluation of an experimental setup of a Raman system coupled to commercial lithotripsy laser fibers.

PubMed

Miernik, Arkadiusz; Eilers, Yvan; Nuese, Christoph; Bolwien, Carsten; Lambrecht, Armin; Hesse, Albrecht; Rassweiler, Jens J; Schlager, Daniel; Wilhelm, Konrad; Wetterauer, Ulrich; Schoenthaler, Martin

2015-10-01

Raman spectroscopy allows immediate analysis of stone composition. In vivo stone analysis during endoscopic treatment may offer advantages concerning surgical strategy and metaphylaxis. Urinary stone components were evaluated utilizing an experimental setup of a Raman system coupled to commercial laser fibers. Samples of paracetamol (acetaminophen) and human urinary stones with known Raman spectra were analyzed using an experimental Raman system coupled to common commercial lithotripsy laser fibers (200 and 940 µm). Two different excitation lasers were used at wavelengths of 532 and 785 nm. Numerical aperture of the fibers, proportion of reflected light reaching the CCD chip, and integration times were calculated. Mathematical signal correction was performed. Both the laser beam profile and the quality of light reflected by the specimens were impaired significantly when used with commercial fibers. Acquired spectra could no longer be assigned to a specific stone composition. Subsequent measurements revealed a strong intrinsic fluorescence of the fibers and poor light acquisition properties leading to a significant decrease in the Raman signal in comparison with a free-beam setup. This was true for both investigated fiber diameters and both wavelengths. Microscopic examination showed highly irregular fiber tip surfaces (both new and used fibers). Our results propose that laser excitation and light acquisition properties of commercial lithotripsy fibers impair detectable Raman signals significantly in a fiber-coupled setting. This study provides essential physical and technological information for the development of an advanced fiber-coupled system able to be used for immediate stone analysis during endoscopic stone therapy.

Ultra-low-loss optical fiber nanotapers.

PubMed

Brambilla, Gilberto; Finazzi, Vittoria; Richardson, David

2004-05-17

Optical fiber tapers with a waist size larger than 1microm are commonplace in telecommunications and sensor applications. However the fabrication of low-loss optical fiber tapers with subwavelength diameters was previously thought to be impractical due to difficulties associated with control of the surface roughness and diameter uniformity. In this paper we show that very-long ultra-low-loss tapers can in fact be produced using a conventional fiber taper rig incorporating a simple burner configuration. For single-mode operation, the optical losses we achieve at 1.55microm are one order of magnitude lower than losses previously reported in the literature for tapers of a similar size. SEM images confirm excellent taper uniformity. We believe that these low-loss structures should pave the way to a whole range of fiber nanodevices.

CO2 laser myringotomy with a hand-held otoscope and fiber optic delivery system: animal experimentation and preclinical trials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeRowe, Ari; Ophir, Dov; Finkelstein, Y.; Katzir, Abraham

1993-07-01

CO2 laser myringotomy has previously been proven effective in patients with serous otitis media for short term aeration of the middle ear. However, the system based on a microscope and a coaxially aligned laser is cumbersome and expensive. Also, conventional optical fibers do not transmit CO2 laser energy ((lambda) equals 10.6 micrometers ). We have developed a silver halide optical fiber of diameter 0.9 mm and lengths of several meters, with high transmission at 10.6 micrometers . Using a hand held otoscope coupled to a fiberoptic delivery system CO2 laser myringotomies were performed first in guinea pigs and then in humans. In the animal model the feasibility of the procedure was proven. Different irradiation parameters were studied and a `dose dependent' relationship was found between the total energy used and the duration of a patent myringotomy. This system was used to perform CO2 laser myringotomies under local anesthesia in five patients with serous otitis media and conductive hearing loss. None of the patients complained of discomfort and no scarring was noted. All patients had subjective and audiometric documentation of hearing improvement. The average duration of a patent myringotomy was 21 days. In two patients the effusion recurred. CO2 laser myringotomy utilizing a hand held otoscope coupled to an optical fiber capable of transmitting CO2 laser energy may prove simple and effective in the treatment of serous otitis media.

Fiber optic coupling of a microlens conditioned, stacked semiconductor laser diode array

DOEpatents

Beach, R.J.; Benett, W.J.; Mills, S.T.

1997-04-01

The output radiation from the two-dimensional aperture of a semiconductor laser diode array is efficiently coupled into an optical fiber. The two-dimensional aperture is formed by stacking individual laser diode bars on top of another in a ``rack and stack`` configuration. Coupling into the fiber is then accomplished using individual microlenses to condition the output radiation of the laser diode bars. A lens that matches the divergence properties and wavefront characteristics of the laser light to the fiber optic is used to focus this conditioned radiation into the fiber. 3 figs.

Fiber Optics at the JLab CLAS12 Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroon, John; Giovanetti, Kevin

2008-10-01

The performance of wavelength shifting fibers, WLS, and method of coupling these fibers to extruded polystyrene scintillators are currently under study at James Madison University. These components are two of the main elements for the PCAL, preshower calorimeter, proposed as part of the 12 GeV upgrade for the CLAS detector at Jefferson Laboratory. The WLS fibers have been prepared, optically coupled to scintillator, and tested in order to determine their overall performance as a method of readout. Methods of coupling fiber to scintillator, a description of the test setup, test methods, PCAL readout performance, and fabrication recommendations will be presented.

Association Between Dietary Fiber Intake and Bone Loss in the Framingham Offspring Study.

PubMed

Dai, Zhaoli; Zhang, Yuqing; Lu, Na; Felson, David T; Kiel, Douglas P; Sahni, Shivani

2018-02-01

Dietary fiber may increase calcium absorption, but its role in bone mineralization is unclear. Furthermore, the health effect of dietary fiber may be different between sexes. We examined the association between dietary fiber (total fiber and fiber from cereal, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes) and bone loss at the femoral neck, trochanter, and lumbar spine (L 2 to L 4 ) in older men and women. In the Framingham Offspring Study, at baseline (1996-2001), diet was assessed using the Willett food-frequency questionnaire, and bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Follow-up BMD was measured in 2001-2005 and 2005-2008 among 792 men (mean age 58.1 years; BMI 28.6 kg/m 2 ) and 1065 women (mean age 57.3 years; BMI 27.2 kg/m 2 ). We used sex-specific generalized estimating equations in multivariable regressions to estimate the difference (β) of annualized BMD change in percent (%ΔBMD) at each skeletal site per 5 g/d increase in dietary fiber. We further estimated the adjusted mean for bone loss (annualized %ΔBMD) among participants in each higher quartile (Q2, Q3, or Q4) compared with those in the lowest quartile (Q1) of fiber intake. Higher dietary total fiber (β = 0.06, p = 0.003) and fruit fiber (β = 0.10, p = 0.008) was protective against bone loss at the femoral neck in men but not in women. When examined in quartiles, men in Q2-Q4 of total fiber had significantly less bone loss at the femoral neck versus those in Q1 (all p < 0.04). For women, we did not observe associations with hip bone loss, although fiber from vegetables appeared to be protective against spine bone loss in women but not men. There were no associations with cereal fiber or nut and legume fiber and bone loss in men or women. Our findings suggest that higher dietary fiber may modestly reduce bone loss in men at the hip. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Design, motivation, and on-sky tests of an efficient fiber coupling unit for 1-meter class telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bottom, Michael; Muirhead, Philip S.; Swift, Jonathan J.; Zhao, Ming; Gardner, Paul; Plavchan, Peter P.; Riddle, Reed L.; Herzig, Erich; Johnson, John A.; Wright, Jason T.; McCrady, Nate; Wittenmyer, Robert A.

2014-08-01

We present the science motivation, design, and on-sky test data of a high-throughput fiber coupling unit suitable for automated 1-meter class telescopes. The optical and mechanical design of the fiber coupling is detailed and we describe a flexible controller software designed specifically for this unit. The system performance is characterized with a set of numerical simulations, and we present on-sky results that validate the performance of the controller and the expected throughput of the fiber coupling. This unit was designed specifically for the MINERVA array, a robotic observatory consisting of multiple 0.7 m telescopes linked to a single high-resolution stabilized spectrograph for the purpose of exoplanet discovery using high-cadence radial velocimetry. However, this unit could easily be used for general astronomical purposes requiring fiber coupling or precise guiding.

Effect of Silane Coupling Agent on Tribological Properties of Hemp Fiber-Reinforced Plant-Derived Polyamide 1010 Biomass Composites

PubMed Central

Kajiyama, Tetsuto; Yamanaka, Toshiyuki

2017-01-01

We have studied the effects of silane coupling agents used for the surface treatment of fiber on the tribological properties of hemp fiber (HF) reinforced plant-derived polyamide 1010 (PA1010) biomass composites. Hemp fibers were surface-treated by two surface treatment methods: (a) alkali treatment by sodium hydroxide solution and (b) surface treatment by silane coupling agents. Three types of silane coupling agents, namely aminosilane, epoxysilane and ureidosilane were used. These HF/PA1010 biomass composites were extruded using a twin extruder, and injection-molded. The mechanical and tribological properties were evaluated by the ring-on-plate type sliding wear test. It was found that tribological properties of HF/PA1010 biomass composites improved with the surface treatment by the silane coupling agent. This may be attributed to the change in the mode of friction and wear mechanism by the interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix polymer according to the type of silane coupling agent used. In particular, the ureidosilane coupling agent showed the best improvement effect for the tribological properties of these biomass composites in this study. PMID:28872624

High-resolution optical polarimetric elastography for measuring the mechanical properties of tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudnut, Alexa W.; Armani, Andrea M.

2018-02-01

Traditionally, chemical and molecular markers have been the predominate method in diagnostics. Recently, alternate methods of determining tissue and disease characteristics have been proposed based on testing the mechanical behavior of biomaterials. Existing methods for performing elastography measurements, such as atomic force microscopy, compression testing, and ultrasound elastography, require either extensive sample processing or have poor resolution. In the present work, we demonstrate an optical polarimetric elastography device to characterize the mechanical properties of salmon skeletal muscle. A fiber-coupled 1550nm laser paired with an optical polarizer is used to create a fiber optic sensing region. By measuring the change in polarization from the initial state to the final state within the fiber sensing region with a polarimeter, the loading-unloading curves can be determined for the biomaterial. The device is used to characterize the difference between samples with a range of collagen membranes. The loading-unloading curves are used to determine the change in polarization phase and energy loss of the samples at 10%, 20% and 30% strain. As expected, the energy loss is a better metric for measuring the mechanical properties of the tissues because it incorporates the entire loading-unloading curve rather than a single point. Using this metric, it is demonstrated the device can repeatedly differentiate between the different membrane configurations.

A photon-counting photodiode array detector for far ultraviolet (FUV) astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartig, G. F.; Moos, H. W.; Pembroke, R.; Bowers, C.

1982-01-01

A compact, stable, single-stage intensified photodiode array detector designed for photon-counting, far ultraviolet astronomy applications employs a saturable, 'C'-type MCP (Galileo S. MCP 25-25) to produce high gain pulses with a narrowly peaked pulse height distribution. The P-20 output phosphor exhibits a very short decay time, due to the high current density of the electron pulses. This intensifier is being coupled to a self-scanning linear photodiode array which has a fiber optic input window which allows direct, rigid mechanical coupling with minimal light loss. The array was scanned at a 250 KHz pixel rate. The detector exhibits more than adequate signal-to-noise ratio for pulse counting and event location.

Development of a novel fiber-optic sensor to measure radon in the deep ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monteiro, Catarina; Guimarães, Diana; Jorge, Pedro; Barbosa, Susana

2017-04-01

The radon concentration in the deep ocean has gained increasing interest in the last decades. The underwater monitoring of this natural radioactive gas can give important information about submarine groundwater discharges, groundwater migration and contamination. Radon concentration has also been studied as a possible indicator of earthquake events which can have devastating consequences when the epicenter is located at the sea. In contrast with radon monitoring studies in caves, mines, and underground soil, there is an utter lack of information about radon in deep-sea. These measurements are particularly difficult to attain due to the challenges that marine-like environments post to electronic sensing devices and their maintenance over time. Gamma rays emitted by radon's progeny can be easily detected when interacting with a scintillator material. Recently, optical fiber doped with scintillating material has emerged has an alternative for gamma ray detection. The lightweight, low transmission loss, immunity to electromagnetic interference and the cost effectiveness makes optical fiber a compelling solution for radiation detection when compared to conventional sensors. In this work a compact all-fiber optical sensor is developed for continuous gamma ray detection in the deep sea. This sensor is composed by a scintillating optical fiber coupled to a polymeric optical fiber that allows the detection of low levels of radiation.

Monolithic graphene fibers for solid-phase microextraction.

PubMed

Fan, Jing; Dong, Zelin; Qi, Meiling; Fu, Ruonong; Qu, Liangti

2013-12-13

Monolithic graphene fibers for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) were fabricated through a dimensionally confined hydrothermal strategy and their extraction performance was evaluated. For the fiber fabrication, a glass pipeline was innovatively used as a hydrothermal reactor instead of a Teflon-lined autoclave. Compared with conventional methods for SPME fibers, the proposed strategy can fabricate a uniform graphene fiber as long as several meters or more at a time. Coupled to capillary gas chromatography (GC), the monolithic graphene fibers in a direct-immersion (DI) mode achieved higher extraction efficiencies for aromatics than those for n-alkanes, especially for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), thanks to π-π stacking interaction and hydrophobic effect. Additionally, the fibers exhibited excellent durability and can be repetitively used more than 160 times without significant loss of extraction performance. As a result, an optimum extraction condition of 40°C for 50min with 20% NaCl (w/w) was finally used for SPME of PAHs in aqueous samples. For the determination of PAHs in water samples, the proposed DI-SPME-GC method exhibited linear range of 0.05-200μg/L, limits of detection (LOD) of 4.0-50ng/L, relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 9.4% and 12.1% for one fiber and different fibers, respectively, and recoveries of 78.9-115.9%. The proposed method can be used for analysis of PAHs in environmental water samples. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inhibition of the Activin Receptor Type-2B Pathway Restores Regenerative Capacity in Satellite Cell-Depleted Skeletal Muscle.

PubMed

Formicola, Luigi; Pannérec, Alice; Correra, Rosa Maria; Gayraud-Morel, Barbara; Ollitrault, David; Besson, Vanessa; Tajbakhsh, Shahragim; Lachey, Jennifer; Seehra, Jasbir S; Marazzi, Giovanna; Sassoon, David A

2018-01-01

Degenerative myopathies typically display a decline in satellite cells coupled with a replacement of muscle fibers by fat and fibrosis. During this pathological remodeling, satellite cells are present at lower numbers and do not display a proper regenerative function. Whether a decline in satellite cells directly contributes to disease progression or is a secondary result is unknown. In order to dissect these processes, we used a genetic model to reduce the satellite cell population by ~70-80% which leads to a nearly complete loss of regenerative potential. We observe that while no overt tissue damage is observed following satellite cell depletion, muscle fibers atrophy accompanied by changes in the stem cell niche cellular composition. Treatment of these mice with an Activin receptor type-2B (AcvR2B) pathway blocker reverses muscle fiber atrophy as expected, but also restores regenerative potential of the remaining satellite cells. These findings demonstrate that in addition to controlling fiber size, the AcvR2B pathway acts to regulate the muscle stem cell niche providing a more favorable environment for muscle regeneration.

Probe And Enhancement Of SBS Based Phonons In Infrared Fibers Using Waveguide Coupled External Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Chung; Chong, Yat C.; Fong, Chee K.

1989-06-01

Interaction of GHz and MHz radiation with CO2 laser propagation in a silver halide fiber using sBs based phonon coupling is furthet investigated. The external signal serves to both probe and enhance laser generated sBs phonons in the fiber. Efficient coupling of microwave radiation into the fiber is accomplished by placing the fiber in a hollow metallic waveguide, designed and constructed to transmit the dominant mode in the 0.9-2.0 GHz band. MHz radiation is conveniently coupled into the fiber using the guided microwave radiation as carrier. Phonon emissions from the fiber under CO2 laser pumping are first established on a spectrum analyzer; low frequency generators ale then tuned to match these frequencies and their maximum interaction recorded. Such interactions are systematically studied by monitoring the amplitude and waveform of the reflected and transmitted laser pulse at various power levels and frequencies of the externally coupled radiation. A plot of reflected laser power versus incident laser power reveals a distinct sBs generated phonon threshold. Variouslaunch directions of the GHz and MHz radiation with respect to the direction of laser propagation are realized to verify theory governing sBs interactions. The MHz radiation and its associated phonons in the fiber are convenient tools for probing sBs related phenomenon in infrared fibers.

Characterization of Mid-Infrared Single Mode Fibers as Modal Filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ksendzov, A.; Lay, O.; Martin, S.; Sanghera, J. S.; Busse, L. E.; Kim, W. H.; Pureza, P. C.; Nguyen, V. Q.; Aggarwal, I. D.

2007-01-01

We present a technique for measuring the modal filtering ability of single mode fibers. The ideal modal filter rejects all input field components that have no overlap with the fundamental mode of the filter and does not attenuate the fundamental mode. We define the quality of a nonideal modal filter Q(sub f) as the ratio of transmittance for the fundamental mode to the transmittance for an input field that has no overlap with the fundamental mode. We demonstrate the technique on a 20 cm long mid-infrared fiber that was produced by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The filter quality Q(sub f) for this fiber at 10.5 micron wavelength is 1000 +/- 300. The absorption and scattering losses in the fundamental mode are approximately 8 dB/m. The total transmittance for the fundamental mode, including Fresnel reflections, is 0.428 +/- 0.002. The application of interest is the search for extrasolar Earthlike planets using nulling interferometry. It requires high rejection ratios to suppress the light of a bright star, so that the faint planet becomes visible. The use of modal filters increases the rejection ratio (or, equivalently, relaxes requirements on the wavefront quality) by reducing the sensitivity to small wavefront errors. We show theoretically that, exclusive of coupling losses, the use of a modal filter leads to the improvement of the rejection ratio in a two-beam interferometer by a factor of Q(sub f).

Gain-assisted broadband ring cavity enhanced spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selim, Mahmoud A.; Adib, George A.; Sabry, Yasser M.; Khalil, Diaa

2017-02-01

Incoherent broadband cavity enhanced spectroscopy can significantly increase the effective path length of light-matter interaction to detect weak absorption lines over broad spectral range, for instance to detect gases in confined environments. Broadband cavity enhancement can be based on the decay time or the intensity drop technique. Decay time measurement is based on using tunable laser source that is expensive and suffers from long scan time. Intensity dependent measurement is usually reported based on broadband source using Fabry-Perot cavity, enabling short measurement time but suffers from the alignment tolerance of the cavity and the cavity insertion loss. In this work we overcome these challenges by using an alignment-free ring cavity made of an optical fiber loop and a directional coupler, while having a gain medium pumped below the lasing threshold to improve the finesse and reduce the insertion loss. Acetylene (C2H2) gas absorption is measured around 1535 nm wavelength using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) gain medium. The system is analyzed for different ring resonator forward coupling coefficient and loses, including the 3-cm long gas cell insertion loss and fiber connector losses used in the experimental verification. The experimental results are obtained for a coupler ratio of 90/10 and a fiber length of 4 m. The broadband source is the amplified spontaneous emission of another SOA and the output is measured using a 70pm-resolution optical spectrum analyzer. The absorption depth and the effective interaction length are improved about an order of magnitude compared to the direct absorption of the gas cell. The presented technique provides an engineering method to improve the finesse and, consequently the effective length, while relaxing the technological constraints on the high reflectivity mirrors and free-space cavity alignment.

Design of high energy laser pulse delivery in a multimode fiber for photoacoustic tomography.

PubMed

Ai, Min; Shu, Weihang; Salcudean, Tim; Rohling, Robert; Abolmaesumi, Purang; Tang, Shuo

2017-07-24

In photoacoustic tomography (PAT), delivering high energy pulses through optical fiber is critical for achieving high quality imaging. A fiber coupling scheme with a beam homogenizer is demonstrated for coupling high energy pulses in a single multimode fiber. This scheme can benefit PAT applications that require miniaturized illumination or internal illumination with a small fiber. The beam homogenizer is achieved by using a cross cylindrical lens array, which provides a periodic spatial modulation on the phase of the input light. Thus the lens array acts as a phase grating which diffracts the beam into a 2D diffraction pattern. Both theoretical analysis and experiments demonstrate that the focused beam can be split into a 2D spot array that can reduce the peak power on the fiber tip surface and thus enhance the coupling performance. The theoretical analysis of the intensity distribution of the focused beam is carried out by Fourier optics. In experiments, coupled energy at 48 mJ/pulse and 60 mJ/pulse have been achieved and the corresponding coupling efficiency is 70% and 90% in a 1000-μm and a 1500-μm-core-diameter fiber, respectively. The high energy pulses delivered by the multimode fiber are further tested for PAT imaging in phantoms. PAT imaging of a printed dot array shows a large illumination area of 7 cm 2 under 5 mm thick chicken breast tissue. In vivo imaging is also demonstrated on the human forearm. The large improvement in coupling energy can potentially benefit PAT with single fiber delivery to achieve large area imaging and deep penetration detection.

Low-loss pigtail reflector for fiber lasers.

PubMed

Masuda, Taizo; Iyoda, Mitsuhiro; Yasumatsu, Yuta; Endo, Masamori

2017-05-01

We demonstrate a low-loss pigtail reflector for a fiber laser comprising off-the-shelf components. A pigtail configuration has the advantage of easy alteration of the reflection properties, which is highly desired for basic studies and metrological applications. Our proposed reflector consists of a dielectric-coated bulk mirror and an Ferrule connector (FC)-type fiber receptacle, which are fixed with a machined holder such that the FC-type connector at the fiber end can be attached onto the mirror surface with an appropriate amount of pressure, which is essential for minimal reflection loss. The measured reflection loss is 0.07 dB, which is one order of magnitude less than that of the typical connection loss, 0.52 dB, of an FC-FC interconnection; it is comparable to the typical splice loss of a single-mode fiber (0.05 dB). The benefit of the proposed method is its versatility that enables its application to various types of fiber lasers.

Effects of addition of different fibers on rheological characteristics of cake batter and quality of cakes.

PubMed

Aydogdu, Ayca; Sumnu, Gulum; Sahin, Serpil

2018-02-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of addition of dietary fibers on rheological properties of batter and cake quality. Wheat flour was replaced by 5 and 10% (wt%) oat, pea, apple and lemon fibers. All cake batters showed shear thinning behavior. Incorporation of fibers increased consistency index (k), storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″). As quality parameters, specific volume, hardness, weight loss, color and microstructure of cakes were investigated. Cakes containing oat and pea fibers (5%) had similar specific volume and texture with control cakes which contained no fiber. As fiber concentration increased, specific volume decreased but hardness increased. No significant difference was found between weight loss of control cake and cakes with oat, pea and apple fibers. Lemon fiber enriched cakes had the lowest specific volume, weight loss and color difference. When microstructural images were examined, it was seen that control cake had more porous structure than fiber enriched cakes. In addition, lemon and apple fiber containing cakes had less porous crumb structure as compared to oat and pea containing ones. Oat and pea fiber (5%) enriched cakes had similar physical properties (volume, texture and color) with control cakes.

Effects of long-term soluble vs. insoluble dietary fiber intake on high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice.

PubMed

Isken, Frank; Klaus, Susanne; Osterhoff, Martin; Pfeiffer, Andreas F H; Weickert, Martin O

2010-04-01

Although most of the proposed beneficial effects of fiber consumption have been attributed to viscous and gel-forming properties of soluble fiber, it is mainly insoluble cereal fiber and whole grains that are strongly associated with reduced diabetes risk in prospective cohort studies, indicating that other unknown mechanisms are likely to be involved. We performed a long-term study investigating potential protective effects of adding soluble guar fiber (10% w/w) vs. insoluble cereal fiber (10% w/w) to an isoenergetic and macronutrient matched high-fat diet in obesity-prone C57BL/6J mice. After 45 weeks, mice fed soluble vs. insoluble fiber showed both significantly increased body weight (41.8+/-3.0 vs. 33.6+/-1.5 g, P=.03) and elevated markers of insulin resistance. In mice fed soluble fiber, energy loss via the feces was significantly lower and colonic fermentation with production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) was markedly increased. Gene expression analysis in white adipose tissue showed significantly increased levels of the fatty acid target G-protein coupled receptor-40 in soluble fiber-fed mice. Liver gene expression in the insoluble fiber group showed a pattern consistent with increased fatty acid oxidation. The present results show that soluble vs insoluble dietary fiber added to a high-fat, Western-style diet differently affected body weight and estimates of insulin sensitivity in obesity-prone mice. Soluble fiber intake with increased SCFA production significantly contributed to digested energy, thereby potentially outweighing the well known short-term beneficial effects of soluble fiber consumption. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of polymer microlenses on single mode optical fibers for light coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaboub, Monsef; Guessoum, Assia; Demagh, Nacer-Eddine; Guermat, Abdelhak

2016-05-01

In this paper, we present a technique for producing fibers optics micro-collimators composed of polydimethylsiloxane PDMS microlenses of different radii of curvature. The waist and working distance values obtained enable the optimization of optical coupling between optical fibers, fibers and optical sources, and fibers and detectors. The principal is based on the injection of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into a conical micro-cavity chemically etched at the end of optical fibers. A spherical microlens is then formed that is self-centered with respect to the axis of the fiber. Typically, an optimal radius of curvature of 10.08 μm is obtained. This optimized micro-collimator is characterized by a working distance of 19.27 μm and a waist equal to 2.28 μm for an SMF 9/125 μm fiber. The simulation and experimental results reveal an optical coupling efficiency that can reach a value of 99.75%.

Multipoint fiber-optic laser-ultrasonic actuator based on fiber core-opened tapers.

PubMed

Tian, Jiajun; Dong, Xiaolong; Gao, Shimin; Yao, Yong

2017-11-27

In this study, a novel fiber-optic, multipoint, laser-ultrasonic actuator based on fiber core-opened tapers (COTs) is proposed and demonstrated. The COTs were fabricated by splicing single-mode fibers using a standard fiber splicer. A COT can effectively couple part of a core mode into cladding modes, and the coupling ratio can be controlled by adjusting the taper length. Such characteristics are used to obtain a multipoint, laser-ultrasonic actuator with balanced signal strength by reasonably controlling the taper lengths of the COTs. As a prototype, we constructed an actuator that generated ultrasound at four points with a balanced ultrasonic strength by connecting four COTs with coupling ratios of 24.5%, 33.01%, 49.51%, and 87.8% in a fiber link. This simple-to-fabricate, multipoint, laser-ultrasonic actuator with balanced ultrasound signal strength has potential applications in fiber-optic ultrasound testing technology.

Robust aptamer sol-gel solid phase microextraction of very polar adenosine from human plasma.

PubMed

Mu, Li; Hu, Xiangang; Wen, Jianping; Zhou, Qixing

2013-03-01

Conventional solid phase microextraction (SPME) has a limited capacity to extract very polar analytes, such as adenosine. To solve this problem, aptamer conjugating sol-gel methodology was coupled with an SPME fiber. According to the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported use of aptamer SPME. The fiber of aptamer sol-gel SPME with a mesoporous structure has high porosity, large surface area, and small water contact angle. Rather than employing direct entrapment, covalent immobilization was the dominant method of aptamer loading in sol-gel. Aptamer sol-gel fiber captured a specified analyte from among the analog molecules, thereby, exhibiting an excellent selective property. Compared with commercial SPME fibers, this aptamer fiber was suitable for extracting adenosine, presenting an extraction efficiency higher than 20-fold. The values of repeatability and reproducibility expressed by relative standard deviation were low (9.4%). Interestingly, the sol-gel network enhanced the resistance of aptamer SPME to both nuclease and nonspecific proteins. Furthermore, the aptamer sol-gel fiber was applied in human plasma with LOQ 1.5 μg/L, which is an acceptable level. This fiber also demonstrates durability and regeneration over 20-cycles without significant loss of efficiency. Given the various targets (from metal ions to biomacromolecules and cells) of aptamers, this methodology will extend the multi-domain applications of SPME. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of thermoelectric fibers for miniature thermoelectric devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ren, Fei; Menchhofer, Paul A.; Kiggans, Jr., James O.

Miniature thermoelectric (TE) devices may be used in a variety of applications such as power sources of small sensors, temperature regulation of precision electronics, etc. Reducing the size of TE elements may also enable design of novel devices with unique form factor and higher device efficiency. Current industrial practice of fabricating TE devices usually involves mechanical removal processes that not only lead to material loss but also limit the geometry of the TE elements. In this project, we explored a powder-processing method for the fabrication of TE fibers with large length-to-area ratio, which could be potentially used for miniature TEmore » devices. Powders were milled from Bi2Te3-based bulk materials and then mixed with a thermoplastic resin dissolved in an organic solvent. Through an extrusion process, flexible, continuous fibers with sub-millimeter diameters were formed. The polymer phase was then removed by sintering. Sintered fibers exhibited similar Seebeck coefficients to the bulk materials. Moreover, their electrical resistivity was much higher, which might be related to the residual porosity and grain boundary contamination. Prototype miniature uni-couples fabricated from these fibers showed a linear I-V behavior and could generate millivolt voltages and output power in the nano-watt range. Further development of these TE fibers requires improvement in their electrical conductivities, which needs a better understanding of the causes that lead to the low conductivity in the sintered fibers.« less

Development of thermoelectric fibers for miniature thermoelectric devices

DOE PAGES

Ren, Fei; Menchhofer, Paul A.; Kiggans, Jr., James O.; ...

2016-09-23

Miniature thermoelectric (TE) devices may be used in a variety of applications such as power sources of small sensors, temperature regulation of precision electronics, etc. Reducing the size of TE elements may also enable design of novel devices with unique form factor and higher device efficiency. Current industrial practice of fabricating TE devices usually involves mechanical removal processes that not only lead to material loss but also limit the geometry of the TE elements. In this project, we explored a powder-processing method for the fabrication of TE fibers with large length-to-area ratio, which could be potentially used for miniature TEmore » devices. Powders were milled from Bi2Te3-based bulk materials and then mixed with a thermoplastic resin dissolved in an organic solvent. Through an extrusion process, flexible, continuous fibers with sub-millimeter diameters were formed. The polymer phase was then removed by sintering. Sintered fibers exhibited similar Seebeck coefficients to the bulk materials. Moreover, their electrical resistivity was much higher, which might be related to the residual porosity and grain boundary contamination. Prototype miniature uni-couples fabricated from these fibers showed a linear I-V behavior and could generate millivolt voltages and output power in the nano-watt range. Further development of these TE fibers requires improvement in their electrical conductivities, which needs a better understanding of the causes that lead to the low conductivity in the sintered fibers.« less

Comparison of raised-microdisk whispering-gallery-mode characterization techniques.

PubMed

Redding, Brandon; Marchena, Elton; Creazzo, Tim; Shi, Shouyuan; Prather, Dennis W

2010-04-01

We compare the two prevailing raised-microdisk whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) characterization techniques, one based on coupling emission to a tapered fiber and the other based on collecting emission in the far field. We applied both techniques to study WGMs in Si nanocrystal raised microdisks and observed dramatically different behavior. We explain this difference in terms of the radiative bending loss on which the far-field collection technique relies and discuss the regimes of operation in which each technique is appropriate.

Optimized optical devices for edge-coupling-enabled silicon photonics platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Png, Ching Eng; Ang, Thomas Y. L.; Ong, Jun Rong; Lim, Soon Thor; Sahin, Ezgi; Chen, G. F. R.; Tan, D. T. H.; Guo, Tina X.; Wang, Hong

2018-02-01

We present a library of high-performance passive and active silicon photonic devices at the C-band that is specifically designed and optimized for edge-coupling-enabled silicon photonics platform. These devices meet the broadband (100 nm), low-loss (< 2dB per device), high speed (>= 25 Gb/s), and polarization diversity requirements (TE and TM polarization extinction ratio <= 25 dB) for optical communication applications. Ultra-low loss edge couplers, broadband directional couplers, high-extinction ratio polarization beam splitters (PBSs), and high-speed modulators are some of the devices within our library. In particular, we have designed and fabricated inverse taper fiber-to-waveguide edge couplers of tip widths ranging from 120 nm to 200 nm, and we obtained a low coupling loss of 1.80+/-0.28 dB for 160 nm tip width. To achieve polarization diversity operation for inverse tapers, we have experimentally realized different designs of polarization beam splitters (PBS). Our optimized PBS has a measured extinction ratio of <= 25 dB for both the quasiTE modes, and quasi-TM modes. Additionally, a broadband (100 nm) directional coupler with a 50/50 power splitting ratio was experimentally realized on a small footprint of 20×3 μm2 . Last but not least, high-speed silicon modulators with a range of carrier doping concentrations and offset of the PN junction can be used to optimise the modulation efficiency, and insertion losses for operation at 25 GHz.

Fiber Coupled Laser Diodes with Even Illumination Pattern

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Richard T. (Inventor)

2007-01-01

An optical fiber for evenly illuminating a target. The optical fiber is coupled to a laser emitting diode and receives laser light. The la ser light travels through the fiber optic and exits at an exit end. T he exit end has a diffractive optical pattern formed thereon via etch ing, molding or cutting, to reduce the Gaussian profile present in co nventional fiber optic cables The reduction of the Gaussian provides an even illumination from the fiber optic cable.

Collection efficiency of a single optical fiber in turbid media.

PubMed

Bargo, Paulo R; Prahl, Scott A; Jacques, Steven L

2003-06-01

If a single optical fiber is used for both delivery and collection of light, two major factors affect the measurement of collected light: (1) the light transport in the medium that describes the amount of light that returns to the fiber and (2) the light coupling to the optical fiber that depends on the angular distribution of photons entering the fiber. We focus on the importance of the latter factor and describe how the efficiency of the coupling depends on the optical properties of the medium. For highly scattering tissues, the efficiency is well predicted by the numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber. For lower scattering, such as in soft tissues, photons arrive at the fiber from deeper depths, and the coupling efficiency could increase twofold to threefold above that predicted by the NA.

A nanodiamond-tapered fiber system with high single-mode coupling efficiency.

PubMed

Schröder, Tim; Fujiwara, Masazumi; Noda, Tetsuya; Zhao, Hong-Quan; Benson, Oliver; Takeuchi, Shigeki

2012-05-07

We present a fiber-coupled diamond-based single photon system. Single nanodiamonds containing nitrogen vacancy defect centers are deposited on a tapered fiber of 273 nanometer in diameter providing a record-high number of 689,000 single photons per second from a defect center in a single-mode fiber. The system can be cooled to cryogenic temperatures and coupled evanescently to other nanophotonic structures, such as microresonators. The system is suitable for integrated quantum transmission experiments, two-photon interference, quantum-random-number generation and nano-magnetometry.

Extremely small-core photonic crystal fiber fusion splicing with a single-mode fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiburcio, Bruno D.; Fernandes, Gil M.; Pinto, Armando N.

2013-11-01

We present a low-loss fusion splicing of a non-linear photonic-crystal fiber (NL-PCF) with a single-mode fiber (SMF), helped by an intermediate fiber, using a electric-arc splicer. We also analysed the splice loss between SMF and intermediate fiber, as a function of the electrical discharge duration, to achieve a low-loss transition between SMF and intermediate fiber, through a thermally expanded core splice (TEC). The NL-PCF has a external cladding diameter of 105 μm, a core diameter of 1.7 μm and mode-field diameter (MFD) of 1.5 μm. We also performed mechanical strength tests to verify the robustness of the splice joints obtained.

Fiber optic sensors for gas turbine control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shu, Emily Yixie (Inventor); Petrucco, Louis Jacob (Inventor); Daum, Wolfgang (Inventor)

2005-01-01

An apparatus for detecting flashback occurrences in a premixed combustor system having at least one fuel nozzle includes at least one photodetector and at least one fiber optic element coupled between the at least one photodetector and a test region of the combustor system wherein a respective flame of the fuel nozzle is not present under normal operating conditions. A signal processor monitors a signal of the photodetector. The fiber optic element can include at least one optical fiber positioned within a protective tube. The fiber optic element can include two fiber optic elements coupled to the test region. The optical fiber and the protective tube can have lengths sufficient to situate the photodetector outside of an engine compartment. A plurality of fuel nozzles and a plurality of fiber optic elements can be used with the fiber optic elements being coupled to respective fuel nozzles and either to the photodetector or, wherein a plurality of photodetectors are used, to respective ones of the plurality of photodetectors. The signal processor can include a digital signal processor.

Fiber optic sensors for gas turbine control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shu, Emily Yixie (Inventor); Brown, Dale Marius (Inventor); Petrucco, Louis Jacob (Inventor); Lovett, Jeffery Allan (Inventor); Daum, Wolfgang (Inventor); Dunki-Jacobs, Robert John (Inventor)

2003-01-01

An apparatus for detecting flashback occurrences in a premixed combustor system having at least one fuel nozzle includes at least one photodetector and at least one fiber optic element coupled between the at least one photodetector and a test region of the combustor system wherein a respective flame of the fuel nozzle is not present under normal operating conditions. A signal processor monitors a signal of the photodetector. The fiber optic element can include at least one optical fiber positioned within a protective tube. The fiber optic element can include two fiber optic elements coupled to the test region. The optical fiber and the protective tube can have lengths sufficient to situate the photodetector outside of an engine compartment. A plurality of fuel nozzles and a plurality of fiber optic elements can be used with the fiber optic elements being coupled to respective fuel nozzles and either to the photodetector or, wherein a plurality of photodetectors are used, to respective ones of the plurality of photodetectors. The signal processor can include a digital signal processor.

Fiber optic sensors for gas turbine control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shu, Emily Yixie (Inventor); Brown, Dale Marius (Inventor); Petrucco, Louis Jacob (Inventor); Lovett, Jeffery Allan (Inventor); Daum, Wolfgang (Inventor); Dunki-Jacobs, Robert John (Inventor)

1999-01-01

An apparatus for detecting flashback occurrences in a premixed combustor system having at least one fuel nozzle includes at least one photodetector and at least one fiber optic element coupled between the at least one photodetector and a test region of the combustor system wherein a respective flame of the fuel nozzle is not present under normal operating conditions. A signal processor monitors a signal of the photodetector. The fiber optic element can include at least one optical fiber positioned within a protective tube. The fiber optic element can include two fiber optic elements coupled to the test region. The optical fiber and the protective tube can have lengths sufficient to situate the photodetector outside of an engine compartment. A plurality of fuel nozzles and a plurality of fiber optic elements can be used with the fiber optic elements being coupled to respective fuel nozzles and either to the photodetector or, wherein a plurality of photodetectors are used, to respective ones of the plurality of photodetectors. The signal processor can include a digital signal processor.

Study of imaging fiber bundle coupling technique in IR system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Guoqing; Yang, Jianfeng; Yan, Xingtao; Song, Yansong

2017-02-01

Due to its advantageous imaging characteristic and banding flexibility, imaging fiber bundle can be used for line-plane-switching push-broom infrared imaging. How to precisely couple the fiber bundle in the optics system is the key to get excellent image for transmission. After introducing the basic system composition and structural characteristics of the infrared systems coupled with imaging fiber bundle, this article analysis the coupling efficiency and the design requirements of its relay lenses with the angle of the numerical aperture selecting in the system and cold stop matching of the refrigerant infrared detector. For an actual need, one relay coupling system has been designed with the magnification is -0.6, field of objective height is 4mm, objective numerical aperture is 0.15, which has excellent image quality and enough coupling efficiency. In the end, the push broom imaging experiment is carried out. The results show that the design meets the requirements of light energy efficiency and image quality. This design has a certain reference value for the design of the infrared fiber optical system.

Polarization-independent rapidly tunable optical add-drop multiplexer utilizing non-polarizing beam splitters in Ti:LiNbO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Yong-Wook; Sung, Won Ju; Eknoyan, O.; Madsen, C. K.; Taylor, H. F.

2012-04-01

A polarization-independent four-port wavelength-tunable optical add drop multiplexer (OADM) that utilizes non-polarizing relaxed beam splitters has been analyzed and demonstrated in Ti:LiNbO3 at the 1530 nm wavelength regime. The design utilizes an asymmetric interferometer configuration with strain induced index grating for polarization coupling along its arms that are shifted in position relative to each other. Experimental results of the filter response agree with theoretical predictions. Electrooptic tuning over a range of 15.7 nm at a rate of 0.08 nm/V has been measured. A temporal response < 46 ns to a 20 V step change in tuning voltage has been demonstrated. Fiber-to-fiber insertion loss is ~ 6.5 dB.

kW-class direct diode laser for sheet metal cutting based on DWDM of pump modules by use of ultra-steep dielectric filters.

PubMed

Witte, U; Schneider, F; Traub, M; Hoffmann, D; Drovs, S; Brand, T; Unger, A

2016-10-03

A direct diode laser was built with > 800 W output power at 940 nm to 980 nm. The radiation is coupled into a 100 µm fiber and the NA ex fiber is 0.17. The laser system is based on pump modules that are wavelength stabilized by VBGs. Dense and coarse wavelength multiplexing are realized with commercially available ultra-steep dielectric filters. The electro-optical efficiency is above 30%. Based on a detailed analysis of losses, an improved e-o-efficiency in the range of 40% to 45% is expected in the near future. System performance and reliability were demonstrated with sheet metal cutting tests on stainless steel with a thickness of 4.2 mm.

Fiber coupled diode laser beam parameter product calculation and rules for optimized design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zuolan; Segref, Armin; Koenning, Tobias; Pandey, Rajiv

2011-03-01

The Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of a passive, lossless system is a constant and cannot be improved upon but the beams may be reshaped for enhanced coupling performance. The function of the optical designer of fiber coupled diode lasers is to preserve the brightness of the diode sources while maximizing the coupling efficiency. In coupling diode laser power into fiber output, the symmetrical geometry of the fiber core makes it highly desirable to have symmetrical BPPs at the fiber input surface, but this is not always practical. It is therefore desirable to be able to know the 'diagonal' (fiber) BPP, using the BPPs of the fast and slow axes, before detailed design and simulation processes. A commonly used expression for this purpose, i.e. the square root of the sum of the squares of the BPPs in the fast and slow axes, has been found to consistently under-predict the fiber BPP (i.e. better beam quality is predicted than is actually achievable in practice). In this paper, using a simplified model, we provide the proof of the proper calculation of the diagonal (i.e. the fiber) BPP using BPPs of the fast and slow axes as input. Using the same simplified model, we also offer the proof that the fiber BPP can be shown to have a minimum (optimal) value for given diode BPPs and this optimized condition can be obtained before any detailed design and simulation are carried out. Measured and simulated data confirms satisfactory correlation between the BPPs of the diode and the predicted fiber BPP.

On fiber rejection loss in flotation deinking

Treesearch

J.Y. Zhu; Freya Tan

2005-04-01

Reducing fiber rejection loss in flotation deinking is very important to conserve natural resources and reduce the cost of secondary fibers in paper recycling. This study examined two aspects of the problem, fiber consistency in the rejection stream and rate of Froth (or wet stream) rejection. Flotation experiments were conducted using both nylon and wood fibers in...

Guided transmission for 10 micron tunable lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, C.; Sabzali, A.; Yekrangian, A.

1986-01-01

Performance characteristics are reported for two types of IR tunable laser guided transmission, one of which incorporates a CO2 laser, metallic piping or fiber-optics, and a detector system, while the other employs a tunable diode laser, fiber-optics, and a detector system. While existing technology furnishes low loss, rugged, near-single mode piping, fiber-optics exhibits appreciably higher loss, and its multimode fibers are fragile and chemically unstable. Studies have accordingly concentrated on such relevant fiber parameters as loss, toxicity, hygroscopicity, refractive index, flexibility, and thermal behavior at low temperature.

Making Optical-Fiber Chemical Detectors More Sensitive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogowski, Robert S.; Egalon, Claudio O.

1993-01-01

Calculations based on exact theory of optical fiber shown how to increase optical efficiency and sensitivity of active-cladding step-index-profile optical-fiber fluorosensor using evanescent wave coupling. Optical-fiber fluorosensor contains molecules fluorescing when illuminated by suitable light in presence of analyte. Fluorescence coupled into and launched along core by evanescent-wave interaction. Efficiency increases with difference in refractive indices.

Nanophotonic Optical Isolator Controlled by the Internal State of Cold Atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sayrin, Clément; Junge, Christian; Mitsch, Rudolf; Albrecht, Bernhard; O'Shea, Danny; Schneeweiss, Philipp; Volz, Jürgen; Rauschenbeutel, Arno

2015-10-01

The realization of nanophotonic optical isolators with high optical isolation even at ultralow light levels and low optical losses is an open problem. Here, we employ the link between the local polarization of strongly confined light and its direction of propagation to realize low-loss nonreciprocal transmission through a silica nanofiber at the single-photon level. The direction of the resulting optical isolator is controlled by the spin state of cold atoms. We perform our experiment in two qualitatively different regimes, i.e., with an ensemble of cold atoms where each atom is weakly coupled to the waveguide and with a single atom strongly coupled to the waveguide mode. In both cases, we observe simultaneously high isolation and high forward transmission. The isolator concept constitutes a nanoscale quantum optical analog of microwave ferrite resonance isolators, can be implemented with all kinds of optical waveguides and emitters, and might enable novel integrated optical devices for fiber-based classical and quantum networks.

Image Processing for Cameras with Fiber Bundle Image Relay

DTIC Science & Technology

length. Optical fiber bundles have been used to couple between this focal surface and planar image sensors . However, such fiber-coupled imaging systems...coupled to six discrete CMOS focal planes. We characterize the locally space-variant system impulse response at various stages: monocentric lens image...vignetting, and stitch together the image data from discrete sensors into a single panorama. We compare processed images from the prototype to those taken with

Researching the 915 nm high-power and high-brightness semiconductor laser single chip coupling module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xin; Wang, Cuiluan; Wu, Xia; Zhu, Lingni; Jing, Hongqi; Ma, Xiaoyu; Liu, Suping

2017-02-01

Based on the high-speed development of the fiber laser in recent years, the development of researching 915 nm semiconductor laser as main pumping sources of the fiber laser is at a high speed. Because the beam quality of the laser diode is very poor, the 915 nm laser diode is generally based on optical fiber coupling module to output the laser. Using the beam-shaping and fiber-coupling technology to improve the quality of output beam light, we present a kind of high-power and high-brightness semiconductor laser module, which can output 13.22 W through the optical fiber. Based on 915 nm GaAs semiconductor laser diode which has output power of 13.91 W, we describe a thoroughly detailed procedure for reshaping the beam output from the semiconductor laser diode and coupling the beam into the optical fiber of which the core diameter is 105 μm and the numerical aperture is 0.18. We get 13.22 W from the output fiber of the module at 14.5 A, the coupling efficiency of the whole module is 95.03% and the brightness is 1.5 MW/cm2 -str. The output power of the single chip semiconductor laser module achieves the advanced level in the domestic use.

100-W 105-μm 0.15NA fiber coupled laser diode module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlsen, Scott R.; Price, R. Kirk; Reynolds, Mitch; Brown, Aaron; Mehl, Ron; Patterson, Steve; Martinsen, Robert J.

2009-02-01

We report on the development of a high brightness laser diode module capable of coupling over 100W of optical power into a 105 μm 0.15 NA fiber at 976 nm. This module, based on nLIGHT's Pearl product architecture, utilizes hard soldered single emitters packaged into a compact and passively-cooled package. In this system each diode is individually collimated in the fast and slow axes and free-space coupled into a single fiber. The high brightness module has an optical excitation under 0.13 NA, is virtually free of cladding modes, and has an electrical to optical efficiency greater than 40%. Additionally, this module is compatible with high power 7:1 fused fiber combiners, and initial experiments demonstrated 500W coupled into a 220 μm, 0.22 NA fiber. These modules address the need in the market for higher brightness diode lasers for pumping fiber lasers and direct material processing.

Teradiode's high brightness semiconductor lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Robin K.; Chann, Bien; Burgess, James; Lochman, Bryan; Zhou, Wang; Cruz, Mike; Cook, Rob; Dugmore, Dan; Shattuck, Jeff; Tayebati, Parviz

2016-03-01

TeraDiode is manufacturing multi-kW-class ultra-high brightness fiber-coupled direct diode lasers for industrial applications. A fiber-coupled direct diode laser with a power level of 4,680 W from a 100 μm core diameter, <0.08 numerical aperture (NA) output fiber at a single center wavelength was demonstrated. Our TeraBlade industrial platform achieves world-record brightness levels for direct diode lasers. The fiber-coupled output corresponds to a Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of 3.5 mm-mrad and is the lowest BPP multi-kW-class direct diode laser yet reported. This laser is suitable for industrial materials processing applications, including sheet metal cutting and welding. This 4-kW fiber-coupled direct diode laser has comparable brightness to that of industrial fiber lasers and CO2 lasers, and is over 10x brighter than state-of-the-art direct diode lasers. We have also demonstrated novel high peak power lasers and high brightness Mid-Infrared Lasers.

Pressure effects on the thermal stability of SiC fibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaskowiak, Martha H.; Dicarlo, James A.

1986-01-01

Commercially available polymer derived SiC fibers were treated at temperatures from 1000 to 2200 C in vacuum and argon gas pressure of 1 and 1360 atm. Effects of gas pressure on the thermal stability of the fibers were determined through property comparison between the pressure treated fibers and vacuum treated fibers. Investigation of the thermal stability included studies of the fiber microstructure, weight loss, grain growth, and tensile strength. The 1360 atm argon gas treatment was found to shift the onset of fiber weight loss from 1200 to above 1500 C. Grain growth and tensile strength degradation were correlated with weight loss and were thus also inhibited by high pressure treatments. Additional heat treatment in 1 atm argon of the fibers initially treated at 1360 atm argon caused further weight loss and tensile strength degradation, thus indicating that high pressure inert gas conditions would be effective only in delaying fiber strength degradation. However, if the high gas pressure could be maintained throughout composite fabrication, then the composites could be processed at higher temperatures.

High brightness laser-diode device emitting 160 watts from a 100 μm/NA 0.22 fiber.

PubMed

Yu, Junhong; Guo, Linui; Wu, Hualing; Wang, Zhao; Tan, Hao; Gao, Songxin; Wu, Deyong; Zhang, Kai

2015-11-10

A practical method of achieving a high-brightness and high-power fiber-coupled laser-diode device is demonstrated both by experiment and ZEMAX software simulation, which is obtained by a beam transformation system, free-space beam combining, and polarization beam combining based on a mini-bar laser-diode chip. Using this method, fiber-coupled laser-diode module output power from the multimode fiber with 100 μm core diameter and 0.22 numerical aperture (NA) could reach 174 W, with equalizing brightness of 14.2  MW/(cm2·sr). By this method, much wider applications of fiber-coupled laser-diodes are anticipated.

Thulium fiber laser lithotripsy using tapered fibers.

PubMed

Blackmon, Richard L; Irby, Pierce B; Fried, Nathaniel M

2010-01-01

The Thulium fiber laser has recently been tested as a potential alternative to the Holmium:YAG laser for lithotripsy. This study explores use of a short taper for expanding the Thulium fiber laser beam at the distal tip of a small-core fiber. Thulium fiber laser radiation with a wavelength of 1,908 nm, 10 Hz pulse rate, 70 mJ pulse energy, and 1-millisecond pulse duration was delivered through a 2-m-length fiber with 150-microm-core-input-end, 300-microm-core-output-end, and 5-mm-length taper, in contact with human uric acid (UA) and calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) stones, ex vivo (n = 10 each). Stone mass loss, stone crater depths, fiber transmission losses, fiber burn-back, irrigation rates, and deflection through a flexible ureteroscope were measured for the tapered fiber and compared with conventional fibers. After delivery of 1,800 pulses through the tapered fiber, mass loss measured 12.7+/-2.6 mg for UA and 7.2+/-0.8 mg COM stones, comparable to conventional 100-microm-core fibers (12.6+/-2.5 mg for UA and 6.8+/-1.7 mg for COM stones). No transmission losses or burn-back occurred for the tapered fiber after 36,000 pulses, while a conventional 150-microm fiber experienced significant tip degradation after only 1,800 pulses. High irrigation rates were measured with the tapered fiber inserted through the working port of a flexible ureteroscope without hindering its deflection, mimicking that of a conventional 150 microm fiber. The short tapered distal fiber tip allows expansion of the laser beam, resulting in decreased fiber tip damage compared to conventional small-core fibers, without compromising fiber bending, stone vaporization efficiency, or irrigation rates.

Enhanced electromagnetic interference shielding properties of carbon fiber veil/Fe3O4 nanoparticles/epoxy multiscale composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wei; Wang, Jun; Zhang, Bin; Wu, Qilei; Su, Xiaogang

2017-12-01

The multiscale approach has been adapted to enhance the electromagnetic interference shielding properties of carbon fiber (CF) veil epoxy-based composites. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were homogeneously dispersed in the epoxy matrix after surface modification by using silane coupling agent. The CF veil/Fe3O4 NPs/epoxy multiscale composites were manufactured by impregnating the CF veils with Fe3O4 NPs/epoxy mixture to prepare prepreg followed by vacuum bagging process. The electromagnetic interference shielding properties combined with the complex permittivity and complex permeability of the composites were investigated in the X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz) range. The total shielding effectiveness (SET) increases with increasing Fe3O4 NPs loadings and the maximum SET is 51.5 dB at low thickness of 1 mm. The incorporation of Fe3O4 NPs into the composites enhances the complex permittivity and complex permeability thus enhancing the electromagnetic wave absorption capability. The increased SET dominated by absorption loss SEA is attributed to the enhanced magnetic loss and dielectric loss generated by Fe3O4 NPs and multilayer construction of the composites. The microwave conductivity increases and the skin depth decreases with increasing Fe3O4 NPs loadings.

Numerical aperture limits on efficient ball lens coupling of laser diodes to single-mode fibers with defocus to balance spherical aberration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, R. Gale

1994-01-01

The potential capabilities and limitations of single ball lenses for coupling laser diode radiation to single-mode optical fibers have been analyzed; parameters important to optical communications were specifically considered. These parameters included coupling efficiency, effective numerical apertures, lens radius, lens refractive index, wavelength, magnification in imaging the laser diode on the fiber, and defocus to counterbalance spherical aberration of the lens. Limiting numerical apertures in object and image space were determined under the constraint that the lens perform to the Rayleigh criterion of 0.25-wavelength (Strehl ratio = 0.80). The spherical aberration-defocus balance to provide an optical path difference of 0.25 wavelength units was shown to define a constant coupling efficiency (i.e., 0.56). The relative numerical aperture capabilities of the ball lens were determined for a set of wavelengths and associated fiber-core diameters of particular interest for single-mode fiber-optic communication. The results support general continuing efforts in the optical fiber communications industry to improve coupling links within such systems with emphasis on manufacturing simplicity, system packaging flexibility, relaxation of assembly alignment tolerances, cost reduction of opto-electronic components and long term reliability and stability.

Silicone polymer waveguide bridge for Si to glass optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruse, Kevin L.; Riegel, Nicholas J.; Middlebrook, Christopher T.

2015-03-01

Multimode step index polymer waveguides achieve high-speed, (<10 Gb/s) low bit-error-rates for onboard and embedded circuit applications. Using several multimode waveguides in parallel enables overall capacity to reach beyond 100 Gb/s, but the intrinsic bandwidth limitations due to intermodal dispersion limit the data transmission rates within multimode waveguides. Single mode waveguides, where intermodal dispersion is not present, have the potential to further improve data transmission rates. Single mode waveguide size is significantly less than their multimode counterparts allowing for greater density of channels leading to higher bandwidth capacity per layer. Challenges in implementation of embedded single mode waveguides within printed circuit boards involves mass production fabrication techniques to create precision dimensional waveguides, precision alignment tolerances necessary to launch a mode, and effective coupling between adjoining waveguides and devices. An emerging need in which single mode waveguides can be utilized is providing low loss fan out techniques and coupling between on-chip transceiver devices containing Si waveguide structures to traditional single mode optical fiber. A polymer waveguide bridge for Si to glass optical fibers can be implemented using silicone polymers at 1310 nm. Fabricated and measured prototype devices with modeling and simulation analysis are reported for a 12 member 1-D tapered PWG. Recommendations and designs are generated with performance factors such as numerical aperture and alignment tolerances.

Femtosecond laser inscription of asymmetric directional couplers for in-fiber optical taps and fiber cladding photonics.

PubMed

Grenier, Jason R; Fernandes, Luís A; Herman, Peter R

2015-06-29

Precise alignment of femtosecond laser tracks in standard single mode optical fiber is shown to enable controllable optical tapping of the fiber core waveguide light with fiber cladding photonic circuits. Asymmetric directional couplers are presented with tunable coupling ratios up to 62% and bandwidths up to 300 nm at telecommunication wavelengths. Real-time fiber monitoring during laser writing permitted a means of controlling the coupler length to compensate for micron-scale alignment errors and to facilitate tailored design of coupling ratio, spectral bandwidth and polarization properties. Laser induced waveguide birefringence was harnessed for polarization dependent coupling that led to the formation of in-fiber polarization-selective taps with 32 dB extinction ratio. This technology enables the interconnection of light propagating in pre-existing waveguides with laser-formed devices, thereby opening a new practical direction for the three-dimensional integration of optical devices in the cladding of optical fibers and planar lightwave circuits.

Characterization of waviness in wind turbine blades using air coupled ultrasonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chakrapani, Sunil Kishore; Dayal, Vinay; Hsu, David K.

2011-06-23

Waviness in glass fiber reinforced composite is of great interest in composite research, since it results in the loss of stiffness. Several NDE techniques have been used previously to detect waviness. This work is concerned with waves normal to the plies in a composite. Air-coupled ultrasonics was used to detect waviness in thick composites used in the manufacturing of wind turbine blades. Composite samples with different wave aspect ratios were studied. Different wavy samples were characterized, and a three step process was developed to make sure the technique is field implementable. This gives us a better understanding of the effectmore » of waviness in thick composites, and how it affects the life and performance of the composite.« less

Photon counting photodiode array detector for far ultraviolet (FUV) astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartig, G. F.; Moos, H. W.; Pembroke, R.; Bowers, C.

1982-01-01

A compact, stable, single-stage intensified photodiode array detector designed for photon-counting, far ultraviolet astronomy applications employs a saturable, 'C'-type MCP (Galileo S. MCP 25-25) to produce high gain pulses with a narrowly peaked pulse height distribution. The P-20 output phosphor exhibits a very short decay time, due to the high current density of the electron pulses. This intensifier is being coupled to a self-scanning linear photodiode array which has a fiber optic input window which allows direct, rigid mechanical coupling with minimal light loss. The array was scanned at a 250 KHz pixel rate. The detector exhibits more than adequate signal-to-noise ratio for pulse counting and event location. Previously announced in STAR as N82-19118

Effective plasmonic mode-size converter.

PubMed

Park, Hae-Ryeong; Park, Jong-Moon; Kim, Min-su; Ju, Jung Jin; Son, Jung-Han; Lee, Myung-Hyun

2011-10-24

Plasmonic mode-size converters (PMSCs) for long-range surface plasmon polaritons (LR-SPPs) at the wavelength of 1.55 μm are presented. The PMSC is composed of an insulator-metal-insulator waveguide (IMI-W), a laterally tapered insulator-metal-insulator-metal-insulator waveguide (LT-IMIMI-W), and an IMIMI-W in series. The mode-intensity sizes of the LR-SPPs for the IMI-W and the IMIMI-W were not only calculated using a finite element method but were also experimentally measured. The propagation losses of the IMI-W and the IMIMI-W as well as the coupling losses between them were analyzed by the cut-back method to investigate the effect of LT-IMIMI-Ws. By using the PMSC with a ~27 ° angled LT-IMIMI-W, the coupling loss between a polarization-maintaining fiber and a 3 μm-wide IMIMI-W was reduced by ~3.4 dB. Moreover, the resulting mode-intensity in the output of the PMSC was squeezed to ~35% of the mode-intensity in the input IMI-W. The PMSC may be potentially useful for bridging micro- to nano-plasmonic integrated circuits. © 2011 Optical Society of America

More than threefold expansion of highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber cores for low-loss fusion splicing.

PubMed

Chen, Z; Xiong, C; Xiao, L M; Wadsworth, W J; Birks, T A

2009-07-15

We have formed low-loss fusion splices from highly nonlinear (HNL) photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with small cores and high air-filling fractions to fibers with much larger mode field diameters (MFDs). The PCF core was locally enlarged by the controlled collapse of holes around the core while keeping other holes open. The fiber was then cleaved at the enlarged core and spliced to the large MFD fiber with a conventional electric arc fusion splicer. Splice losses as low as 0.36 dB were achieved between a PCF and a standard single-mode fiber (SMF) with MFDs of 1.8 microm and 5.9 microm, respectively.

Deterministic quantum state transfer between remote qubits in cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogell, B.; Vermersch, B.; Northup, T. E.; Lanyon, B. P.; Muschik, C. A.

2017-12-01

Performing a faithful transfer of an unknown quantum state is a key challenge for enabling quantum networks. The realization of networks with a small number of quantum links is now actively pursued, which calls for an assessment of different state transfer methods to guide future design decisions. Here, we theoretically investigate quantum state transfer between two distant qubits, each in a cavity, connected by a waveguide, e.g., an optical fiber. We evaluate the achievable success probabilities of state transfer for two different protocols: standard wave packet shaping and adiabatic passage. The main loss sources are transmission losses in the waveguide and absorption losses in the cavities. While special cases studied in the literature indicate that adiabatic passages may be beneficial in this context, it remained an open question under which conditions this is the case and whether their use will be advantageous in practice. We answer these questions by providing a full analysis, showing that state transfer by adiabatic passage—in contrast to wave packet shaping—can mitigate the effects of undesired cavity losses, far beyond the regime of coupling to a single waveguide mode and the regime of lossless waveguides, as was proposed so far. Furthermore, we show that the photon arrival probability is in fact bounded in a trade-off between losses due to non-adiabaticity and due to coupling to off-resonant waveguide modes. We clarify that neither protocol can avoid transmission losses and discuss how the cavity parameters should be chosen to achieve an optimal state transfer.

Fiber optic laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy sensor for molten material analysis

DOEpatents

Zhang, Hansheng; Rai, Awadesh K.; Singh, Jagdish P.; Yueh, Fang-Yu

2004-07-13

A fiber optic laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) sensor, including a laser light source, a harmonic separator for directing the laser light, a dichroic mirror for reflecting the laser light, a coupling lens for coupling the laser light at an input of a multimode optical fiber, a connector for coupling the laser light from an output of the multimode optical fiber to an input of a high temperature holder, such as a holder made of stainless steel, and a detector portion for receiving emission signal and analyzing LIBS intensities. In one variation, the multimode optical fiber has silica core and silica cladding. The holder includes optical lenses for collimating and focusing the laser light in a molten alloy to produce a plasma, and for collecting and transmitting an emission signal to the multimode optical fiber.

Optical fiber sensors for damage analysis in aerospace materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schindler, Paul; May, Russell; Claus, Richard

1995-01-01

Under this grant, fiber optic sensors were investigated for use in the nondestructive evaluation of aging aircraft. Specifically, optical fiber sensors for detection and location of impacts on a surface, and for detection of corrosion in metals were developed. The use of neural networks was investigated for determining impact location by processing the output of a network of fiberoptic strain sensors distributed on a surface. This approach employs triangulation to determine location by comparing the arrival times at several sensors, of the acoustic signal generated by the impact. For this study, a neural network simulator running on a personal computer was used to train a network using a back-propagation algorithm. Fiber optic extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) strain sensors are attached to or embedded in the surface, so that stress waves emanating from an impact can be detected. The ability of the network to determine impact location by time-or-arrival of acoustic signals was assessed by comparing network outputs with actual experimental results using impacts on a panel instrumented with optical fiber sensors. Using the neural network to process the sensor outputs, the impact location can be inferred to centimeter range accuracy directly from the arrival time data. In addition, the network can be trained to determine impact location, regardless of material anisotropy. Results demonstrate that a back-propagation network identifies impact location for an anisotropic graphite/bismaleimide plate with the same accuracy as that for an isotropic aluminum plate. Two different approaches were investigated for the development of fiber optic sensors for corrosion detection in metals, both utilizing optical fiber sensors with metal coatings. In the first approach, an extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric fiber optic strain sensor was placed under tensile stress, and while in the resulting strained position, a thick coating of metal was applied. Due to an increase in the quantity of material, the sensor does not return to its original position upon removal of the applied stress, and some residual strain is maintained within the sensor element. As the metal thickness decreases due to corrosion, this strain is released, providing the sensing mechanism for corrosion detection. In the second approach, photosensitive optical fibers with long period Bragg gratings in the core were coated with metal. The Bragg gratings serve to couple core modes at discrete wavelengths to cladding modes. Since cladding modes interact with the metal coating surrounding the fiber cladding, the specific wavelengths coupled from core to cladding depend on the refractive index of the metal coating. Therefore, as the metal corrodes, the resulting change in index of the coating may be measured by measuring the change in wavelength of the coupled mode. Results demonstrate that both approaches can be successfully used to track the loss in metal coating on the optical fiber sensors due to corrosion.

Hybrid porous core low loss dispersion flattened fiber for THz propagation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Sharafat; Ahmed, Nasim; Aljunid, Syed; Ahmad, Badlishah

2016-11-01

This manuscript represents a novel porous core fiber design for Terahertz (THz) propagation with low loss and near zero flat dispersion properties. In this proposed fiber a hexagonal arrangement is used as cladding structure and a hybrid core containing circular and triangular designs is used as the central porous region. The Effective Material Loss (EML), confinement loss and bending loss are investigated for the proposed fiber along with dispersion characteristics. Simulation results show a very low EML of 0.01944 cm-1 at 1 THz operating frequency with negligible confinement and bending loss. The proposed novel porous design shows 0.55 THz range near zero flat dispersion of ±0.05 ps/THz/cm at 0.95 ps/THz/cm. The reported design consists of only circular shaped air holes with proper core diameter and porosity to simplify the fabrication process. The newly proposed hybrid design in the porous core region can be considered as an improved edition in the research of THz porous core fibers.

Generation of surface-wave microwave microplasmas in hollow-core photonic crystal fiber based on a split-ring resonator.

PubMed

Vial, Florian; Gadonna, Katell; Debord, Benoît; Delahaye, Frédéric; Amrani, Foued; Leroy, Olivier; Gérôme, Frédéric; Benabid, Fetah

2016-05-15

We report on a new and highly compact scheme for the generation and sustainment of microwave-driven plasmas inside the core of an inhibited coupling Kagome hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The microwave plasma generator consists of a split-ring resonator that efficiently couples the microwave field into the gas-filled fiber. This coupling induces the concomitant generation of a microwave surface wave at the fiber core surround and a stable plasma column confined in the fiber core. The scheme allowed the generation of several centimeters long argon microplasma columns with a very low excitation power threshold. This result represents an important step toward highly compact plasma lasers or plasma-based photonic components.

Damping properties of fiber reinforced composite suitable for stayed cable

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianzhi; Sun, Baochen; Du, Yanliang

2011-11-01

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) cables were initially most investigated to replace steel cables. To further explore the advantages of FRP cables, the potential ability of vibration control is studied in this paper emphasizing the designable characteristic of hybrid FRP cables. Fiber reinforced vinyl ester composites and fiber reinforced epoxy composites were prepared by the pultrusion method. Due to the extensive application of fiber reinforced composites, the temperature spectrum and frequency spectrum of loss factor for the composite were tested using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) equipment. The damping properties and damping mechanism of the composite were investigated and discussed at different temperatures and frequencies. The result indicates that the loss factor of the composites is increasing with the increase of the frequency from 0.1Hz to 2 Hz and decreasing with the decrease of the temperature from -20°C to 60°C. The loss factor of the carbon fiber composite is higher than that of the glass fiber for the same matrix. The loss factor of the vinyl ester composite is higher than that of the epoxy composite for the same fiber.

Damping properties of fiber reinforced composite suitable for stayed cable

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianzhi; Sun, Baochen; Du, Yanliang

2012-04-01

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) cables were initially most investigated to replace steel cables. To further explore the advantages of FRP cables, the potential ability of vibration control is studied in this paper emphasizing the designable characteristic of hybrid FRP cables. Fiber reinforced vinyl ester composites and fiber reinforced epoxy composites were prepared by the pultrusion method. Due to the extensive application of fiber reinforced composites, the temperature spectrum and frequency spectrum of loss factor for the composite were tested using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) equipment. The damping properties and damping mechanism of the composite were investigated and discussed at different temperatures and frequencies. The result indicates that the loss factor of the composites is increasing with the increase of the frequency from 0.1Hz to 2 Hz and decreasing with the decrease of the temperature from -20°C to 60°C. The loss factor of the carbon fiber composite is higher than that of the glass fiber for the same matrix. The loss factor of the vinyl ester composite is higher than that of the epoxy composite for the same fiber.

Critical Coupling Between Optical Fibers and WGM Resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matsko, Andrey; Maleki, Lute; Itchenko, Vladimir; Savchenkov, Anatoliy

2009-01-01

Two recipes for ensuring critical coupling between a single-mode optical fiber and a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonator have been devised. The recipes provide for phase matching and aperture matching, both of which are necessary for efficient coupling. There is also a provision for suppressing intermodal coupling, which is detrimental because it drains energy from desired modes into undesired ones. According to one recipe, the tip of the single-mode optical fiber is either tapered in diameter or tapered in effective diameter by virtue of being cleaved at an oblique angle. The effective index of refraction and the phase velocity at a given position along the taper depend on the diameter (or effective diameter) and the index of refraction of the bulk fiber material. As the diameter (or effective diameter) decreases with decreasing distance from the tip, the effective index of refraction also decreases. Critical coupling and phase matching can be achieved by placing the optical fiber and the resonator in contact at the proper point along the taper. This recipe is subject to the limitation that the attainable effective index of refraction lies between the indices of refraction of the bulk fiber material and the atmosphere or vacuum to which the resonator and fiber are exposed. The other recipe involves a refinement of the previously developed technique of prism coupling, in which the light beam from the optical fiber is collimated and focused onto one surface of a prism that has an index of refraction greater than that of the resonator. Another surface of the prism is placed in contact with the resonator. The various components are arranged so that the collimated beam is focused at the prism/resonator contact spot. The recipe includes the following additional provisions:

Cos-Gaussian modal field of a terahertz rectangular metal waveguide filled with multiple slices of dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kai; Cao, Qing; Zhang, Huifang; Shen, Pengcheng; Xing, Lujing

2018-06-01

Based on the TE01 mode of a rectangular metal waveguide and the Gaussian mode of a fiber, we propose the cos-Gaussian mode of a terahertz rectangular metal waveguide filled with multiple slices of dielectric. First, we consider a rectangular metal waveguide filled with an ideal graded-index dielectric along one direction. Furthermore, we replace the graded-index dielectric with multiple slices of dielectric according to the effective medium theory. The modal field, the effective index, and the coupling efficiency of this waveguide are investigated. It is found that the approximately linearly polarized electric field is Gaussian along one dimensionality and cosine along the other one. In addition, the low loss and high coupling efficiency with a Gaussian beam can be acquired at 0.9 THz. By optimization, the coupling efficiency could reach 88.5%.

Mode coupling in hybrid square-rectangular lasers for single mode operation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Xiu-Wen; Huang, Yong-Zhen, E-mail: yzhuang@semi.ac.cn; Yang, Yue-De

Mode coupling between a square microcavity and a Fabry-Pérot (FP) cavity is proposed and demonstrated for realizing single mode lasers. The modulations of the mode Q factor as simulation results are observed and single mode operation is obtained with a side mode suppression ratio of 46 dB and a single mode fiber coupling loss of 3.2 dB for an AlGaInAs/InP hybrid laser as a 300-μm-length and 1.5-μm-wide FP cavity connected to a vertex of a 10-μm-side square microcavity. Furthermore, tunable single mode operation is demonstrated with a continuous wavelength tuning range over 10 nm. The simple hybrid structure may shed light on practicalmore » applications of whispering-gallery mode microcavities in large-scale photonic integrated circuits and optical communication and interconnection.« less

Shaping ultrafast laser inscribed optical waveguides using a deformable mirror.

PubMed

Thomson, R R; Bockelt, A S; Ramsay, E; Beecher, S; Greenaway, A H; Kar, A K; Reid, D T

2008-08-18

We use a two-dimensional deformable mirror to shape the spatial profile of an ultrafast laser beam that is then used to inscribe structures in a soda-lime silica glass slide. By doing so we demonstrate that it is possible to control the asymmetry of the cross section of ultrafast laser inscribed optical waveguides via the curvature of the deformable mirror. When tested using 1.55 mum light, the optimum waveguide exhibited coupling losses of approximately 0.2 dB/facet to Corning SMF-28 single mode fiber and propagation losses of approximately 1.5 dB.cm(-1). This technique promises the possibility of combining rapid processing speeds with the ability to vary the waveguide cross section along its length.

Narrowband spectral filter based on biconical tapered fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Celaschi, Sergio; Malheiros-Silveira, Gilliard N.

2018-02-01

The ease of fabrication and compactness of devices based on tapered optical fibers contribute to its potential using in several applications ranging from telecommunication components to sensing devices. In this work, we proposed, fabricated, and characterized a spectral filter made of biconical taper from a coaxial optical fiber. This filter is defined by adiabatically tapering a depressed-cladding fiber. The adiabatic taper profile obtained during fabrication prevents the interference of other modes than HE11 and HE12 ones, which play the main role for the beating phenomenon and the filter response. The evolution of the fiber shapes during the pulling was modeled by two coupled partial differential equations, which relate the normalized cross-section area, and the axial velocity of the fiber elongation. These equations govern the mass and axial momentum conservation. The numerical results of the filter characteristics are in good accordance with the experimental ones. The filter was packaged in order to let it ready for using in optical communication bands. The characteristics are: free spectral range (FSR) of 6.19 nm, insertion loss bellow 0.5 dB, and isolation > 20 dB at C-band. Its transmission spectrum extends from 1200 to 1600 nm where the optical fiber core supports monomode transmission. Such characteristics may also be interesting to be applied in sensing applications. We show preliminary numerical results assuming a biconic taper embedded into a dielectric media, showing promising results for electro-optic sensing applications.

Tunable in-line fiber optic comb filter using a side-polished single-mode fiber coupler with LiNbO 3 overlay and intermediate coupling layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sohn, Kyung-Rak; Song, Jae-Won

2002-03-01

Using a side-polished single-mode fiber covered with a polished LiNbO 3 overlay and an intermediate coupling layer, tunable fiber-optic comb filters are demonstrated. The device behaviors based on the modal properties of the fiber and the planar LiNbO 3 waveguide are analyzed by two dimensional beam propagation methods (2-D BPM) and discussed the role of an intermediate coupling layer in terms of coupling efficiency. We also show that the thermo-optic effects of this layer can be utilized to tune the comb filter. When the polished x-cut LiNbO 3 with 200 μm thickness is used as a multimode overlay waveguide, the comb output spectra with free spectral range of 4 nm are measured in 1550 nm wavelength range. The tuning rate as a function of the refractive index of an intermediate coupling layer, Δλ/ Δnb, is about -0.129 nm/-0.001. The experimental results are in good agreement with the calculated results.

Intensity noise coupling in soliton fiber oscillators.

PubMed

Wan, Chenchen; Schibli, Thomas R; Li, Peng; Bevilacqua, Carlo; Ruehl, Axel; Hartl, Ingmar

2017-12-15

We present an experimental and numerical study on the spectrally resolved pump-to-output intensity noise coupling in soliton fiber oscillators. In our study, we observe a strong pump noise coupling to the Kelly sidebands, while the coupling to the soliton pulse is damped. This behavior is observed in erbium-doped as well as holmium-doped fiber oscillators and confirmed by numerical modeling. It can be seen as a general feature of laser oscillators in which soliton pulse formation is dominant. We show that spectral blocking of the Kelly sidebands outside the laser cavity can improve the intensity noise performance of the laser dramatically.

Highly efficient all-fiber tunable polarization filter using torsional acoustic wave.

PubMed

Lee, Kwang Jo; Park, Hyun Chul; Kim, Byoung Yoon

2007-09-17

We demonstrate an all-fiber tunable polarization filter with high coupling efficiency based on acousto-optic coupling between two optical polarization modes of the LP(01) mode propagating in a highly birefringent single mode optical fiber. An over-coupling between the two polarization modes is realized over the wavelength range from 1530 nm to 1610 nm using traveling torsional acoustic wave. The measured 3-dB optical bandwidth of the filter was 4.8 nm at the wavelength around 1550 nm. The details of the filter transmission and the coupling characteristics are discussed.

Welding-fume-induced transmission loss in tapered optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Ji-Haeng

2015-09-01

This paper presents a method for sensing welding fumes in real time. This method is based on the results of nanoparticle-induced optical-fiber loss experiments that show that the losses are determined by the nanoparticle density and the taper waist. The tapered fiber is obtained by applying heat radiated from hot quartz, and monitoring is done in real time. First, the durability of the tapered fiber during the welding process is proven. Then, the loss is categorized by using the sizes of welding fume particles. The sensitivity to welding fumes increases with increasing size of the particles; consequently, the dimension of the taper waist decreases.

A direction detective asymmetrical twin-core fiber curving sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Maowei; Geng, Tao; Yang, Wenlei; Zeng, Hongyi; Li, Jian

2015-10-01

Long period fiber gratings (LPFGs), which can couple the core mode to the forward propagating cladding modes of a fiber and have the advantage of small additional loss, no backward reflection, small size, which is widely used in optical fiber sensors and optical communication systems. LPFG has different fabricating methods, in order to write gratings on the twin-core at the same time effectively, we specially choose electric heating fused taper system to fabricate asymmetric dual-core long period fiber grating, because this kind of method can guarantee the similarity of gratings on the twin cores and obtain good geometric parameters of LPFG, such as cycle, cone waist. Then we use bending test platform to conduct bending test for each of the core of twin-core asymmetric long period fiber grating. Experiments show that: the sensitivity of asymmetrical twin-core long period fiber grating's central core under bending is -5.47nm·m, while the sensitivity of asymmetric twin-core long period fiber grating partial core changed with the relative position of screw micrometer. The sensitivity at 0°, 30°, 90° direction is -4.22nm·m, -9.84nm·m, -11.44nm·m respectively. The experiment results strongly demonstrate the properties of rim sensing of asymmetrical twin-core fiber gratings which provides the possibility of simultaneously measuring the bending magnitude and direction and solving the problem of cross sensing when multi-parameter measuring. In other words, we can detect temperature and bend at the same time by this sensor. As our knowledge, it is the first time simultaneously measuring bend and temperature using this structure of fiber sensors.

Inhibition of the Activin Receptor Type-2B Pathway Restores Regenerative Capacity in Satellite Cell-Depleted Skeletal Muscle

PubMed Central

Formicola, Luigi; Pannérec, Alice; Correra, Rosa Maria; Gayraud-Morel, Barbara; Ollitrault, David; Besson, Vanessa; Tajbakhsh, Shahragim; Lachey, Jennifer; Seehra, Jasbir S.; Marazzi, Giovanna; Sassoon, David A.

2018-01-01

Degenerative myopathies typically display a decline in satellite cells coupled with a replacement of muscle fibers by fat and fibrosis. During this pathological remodeling, satellite cells are present at lower numbers and do not display a proper regenerative function. Whether a decline in satellite cells directly contributes to disease progression or is a secondary result is unknown. In order to dissect these processes, we used a genetic model to reduce the satellite cell population by ~70–80% which leads to a nearly complete loss of regenerative potential. We observe that while no overt tissue damage is observed following satellite cell depletion, muscle fibers atrophy accompanied by changes in the stem cell niche cellular composition. Treatment of these mice with an Activin receptor type-2B (AcvR2B) pathway blocker reverses muscle fiber atrophy as expected, but also restores regenerative potential of the remaining satellite cells. These findings demonstrate that in addition to controlling fiber size, the AcvR2B pathway acts to regulate the muscle stem cell niche providing a more favorable environment for muscle regeneration. PMID:29881353

High-brightness 9xxnm fiber coupled diode lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Rui; Jiang, Xiaochen; Yang, Thomas; He, Xiaoguang; Gao, Yanyan; Zhu, Jing; Zhang, Tujia; Guo, Weirong; Wang, Baohua; Guo, Zhijie; Zhang, Luyan; Chen, Louisa

2015-03-01

We developed a high brightness fiber coupled diode laser module providing more than 140W output power from a 105μm NA 0.15 fiber at the wavelength of 915nm.The high brightness module has an electrical to optical efficiency better than 45% and power enclosure more than 90% within NA 0.13. It is based on multi-single emitters using optical and polarization beam combining and fiber coupling technique. With the similar technology, over 100W of optical power into a 105μm NA 0.15 fiber at 976nm is also achieved which can be compatible with the volume Bragg gratings to receive narrow and stabilized spectral linewidth. The light within NA 0.12 is approximately 92%. The reliability test data of single and multiple single emitter laser module under high optical load are also presented and analyzed using a reliability model with an emitting aperture optimized for coupling into 105μm core fiber. The total MTTF shows exceeding 100,000 hours within 60% confidence level. The packaging processes and optical design are ready for commercial volume production.

Beam collimation and focusing and error analysis of LD and fiber coupling system based on ZEMAX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Lvlin; Zhou, Dejian; Xiao, Lei

2017-10-01

Laser diodde has many advantages, such as high efficiency, small volume, low cost and easy integration, so it is widely used. Because of its poor beam quality, the application of semiconductor laser has also been seriously hampered. In view of the poor beam quality, the ZEMAX optical design software is used to simulate the far field characteristics of the semiconductor laser beam, and the coupling module of the semiconductor laser and the optical fiber is designed and optimized. And the beam is coupled into the fiber core diameter d=200µm, the numerical aperture NA=0.22 optical fiber, the output power can reach 95%. Finally, the influence of the three docking errors on the coupling efficiency during the installation process is analyzed.

Design of 150W, 105-μm, 0.22NA, fiber coupled laser diode module by ZEMAX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yunfei; Zhao, Pengfei; Chen, Qing; Wu, Yulong; Chen, Yongqi; Zou, Yonggang; Lin, Xuechun

2016-10-01

We represent a design of a high brightness, fiber coupled diode laser module based on 16 single emitters at 915nm. The module can produce more than 150 Watts output power from a standard fiber with core diameter of 105μm and numerical aperture (NA) of 0.22. To achieve a high power and high brightness laser beam, the spatial beam combination and polarization beam combination are used to combine output of 16 single emitters into a single beam, and then an aspheric lens is used to couple the combined beam into an optical fiber. The simulation show that the total coupling efficiency is more than 95% and the highest brightness is estimated to be 11MW/ (cm2*sr).

Loss of calretinin immunoreactive fibers in subcortical visual recipient structures of the RCS dystrophic rat.

PubMed

Vugler, Anthony A; Coffey, Peter J

2003-11-01

The retinae of dystrophic Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats exhibit progressive photoreceptor degeneration accompanied by pathology of ganglion cells. To date, little work has examined the consequences of retinal degeneration for central visual structures in dystrophic rats. Here, we use immunohistochemistry for calretinin (CR) to label retinal afferents in the superior colliculus (SC), lateral geniculate nucleus, and olivary pretectal nucleus of RCS rats aged between 2 and 26 months of age. Early indications of fiber loss in the medial dystrophic SC were apparent between 9 and 13 months. Quantitative methods reveal a significant reduction in the level of CR immunoreactivity in visual layers of the medial dystrophic SC at 13 months (P < 0.02). In dystrophic animals aged 19-26 months the loss of CR fibers in SC was dramatic, with well-defined patches of fiber degeneration predominating in medial aspects of the structure. This fiber degeneration in SC was accompanied by increased detection of cells immunoreactive for CR. In several animals, regions of fiber loss were also found to contain strongly parvalbumin-immunoreactive cells. Loss of CR fibers was also observed in the lateral geniculate nucleus and olivary pretectal nucleus. Patterns of fiber loss in the dystrophic SC compliment reports of ganglion cell degeneration in these animals and the response of collicular neurons to degeneration is discussed in terms of plasticity of the dystrophic visual system and properties of calcium binding proteins.

MPO-type single-mode multi-fiber connector: Low-loss and high-return-loss intermateability of APC-MPO connectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satake, Toshiaki; Nagasawa, Shinji; Hughes, Mike; Lutz, Sharon

2011-01-01

The electrical communication laboratory of NTT started the research of MT (Mechanically Transferable) connector in early 1980s. The initial goal was to realize a multi-fiber connector which can repeat low loss, stable, reliable and low-cost connections of subscriber optical fiber cable networks for more than 20 years period in the field. We review the multi-fiber alignment design with two guide pins, and following several technical improvements toward the final MT connector used in the commercial telecommunication networks. And then, we review development histories to reach to the low-loss, high-return-loss and reliable APC-MPO (Angled Physical Contact Multi-fiber Push On) connectors introduced in NTT COs and in Verizon's FTTH (Fiber To The Home) networks. In the latter half, we propose the low-loss intermateability design for connectors made by different suppliers in order to enable mass introductions into large scale systems. In addition we also describe an accurate connector loss presumption method for different lots' ferrules based on the MT ferrule dimension data before assembling the connectors. We believe with a wide intermateability of APC-MPO connector will increase its use in the fields. The APC-MPO connector manufactured based on the proposed design had low insertion losses of less than 0.25 dB at the same level of simplex connectors and the higher level of return losses higher than 65 dB.

Coupling Single-Mode Fiber to Uniform and Symmetrically Tapered Thin-Film Waveguide Structures Using Gadolinium Gallium Garnet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gadi, Jagannath; Yalamanchili, Raj; Shahid, Mohammad

1995-01-01

The need for high efficiency components has grown significantly due to the expanding role of fiber optic communications for various applications. Integrated optics is in a state of metamorphosis and there are many problems awaiting solutions. One of the main problems being the lack of a simple and efficient method of coupling single-mode fibers to thin-film devices for integrated optics. In this paper, optical coupling between a single-mode fiber and a uniform and tapered thin-film waveguide is theoretically modeled and analyzed. A novel tapered structure presented in this paper is shown to produce perfect match for power transfer.

Distributed measurement of polarization mode coupling in fiber ring based on P-OTDR complete polarization state detection.

PubMed

Huang, Zejia; Wu, Chongqing; Wang, Zhi; Wang, Jian; Liu, Lanlan

2018-02-19

Using a quaternion method, the polarization mode-coupling coefficient can be derived from three components of the Stokes vectors at three adjacent points along a fiber. A complete polarization optical time-domain reflectometry scheme for polarization mode coupling distributed measurement in polarization-maintaining fiber ring is proposed based on the above theoretical derivations. By comparing the measurement results of two opposite incident directions and two orthogonal polarization axes of polarization-maintaining fiber rings with different lengths, the feasibility and repeatability of the measurement scheme are verified experimentally with a positioning spatial resolution of 1 meter.

Improvement in reduced-mode (REM) diodes enable 315 W from 105-μm 0.15-NA fiber-coupled modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanskar, M.; Bao, L.; Chen, Z.; Dawson, D.; DeVito, M.; Dong, W.; Grimshaw, M.; Guan, X.; Hemenway, M.; Martinsen, R.; Urbanek, W.; Zhang, S.

2018-02-01

High-power, high-brightness diode lasers have been pursued for many applications including fiber laser pumping, materials processing, solid-state laser pumping, and consumer electronics manufacturing. In particular, 915 nm - and 976 nm diodes are of interest as diode pumps for the kilowatt CW fiber lasers. As a result, there have been many technical thrusts for driving the diode lasers to have both high power and high brightness to achieve high-performance and reduced manufacturing costs. This paper presents our continued progress in the development of high brightness fiber-coupled product platform, nLIGHT element®. In the past decade, the power coupled into a single 105 μm and 0.15 NA fiber has increased by over a factor of ten through improved diode laser brightness and the development of techniques for efficiently coupling multiple emitters. In this paper, we demonstrate further brightness improvement and power-scaling enabled by both the rise in chip brightness/power and the increase in number of chips coupled into a given numerical aperture. We report a new chip technology using x-REM design with brightness as high as 4.3 W/mm-mrad at a BPP of 3 mm-mrad. We also report record 315 W output from a 2×12 nLIGHT element with 105 μm diameter fiber using x-REM diodes and these diodes will allow next generation of fiber-coupled product capable of 250W output power from 105 μm/0.15 NA beam at 915 nm.

Improved fiber retention by the use of fillers in graphite fiber/resin matrix composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gluyas, R. E.; Bowles, K. J.

1980-01-01

A variety of matrix fillers were tested for their ability to prevent loss of fiber from graphite fiber/PMR polyimide and graphite fiber/epoxy composites in a fire. The fillers tested included powders of boron, boron carbide lime glass, lead glass, and aluminum. Boron was the most effective and prevented any loss of graphite fiber during burning. Mechanical properties of composites containing boron filler were measured and compared to those of composites containing no filler.

Infrared wavelength dependence of leaky mode losses and steady state distribution in W-type glass optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djordjevich, Alexandar; Simović, Ana; Savović, Svetislav; Drljača, Branko

2018-07-01

Infrared wavelength dependence of leaky mode losses and steady state distribution (SSD) in W-type glass optical fibers (doubly clad fibers with three layers) is investigated in this paper for parametrically varied depths and widths of the fiber's intermediate optical layer. This enables a tailoring of configuration of the W-type fiber to suit an application at hand. We have shown that the proposed W-type fiber has better transmission characteristics at longer infrared wavelengths.

Radiation response of SiC-based fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youngblood, G. E.; Jones, R. H.; Kohyama, Akira; Snead, L. L.

1998-10-01

Loss of strength in irradiated fiber-reinforced SiC/SiC composite generally is related to degradation in the reinforcing fiber. To assess fiber degradation, the density and length changes were determined for four types of SiC-based fibers (Tyranno, Nicalon CG, Hi Nicalon and Dow X) after high temperature (up to 1000°C) and high dose (up to 80 dpa-SiC) irradiations. For the fibers with nonstoichiometric compositions (the first three types in the list), the fiber densities increased from 6% to 12%. In contrast, a slight decrease in density (<1%) was observed for the Dow X fiber with a quasi-stoichiometric composition. Fiber length changes (0-5.6% shrinkage) suggested small mass losses (1-6%) had occurred for irradiated uncoated fibers. In contrast, excessive linear shrinkage of the pyrocarbon-coated Nicalon CG and Tyranno fibers (7-9% and 16-32%, respectively) indicated that much larger mass losses (11-84%) had occurred for these coated fibers. Crystallization and crystal growth were observed to have taken place at fiber surfaces by SEM and in the bulk by XRD, moreso for irradiated Nicalon CG than for Hi Nicalon fiber. The radiation response of the quasi-stoichiometric Dow X fiber was the most promising. Further testing of this type fiber is recommended.

Loss-compensation technique using a split-spectrum approach for optical fiber air-gap intensity-based sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Anbo; Miller, Mark S.; Gunther, Michael F.; Murphy, Kent A.; Claus, Richard O.

1993-03-01

A self-referencing technique compensating for fiber losses and source fluctuations in air-gap intensity-based optical fiber sensors is described and demonstrated. A resolution of 0.007 micron has been obtained over a measurement range of 0-250 microns for an intensity-based displacement sensor using this referencing technique. The sensor is shown to have minimal sensitivity to fiber bending losses and variations in the LED input power. A theoretical model for evaluation of step-index multimode optical fiber splice is proposed. The performance of the sensor as a displacement sensor agrees well with the theoretical analysis.

Submarine optical fiber cable: development and laying results.

PubMed

Kojima, N; Yabuta, T; Negishi, Y; Iwabuchi, K; Kawata, O; Yamashita, K; Miyajima, Y; Yoshizawa, N

1982-03-01

This paper describes the structural design, trial production, and laying results for submarine optical fiber cables that can be deployed in shallow seas between islands and/or channel crossings without repeaters. Structural design methods for the submarine optical fiber cable are proposed, which take into consideration suppressing cable elongation under tension and excess loss under hydraulic pressure. This paper describes good laying results for the cable using this structural design method. The average loss for single-mode fibers was 0.72 dB/km, and the average loss for multimode fibers was 0.81 dB/km for a 10.2-km long cable operated at 1.3-microm wavelength.

Simulation of laser radar tooling ball measurements: focus dependence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Daniel G.; Slotwinski, Anthony; Hedges, Thomas

2015-10-01

The Nikon Metrology Laser Radar system focuses a beam from a fiber to a target object and receives the light scattered from the target through the same fiber. The system can, among other things, make highly accurate measurements of the position of a tooling ball by locating the angular position of peak signal quality, which is related to the fiber coupling efficiency. This article explores the relationship between fiber coupling efficiency and focus condition.

Medium-power diode-pumped Nd:BaY2F8 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnesi, Antonio; Guandalini, Annalisa; Lucca, Andrea; Sani, Elisa; Toncelli, Alessandra; Tonelli, Mauro; dell'Acqua, Stefano

2003-05-01

We report what is to our knowledge the first Nd:BaY2F8 (Nd:BaYF) laser pumped with a multiwatt fiber-coupled diode array tuned at approximately 804 nm. As much as 2.4 W were obtained with 6.2 W of absorbed pump power, showing efficient operation (51% slope efficiency), excellent beam quality (M2=1.1), and weak thermal lensing. Small intracavity losses (<1%) were measured, indicating both reduced thermally induced aberrations and good optical quality of the laser crystal.

Design of a low-bending-loss large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Napierala, Marek; Beres-Pawlik, Elzbieta; Nasilowski, Tomasz; Mergo, Pawel; Berghmans, Francis; Thienpont, Hugo

2012-04-01

We present a design of a photonic crystal fiber for high power laser and amplifier applications. Our fiber comprises a core with a diameter larger than 60 μm and exhibits single mode operation when the fiber is bent around a 10 cm radius at a wavelength of 1064 nm. Single mode guidance is enforced by the high loss of higher order modes which exceeds 80 dB/m whereas the loss of the fundamental mode (FM) is lower than 0.03 dB/m. The fiber can therefore be considered as an active medium for compact high power fiber lasers and amplifiers with a nearly diffraction limited beam output. We also analyze our fiber in terms of tolerance to manufacturing imperfections. To do so we employ a statistical design methodology. This analysis reveals those crucial parameters of the fiber that have to be controlled precisely during the fabrication process not to deteriorate the fiber performance. Finally we show that the fiber can be fabricated according to our design and we present experimental results that confirm the expected fiber performance.

120W, NA_0.15 fiber coupled LD module with 125-μm clad/NA 0.22 fiber by spatial coupling method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishige, Yuta; Kaji, Eisaku; Katayama, Etsuji; Ohki, Yutaka; Gajdátsy, Gábor; Cserteg, András.

2018-02-01

We have fabricated a fiber coupled semiconductor laser diode module by means of spatial beam combining of single emitter broad area semiconductor laser diode chips in the 9xx nm band. In the spatial beam multiplexing method, the numerical aperture of the output light from the optical fiber increases by increasing the number of laser diodes coupled into the fiber. To reduce it, we have tried the approach to improving assembly process technology. As a result, we could fabricate laser diode modules having a light output power of 120W or more and 95% power within NA of 0.15 or less from a single optical fiber with 125-μm cladding diameter. Furthermore, we have obtained that the laser diode module maintaining high coupling efficiency can be realized even around the fill factor of 0.95. This has been achieved by improving the optical alignment method regarding the fast axis stack pitch of the laser diodes in the laser diode module. Therefore, without using techniques such as polarization combining and wavelength combining, high output power was realized while keeping small numerical aperture. This contributes to a reduction in unit price per light output power of the pumping laser diode module.

Packaging of wavelength stabilized 976nm 100W 105µm 0.15 NA fiber coupled diode lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Xiaochen; Liu, Rui; Gao, Yanyan; Zhang, Tujia; He, Xiaoguang; Zhu, Jing; Zhang, Qiang; Yang, Thomas; Zhang, Cuipeng

2016-03-01

Fiber coupled diode lasers are widely used in many fields now especially as pumps in fiber laser systems. In many fiber laser applications, high brightness pumps are essential to achieve high brightness fiber lasers. Furthermore, 976nm wavelength absorption band is narrow with Yb3+ doped fiber lasers which is more challenging for controlling wavelength stabilized in diode laser modules. This study designed and implemented commercial available high brightness and narrow wavelength width lasers to be able to use in previous mentioned applications. Base on multiple single emitters using spatial and polarization beam combining as well as fiber coupling techniques, we report a wavelength stabilized, 105μm NA 0.15 fiber coupled diode laser package with 100W of optical output power at 976 nm, which are 14 emitters inside each multiple single emitter module. The emitting aperture of the combined lasers output are designed and optimized for coupling light into a 105μm core NA 0.15 fiber. Volume Bragg grating technology has been used to improve spectral characteristics of high-power diode lasers. Mechanical modular design and thermal simulation are carried out to optimize the package. The spectral width is roughly 0.5 nm (FWHM) and the wavelength shift per °C < 0.02nm. The output spectrum is narrowed and wavelength is stabilized using Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs). The high brightness package has an electrical to optical efficiency better than 45% and power enclosure more than 90% within NA 0.12. Qualification tests have been included on this kind of package. Mechanical shock, vibration and accelerated aging tests show that the package is reliability and the MTTF is calculated to be more than 100k hours at 25°C.

Modification of eucalyptus pulp fiber using silane coupling agents with aliphatic side chains of different length

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of three silane coupling agents with different aliphatic chain lengths on the hydrophobicity of eucalyptus pulp fiber. The three silanes coupling agents used (isobutyltrimethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxysilane, and n-octyltriethoxysilane [OTES]) we...

PT-symmetry of coupled fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, Sergey V.; Churkin, Dmitry V.; Makarenko, Maxim; Vatnik, Ilya; Suchkov, Sergey V.; Sukhorukov, Andrey A.

2017-10-01

In this work, we propose a concept of a coupled fiber laser exhibiting PT-symmetry properties. We consider a system operated via Raman gain. The scheme comprises two identical fiber loops (ring cavities) connected by means of two fiber couplers with variable phase shift between them. We show that by changing the phase shift one can switch between generation regimes, realizing either PT-symmetric or PT-broken solution. Furthermore, the paper investigates some peculiarities of the system such as power oscillations and the role of nonlinear phase shift in fiber rings.

Graphite fiber intercalation: Basic properties of copper chloride intercalated fibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaworske, D. A.; Miller, J. D.

1986-01-01

In situ resistance measurements were used to follow the intercalation of copper chloride in pitch-based fibers. Subsequent single fiber resistivity measurements reveal a large range of resistivities, from 13 to 160 micro-ohms cm. Additional density measurements reveal a bimodal distribution of mass densities. The dense fibers have lower resistivities and correspond to the stage III compound identified by X-ray diffraction. Neither resistivity nor density correlate with diameter. Both energy dispersive spectroscopy and mass density data suggest that excess chlorine resides in the intercalated fiber, resulting in a stoichiometry of C4.9n CuCl2.5 (where n is the stage number) for the denser fibers. Finally, thermogravimetric analysis shows a 33 percent loss in mass upon heating to 700C. This loss in mass is attributed to loss of both chlorine and carbon.

Mid-infrared fiber-coupled supercontinuum spectroscopic imaging using a tapered chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenberg Petersen, Christian; Prtljaga, Nikola; Farries, Mark; Ward, Jon; Napier, Bruce; Lloyd, Gavin Rhys; Nallala, Jayakrupakar; Stone, Nick; Bang, Ole

2018-02-01

We present the first demonstration of mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging of human tissue using a fiber-coupled supercontinuum source spanning from 2-7.5 μm. The supercontinuum was generated in a tapered large mode area chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber in order to obtain broad bandwidth, high average power, and single-mode output for good imaging properties. Tissue imaging was demonstrated in transmission by raster scanning over a sub-mm region of paraffinized colon tissue on CaF2 substrate, and the signal was measured using a fiber-coupled grating spectrometer. This demonstration has shown that we can distinguish between epithelial and surrounding connective tissues within a paraffinized section of colon tissue by imaging at discrete wavelengths related to distinct chemical absorption features.

Electronic Equalization of Multikilometer 10-Gb/s Multimode Fiber Links: Mode-Coupling Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balemarthy, Kasyapa; Polley, Arup; Ralph, Stephen E.

2006-12-01

This paper investigates the ability of electronic equalization to compensate for modal dispersion in the presence of mode coupling in multimode fibers (MMFs) at 10 Gb/s. Using a new time-domain experimental method, mode coupling is quantified in MMF. These results, together with a comprehensive link model, allow to determine the impact of mode coupling on the performance of MMF. The equalizer performance on links from 300 m to 8 km is quantified with and without modal coupling. It is shown that the mode-coupling effects are influenced by the specific index profile and increase the equalizer penalty by as much as 1 dBo for 1-km links and 2.3 dBo for 2-km links when using a standard model of fiber profiles at 1310 nm.

On-chip low loss heralded source of pure single photons.

PubMed

Spring, Justin B; Salter, Patrick S; Metcalf, Benjamin J; Humphreys, Peter C; Moore, Merritt; Thomas-Peter, Nicholas; Barbieri, Marco; Jin, Xian-Min; Langford, Nathan K; Kolthammer, W Steven; Booth, Martin J; Walmsley, Ian A

2013-06-03

A key obstacle to the experimental realization of many photonic quantum-enhanced technologies is the lack of low-loss sources of single photons in pure quantum states. We demonstrate a promising solution: generation of heralded single photons in a silica photonic chip by spontaneous four-wave mixing. A heralding efficiency of 40%, corresponding to a preparation efficiency of 80% accounting for detector performance, is achieved due to efficient coupling of the low-loss source to optical fibers. A single photon purity of 0.86 is measured from the source number statistics without narrow spectral filtering, and confirmed by direct measurement of the joint spectral intensity. We calculate that similar high-heralded-purity output can be obtained from visible to telecom spectral regions using this approach. On-chip silica sources can have immediate application in a wide range of single-photon quantum optics applications which employ silica photonics.

Er 3+-Yb 3+ co-doped glass waveguide amplifiers using ion exchange and field-assisted annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X. Z.; Liu, K.; Mu, S. K.; Tan, C. Z.; Zhang, D.; Pun, E. Y. B.; Zhang, D. M.

2006-12-01

Er 3+-Yb 3+ co-doped waveguide amplifiers fabricated using thermal two-step ion-exchange are demonstrated. K +-Na + ion-exchange process was first carried out in pure KNO 3 molten bath, and then field-assisted annealing (FAA) was used to make the buried waveguides. The effective buried depth is estimated to be ˜3.4 μm for the buried FAA waveguides. With the use of cut-back method, the fiber-to-guide coupling loss of ˜4.38 dB, the waveguide loss of ˜2.27 dB/cm, and Er 3+ absorption loss ˜5.7 dB were measured for a ˜1.24-cm-long waveguide. Peak relative gain of ˜7.0 dB is obtained for a ˜1.24-cm-long waveguide. The potential for the fabrication of compact optical amplifiers operating in the range of 1520-1580 nm is also demonstrated.

Parameter space for the collective laser coupling in the laser fusion driver based on the concept of fiber amplification network.

PubMed

Huang, Zhihua; Lin, Honghuan; Xu, Dangpeng; Li, Mingzhong; Wang, Jianjun; Deng, Ying; Zhang, Rui; Zhang, Yongliang; Tian, Xiaocheng; Wei, Xiaofeng

2013-07-15

Collective laser coupling of the fiber array in the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) laser driver based on the concept of fiber amplification network (FAN) is researched. The feasible parameter space is given for laser coupling of the fundamental, second and third harmonic waves by neglecting the influence of the frequency conversion on the beam quality under the assumption of beam quality factor conservation. Third harmonic laser coupling is preferred due to its lower output energy requirement from a single fiber amplifier. For coplanar fiber array, the energy requirement is around 0.4 J with an effective mode field diameter of around 500 μm while maintaining the fundamental mode operation which is more than one order of magnitude higher than what can be achieved with state-of-the-art technology. Novel waveguide structure needs to be developed to enlarge the fundamental mode size while mitigating the catastrophic self-focusing effect.

Life-Long Wheel Running Attenuates Age-Related Fiber Loss in the Plantaris Muscle of Mice: a Pilot Study.

PubMed

Suwa, M; Ishioka, T; Kato, J; Komaita, J; Imoto, T; Kida, A; Yokochi, T

2016-06-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether long-term wheel running would attenuate age-related loss of muscle fiber. Male ICR mice were divided into young (Y, n=12, aged 3 months), old-sedentary (OS, n=5, aged 24 months), and old-exercise (OE, n=6, aged 24 months) groups. The OE group started spontaneous wheel running at 3 months and continued until 24 months of age. Soleus and plantaris muscles were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde buffer. The fixed muscle was digested in a 50% NaOH solution to isolate single fiber and then fiber number was quantified. The masses of the soleus and plantaris muscles were significantly lower at 24 months than at 3 months of age, and this age-related difference was attenuated by wheel running (P<0.05). Soleus muscle fiber number did not differ among the groups. In the plantaris muscle, the fiber number in the OS group (1 288±92 fibers) was significantly lower than in the Y group (1 874±93 fibers), and this decrease was attenuated in the OE group (1 591±80 fibers) (P<0.05). These results suggest that age-related fiber loss occurs only in the fast-twitch fiber-rich muscle of mice, and that life-long wheel running exercise can prevent this fiber loss. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

On-Chip Photonic Circuits for Atom-Light Interaction in Quantum Information and Integrated Optical Spectrometer for Astrophotonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Yang

Photonic circuits are becoming very promising in many different applications, such as optical amplification, optical switching and wavelength division multiplexing optical networks, lab-on-chip in bioengineering, atom-light interaction in quantum information processing, wavelength selecting and filtering in astronomy, etc. Thanks to major developments in the nanofabrication technology, smaller but more powerful photonic circuits can be made to realize more complex applications. Here we propose two on-chip photonic circuits: one is for atom-light interaction in quantum information, and the other is for an optical spectrometer in astronomy. Part I. The atom-light interaction can be used for a number of quantum based application, such as quantum information processing and atomic sensing. These significant applications make atom-light interaction a strong candidate for next-generation quantum computers and ultraprecise magnetic or navigation sensors. People have proposed various types of atom-photon interaction, and enhancing the interaction by using a small mode area has also been demonstrated in several platforms such as a hollow-core fiber, a hollow-core waveguide, a tapered fiber, and a nanowaveguide. In our work, we propose a nanowaveguide platform for collective atom-light interaction through the evanescent optical field coupling. We have demonstrated a centimeter-long silicon nitride nanowaveguide that has a sub-micrometer mode area and high fiber-to-waveguide coupling efficiencies for near-infrared wavelengths, working as evanescent field atom trapping/probing of an ensemble of 87Rb atoms. Inverse tapers are made at both ends of the waveguide that adiabatically transfer the weakly guided fiber-coupled mode to a strongly guided mode with an evanescent field for a better fiber-waveguide coupling efficiency. The coupling efficiency improves from around 2% to around 80% for both wavelengths. Trapping atoms by nanowaveguide modes is challenging because the small mode area generates high heat flux at the waveguide in an ultra-high vacuum. This platform has good thermal conductance and could transfer high enough optical powers to trap atoms in an ultra-high vacuum compared to a standalone photonic crystal waveguide with no substrate or an evanescent field coupled with a nanofiber. We have experimentally measured the optical absorption of thermal 87Rb atoms through the guided waveguide mode. We have also demonstrated an atom-chip mirror MOT with the same dimension of the platform that can be transferred to the proximity of the surface by magnetic field controls. Part II. In astronomical applications, wavelength analysis is very important especially for the wavelength selecting and filtering. Here we focus on the wavelength range from 1microm to 1.7microm. There are many valuable applications that make this near infrared wavelength range so important. For example, the Lyman-alpha line of hydrogen is one of the very important emission lines of hydrogen for understanding the origin and creation of the universe. Since the universe has expanded for more than 10 billion years after the big bang, the Lyman-alpha line of hydrogen has redshifted from 121.5nm to the 1microm-to-1.7microm wavelength range according to Hubble's Law. In addition, analysis of this wavelength range can also help us understand many other cosmic phenomena such as quasars, Gamma-ray bursts, etc. Therefore, a good spectrometer is needed to achieve this. Here we present an echelle grating which is based on an on-chip spectrometer that covers the near infrared wavelength range from 1.45um to 1.7um. To begin with, we use optical waveguides as the input and output channels. We have successfully achieved a reliable fabrication process to make the on-chip echelle-grating spectrometer. We have also achieved high fiber-waveguide coupling efficiency (94% per facet at 1550nm) and low propagation loss (-0.975dB/cm at 1550nm) for the input and output waveguides. In addition, we have characterized the bending loss of the waveguide. Finally, we have successfully measured the output spectrum of the echelle grating we designed and found it to be in good agreement with our simulation.

Transcrystalline interphases in natural fiber-PP composites: effect of coupling agent

Treesearch

A.R. Sanadi; D.F. Caulfield

2000-01-01

The interest in lignocellulosic fiber composites has been growing in recent years because of their high specific properties. In this work, a new technique was used to prepare specimen to observe the transcrystalline zones in kenaf fiber-polypropylene composites. A maleated polypropylene (MAPP) coupling agent was used to improve the stress-transfer efficiency in the...

Passive fiber alignment to single-mode plastic waveguides fabricated by injection molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pompe, Guido; Lehmacher, Stefan; Rudolph, Stefan; Kalveram, Stefan; Joenck, Matthias; Neyer, Andreas

1998-04-01

Passive fibre-waveguide coupling is a promising alternative to expensive active coupling in single-mode fibre-optics. The idea to utilize replication techniques in transparent polymeric materials for waveguide and alignment structure fabrication has led to the SIGA-process (Silizium, Galvanik und Abformung) which allows a cost effective production of low loss polymer waveguides in the near IR. Major difficulties in passive fibre coupling are caused by the high lateral alignment accuracy (of about 1 micrometer) in fibre positioning. In the SIGA process, the exact position of the V- grooves relative to the waveguide trenches is defined by the etch mask for the silicon master wafer. The width of the V- grooves is determined by the KOH etching time. It is controlled precisely at various stages in the etching process by means of a microscope based piezo driven measurement system with a resolution better than 0.5 micrometer, thus allowing a final vertical precision of fibre positioning of 350 nm. In order to specify the capability of our technology we have measured the position of dozens of fibres glued into V- grooves. The result was that an amount of 55% of the fibre cores was closer than 1.5 micrometer to the waveguide centre. As the experience has shown, a two-step process for the fabrication of passively fibre coupled waveguides is necessary. First, the waveguides are produced by filling the waveguide trenches with an IR-transparent monomer and by polymerizing it using UV curing. The waveguides are inspected with visible and IR light by clamping a fibre ribbon mechanically into the integrated plastic V-grooves. In a second step the fibre ribbon is fixed irreversibly in the V- grooves. By that way we have reached an insertion loss of 3.5 dB at 1300nm and 1550nm for passively coupled 22mm single mode waveguides. Most of the losses are attributed to waveguide imperfections. More details concerning the coupling losses and the device performances will be reported at the conference.

CO₂ laser-fabricated cladding light strippers for high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers.

PubMed

Boyd, Keiron; Simakov, Nikita; Hemming, Alexander; Daniel, Jae; Swain, Robert; Mies, Eric; Rees, Simon; Andrew Clarkson, W; Haub, John

2016-04-10

We present and characterize a simple CO₂ laser processing technique for the fabrication of compact all-glass optical fiber cladding light strippers. We investigate the cladding light loss as a function of radiation angle of incidence and demonstrate devices in a 400 μm diameter fiber with cladding losses of greater than 20 dB for a 7 cm device length. The core losses are also measured giving a loss of <0.008±0.006  dB/cm. Finally we demonstrate the successful cladding light stripping of a 300 W laser diode with minimal heating of the fiber coating and packaging adhesives.

Investigation of optical transmission loss by using a plasmonic Au nanoparticle assembly on a tapered fiber region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Ji-Haeng

2015-11-01

The optical transmission loss in a tapered fiber fabricated by using plasmonic Au nanoparticle deposition was investigated in the tapered region of the fiber. The amount of Au nanoparticle deposition was determined as a function of time, and the transmission loss was then compared with the losses of several spatial modes. The higher-order mode was found to affect the rate of increase in the transmission loss during the initial period of deposition, and a lower-order mode was found to contribute to the process during the latter period of deposition.

Vector mode conversion based on tilted fiber Bragg grating in ring-core fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mi, Yuean; Ren, Guobin; Gao, Yixiao; Li, Haisu; Zhu, Bofeng; Liu, Yu

2018-03-01

We propose a vector mode conversion approach based on tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) written in ring-core fiber with effective separation of eigenmodes. The mode coupling properties of TFBG are numerically investigated. It is shown that under the constraint of phase matching, the conversion of high-order vector modes could be achieved at specific wavelengths. Moreover, the polarization of incident light and tilt angle of TFBG play critical roles in mode coupling process. The proposed TFBG provides an efficient method to realize high-order vector mode conversion, and it shows great potential for fibers based OAM beam generation and fiber lasers with vortex beams output.

Demonstration of a stand-alone cylindrical fiber coil for optical amplifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laxton, Steven R.; Bravo, Tyler; Madsen, Christi K.

2015-08-01

The design, fabrication and measurement of a cylindrical fiber coil structure is presented that has applications for compact fiber-optic amplifiers. A multimode fiber is used as a surrogate for a dual clad, rare-earth doped fiber for coil fabrication and optical testing. A ray trace algorithm, written in Python, was used to simulate the behavior of light travelling along the waveguide path. An in-house fabrication method was developed using 3D printed parts designed in SolidWorks and assembled with Arduino-controlled stepper motors for coil winding. Ultraviolet-cured epoxy was used to bind the coils into a rigid cylinder. Bend losses are introduced by the coil, and a measurement of the losses for two coil lengths was obtained experimentally. The measurements confirm that bend losses through a multimode fiber, representative of pump light propagating in a dual-clad rare-earth doped fiber, are relatively wavelength independent over a large spectral range and that higher order modes are extinguished quickly while lower order modes transmit through the windings with relatively low loss.

Splice loss requirements in multi-mode fiber mode-division-multiplex transmission links.

PubMed

Warm, Stefan; Petermann, Klaus

2013-01-14

We investigate numerically the influence of fiber splices and fiber connectors to the statistics of mode dependent loss (MDL) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) outage capacity in mode multiplexed multi-mode fiber links. Our results indicate required splice losses much lower than currently feasible to achieve a reasonable outage capacity in long-haul transmission systems. Splice losses as low as 0.03dB may effectively lead to an outage of MIMO channels after only a few hundred kilometers transmission length. In a first approximation, the relative capacity solely depends on the accumulated splice loss and should be less than ≈ 2dB to ensure a relative capacity of 90%. We also show that discrete mode permutation (mixing) within the transmission line may effectively increase the maximum transmission distance by a factor of 5 for conventional splice losses.

High power fiber coupled diode lasers for display and lighting applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drovs, Simon; Unger, Andreas; Dürsch, Sascha; Köhler, Bernd; Biesenbach, Jens

2017-02-01

The performance of diode lasers in the visible spectral range has been continuously improved within the last few years, which was mainly driven by the goal to replace arc lamps in cinema or home projectors. In addition, the availability of such high power visible diode lasers also enables new applications in the medical field, but also the usage as pump sources for other solid state lasers. This paper summarizes the latest developments of fiber coupled sources with output power from 1.4 W to 120 W coupled into 100 μm to 400 μm fibers in the spectral range around 405 nm and 640 nm. New developments also include the use of fiber coupled multi single emitter arrays at 450 nm, as well as very compact modules with multi-W output power.

Modeling synchronization in networks of delay-coupled fiber ring lasers.

PubMed

Lindley, Brandon S; Schwartz, Ira B

2011-11-21

We study the onset of synchronization in a network of N delay-coupled stochastic fiber ring lasers with respect to various parameters when the coupling power is weak. In particular, for groups of three or more ring lasers mutually coupled to a central hub laser, we demonstrate a robust tendency toward out-of-phase (achronal) synchronization between the N-1 outer lasers and the single inner laser. In contrast to the achronal synchronization, we find the outer lasers synchronize with zero-lag (isochronal) with respect to each other, thus forming a set of N-1 coherent fiber lasers. © 2011 Optical Society of America

The effect of macro-bending on power confinement factor in single mode fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waluyo, T. B.; Bayuwati, D.; Mulyanto, I.

2018-03-01

One of the methods to determine the macro-bending effect in a single mode fiber is by calculating its power loss coefficient. We describe an alternative method by using the equation of fractional power in the fiber core. Knowing the fiber parameters such as its core radius, refractive indexes, and operating wavelength; we can calculate the V-number and the fractional power in the core. Because the value of the fiber refractive indexes and the propagation constant are affected by bending, we can calculate the value of the fractional power in the core as a function of the bending radius. We calculate the fractional power in the core of an SMF28 and SM600 fiber and, to verify our calculation, we measure its transmission loss using an optical spectrum analyzer. Our calculations and experimental results showed that for SMF28 fiber, there is about 4% power loss due to bending at 633 nm, about 8% at 1310 nm, about 20% at 1550 nm, and about 60% at 1064 nm. For SM600 fiber, there is about 6% power loss due to bending at 633 nm, about 11% at 850 nm, and this fiber is not suitable for operating wavelength beyond 1000 nm.

A micro-scale cutting model for UD CFRP composites with thermo-mechanical coupling

DOE PAGES

Cheng, Hui; Gao, Jiaying; Kafka, Orion Landauer; ...

2017-09-23

Cutting a unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (UD CFRP) structure is the basic unit for CFRP machining, which is a complex thermal-mechanically coupled process. To reveal the deformation mechanism and predict cutting force in UD CFRP micro cutting, a micro-scale fracture model for UD CFRP cutting with thermal-mechanical coupling is demonstrated in this paper, which captures the failure modes for fibers, matrix and the interface based on a micro-level RVE using a relatively simple damage based fracture method. The thermal-mechanical coupling model at the micro scale is developed on the basis of the plastic energy dissipation and frictional heating during cutting.more » Failure models for the fiber, matrix and interface region are applied depending on the material properties of each of these three phases. Numerical simulations based on the above model with different fiber orientations were performed to predict the deformation and forces of different components in UD CFRP. Cutting experiments with the same fiber orientations as considered in the simulations were carried out to validate the force and deformation results. The predicted force and deformation patterns match well with evidence from our experiments. In general, the cutting force is larger than the thrust force regardless of fiber orientation. The cutting force reaches a maximum as the fiber orientation approaches 90 , but thrust forces do not vary substantially across cases. When the fiber orientation is acute, the deformation of fibers is much smaller than when the cutting angle is obtuse. Surface roughness follows the same trend with cutting angle as fiber deformation.« less

A micro-scale cutting model for UD CFRP composites with thermo-mechanical coupling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Hui; Gao, Jiaying; Kafka, Orion Landauer

Cutting a unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (UD CFRP) structure is the basic unit for CFRP machining, which is a complex thermal-mechanically coupled process. To reveal the deformation mechanism and predict cutting force in UD CFRP micro cutting, a micro-scale fracture model for UD CFRP cutting with thermal-mechanical coupling is demonstrated in this paper, which captures the failure modes for fibers, matrix and the interface based on a micro-level RVE using a relatively simple damage based fracture method. The thermal-mechanical coupling model at the micro scale is developed on the basis of the plastic energy dissipation and frictional heating during cutting.more » Failure models for the fiber, matrix and interface region are applied depending on the material properties of each of these three phases. Numerical simulations based on the above model with different fiber orientations were performed to predict the deformation and forces of different components in UD CFRP. Cutting experiments with the same fiber orientations as considered in the simulations were carried out to validate the force and deformation results. The predicted force and deformation patterns match well with evidence from our experiments. In general, the cutting force is larger than the thrust force regardless of fiber orientation. The cutting force reaches a maximum as the fiber orientation approaches 90 , but thrust forces do not vary substantially across cases. When the fiber orientation is acute, the deformation of fibers is much smaller than when the cutting angle is obtuse. Surface roughness follows the same trend with cutting angle as fiber deformation.« less

Thermal stability relationships between PMR-15 resin and its composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Kenneth J.; Jayne, Douglas; Leonhardt, Todd A.; Bors, Dennis

1993-01-01

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the thermo-oxidative stability of PMR-15 matrix resin and the stability of graphite-fiber-reinforced composites that contain this resin as the matrix material. Three areas were investigated. The first was the effect of fiber/matrix interfacial bond strength on the isothermal aging weight loss of composites. By using type-A graphite fibers produced by Hercules, it was possible to study composites reinforced with fibers that were processed to receive different surface treatments. One of the fibers was untreated, a second fiber was treated by oxidation to enhance fiber/matrix bonding, and the third type of fiber was coated with an epoxy sizing. These treatments produced three significantly different interfacial bond strengths. The epoxy sizing on the third fiber was quickly oxidized from the bare fiber surfaces at 288, 316, and 343 C. The weight loss due to the removal of the sizing was constant at 1.5 percent. This initial weight loss was not observed in thermo-oxidative stability studies of composites. The PMR-15 matrix satisfactorily protected the reinforcemnt at all three temperatures.

Mode coupling at connectors in mode-division multiplexed transmission over few-mode fiber.

PubMed

Vuong, Jordi; Ramantanis, Petros; Frignac, Yann; Salsi, Massimiliano; Genevaux, Philippe; Bendimerad, Djalal F; Charlet, Gabriel

2015-01-26

In mode-division multiplexed (MDM) transmission systems, mode coupling is responsible for inter-modal crosstalk. We consider the transmission of modulated signals over a few-mode fiber (FMF) having low mode coupling and large differential mode group delay in the presence of a non-ideal fiber connection responsible for extra mode coupling. In this context, we first analytically derive the coupling matrix of the multimode connector and we numerically study the dependence of the matrix coefficients as a function of the butt-joint connection characteristics. The numerical results are then validated through an experiment with a five-mode setup. Finally, through numerical simulations, we assess the impact of the connector on the signal quality investigating different receiver digital signal processing (DSP) schemes.

Caries selective ablation: the handpiece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennig, Thomas; Rechmann, Peter; Holtermann, Andreas

1995-05-01

Caries selective ablation is fixed to a window of fluences predicted by the ablation thresholds of carious and healthy dentin, respectively. The aim of the study was to develop a dental handpiece which guarantees homogeneous fluence at the irradiated tooth surface. Furthermore the point of treatment should be cooled down without energy losses due to the cooling system. We suggest the direct coupling of the laser radiation into a laminar stream of liquid, which acts in turn as a lengthened beam guide. The impacts of the laser radiation and of the cooling medium fall exactly into the same point. Hot ablation debris is removed out of the crater by the flush of the water jet. Fluences are constant if the handpiece is used in contact mode or at a distance. Normally the surface of a bare fiber working in contact mode is destroyed after a few shots. Coupling the laser radiation into a stream of liquid prevents this destruction. Putting together the benefits of this special handpiece short overall treatment times seem to be possible. High average power can be applied to the tooth without the threat of thermal damage. Furthermore no time consuming cutting of the fiber prolongs the treatment time.

Improved performance of selective ablation using a specially designed handpiece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennig, Thomas; Rechmann, Peter

1996-01-01

Selective ablation is fixed to a range of fluences predicted by the ablation thresholds of infected and healthy tooth structures respectively. The aim of the study was to develop a dental handpiece, which guarantees homogeneous fluence at the irradiated tooth surface. Furthermore the point of treatment should be cooled down without energy losses due to the cooling system. We suggest the direct coupling of the laser radiation into a laminar stream of liquid, which may act in turn as a lengthened beam guide. The impacts of the laser radiation and of the cooling medium hit exactly the same point. Hot ablation debris is removed out of the crater by the flush of the water jet. While the surface of a bare fiber working on contact mode is destroyed after a few shots, it was shown that coupling the laser radiation into a stream of liquid prevents this destruction. Putting together the benefits of this special handpiece short overall treatment times seem to be possible. High average power can be applied to the tooth without the threat of thermal damage. Furthermore no time consuming cutting of the fiber prolongs the treatment time.

Feasibility of Coupling Between a Single-Mode Elliptical-Core Fiber and a Single Mode Rib Waveguide Over Temperature. Ph.D. Thesis - Akron Univ., Aug. 1995

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tuma, Margaret L.

1995-01-01

To determine the feasibility of coupling the output of an optical fiber to a rib waveguide in a temperature environment ranging from 20 C to 300 C, a theoretical calculation of the coupling efficiency between the two was investigated. This is a significant problem which needs to be addressed to determine whether an integrated optic device can function in a harsh temperature environment. Because the behavior of the integrated-optic device is polarization sensitive, a polarization-preserving optic fiber, via its elliptical core, was used to couple light with a known polarization into the device. To couple light energy efficiently from an optical fiber into a channel waveguide, the design of both components should provide for well-matched electric field profiles. The rib waveguide analyzed was the light input channel of an integrated-optic pressure sensor. Due to the complex geometry of the rib waveguide, there is no analytical solution to the wave equation for the guided modes. Approximation or numerical techniques must be utilized to determine the propagation constants and field patterns of the guide. In this study, three solution methods were used to determine the field profiles of both the fiber and guide: the effective-index method (EIM), Marcatili's approximation, and a Fourier method. These methods were utilized independently to calculate the electric field profile of a rib channel waveguide and elliptical fiber at two temperatures, 20 C and 300 C. These temperatures were chosen to represent a nominal and a high temperature that the device would experience. Using the electric field profile calculated from each method, the theoretical coupling efficiency between the single-mode optical fiber and rib waveguide was calculated using the overlap integral and results of the techniques compared. Initially, perfect alignment was assumed and the coupling efficiency calculated. Then, the coupling efficiency calculation was repeated for a range of transverse offsets at both temperatures. Results of the calculation indicate a high coupling efficiency can be achieved when the two components were properly aligned. The coupling efficiency was more sensitive to alignment offsets in the y direction than the x, due to the elliptical modal profile of both components. Changes in the coupling efficiency over temperature were found to be minimal.

Ultra-high brightness wavelength-stabilized kW-class fiber coupled diode laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Robin K.; Chann, Bien; Glenn, John D.

2011-03-01

TeraDiode has produced a fiber-coupled direct diode laser with a power level of 1,040 W from a 200 μm core diameter, 0.18 numerical aperture (NA) output fiber at a single center wavelength. This was achieved with a novel beam combining and shaping technique using COTS diode lasers. The fiber-coupled output corresponds to a Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of 18 mm-mrad and is the lowest BPP kW-class direct diode laser yet reported. The laser has been used to demonstrate laser cutting and welding of steel sheet metal up to 6.65 mm thick. Further advances of these ultra-bright lasers are also projected.

QEPAS nitric oxide sensor based on a mid-infrared fiber-coupled quantum cascade laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Wei; Shi, Chao; Wang, Zhen; Yao, Chenyu

2017-04-01

We report a quartz-enhanced photoacoustic sensor (QEPAS) for nitric oxide (NO) detection using a mid-infrared fibercoupled quantum cascade laser (QCL) near 5.2 μm. The QCL radiation was coupled into an InF3 fiber (100 μm core diameter) for light delivery to the quartz tuning fork, a tiny piezoelectric element converting the acoustic wave induced mechanical vibration to the gas-absorption associated electrical signal. This mid-infrared fiber can achieve nearly single-mode light delivery for the target wavelength. The off-beam configuration was adopted for the fiber-coupled detection considering its simpler installation, optical alignment and comparative sensitivity to the traditional on-beam setup.

Rocking filters fabricated in birefringent photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Statkiewicz-Barabach, Gabriela; Anuszkiewicz, Alicja; Urbanczyk, Waclaw; Wojcik, Jan

2008-12-01

We demonstrate an efficient higher order rocking filter, which resonantly couples polarization modes guided in birefringent photonic crystal fibers. The grating was inscribed in the birefringent fiber with two large holes adjacent to the core by periodic mechanical twisting and heating with an arc fusion splicer. Because in photonic crystal fibers the phase birefringence is very dispersive and increases against wavelength, the phase matching between coupled modes can be obtained simultaneously at several wavelengths. In particular, we demonstrate that for the grating period Λ =8 mm, resonant coupling can be obtained at three different wavelengths. The first order coupling (-13dB) is obtained for Λ = LB . This condition is fulfilled at λ = 856 nm. The second order coupling (-20dB) is obtained for Λ = 2LB at λ =1270 nm and the third order coupling (- 17dB) occurs for Λ = 3LB at λ =1623 nm. The length of the filter was 9.6 cm, which corresponds to 13 periodic twists. We also present the results of sensitivity measurements of this filter to hydrostatic pressure and temperature.

Effect of temperature rise and hydrostatic pressure on microbending loss and refractive index change in double-coated optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seraji, Faramarz E.; Toutian, Golnoosh

This paper presents an analysis of the effect of temperature rise and hydrostatic pressure on microbending loss, refractive index change, and stress components of a double-coated optical fiber by considering coating material parameters such as Young's modulus and the Poisson ratio. It is shown that, when temperature rises, the microbending loss and refractive index changes would decrease with increase of thickness of primary coating layer and will increase after passing through a minima. Increase of thickness of secondary coating layer causes the microbending loss and refractive index changes to decrease. We have shown that the temperature rise affecting the fiber makes the microbending loss and refractive index decrease, linearly. At a particular temperature, the microbending loss takes negative values, due to tensile pressure applied on the fiber. The increase of Young's modulus and the Poisson ratio of primary coating would lower the microbending loss and refractive index change whereas in the secondary coating layer, the condition reverses.

Visible high power fiber coupled diode lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köhler, Bernd; Drovs, Simon; Stoiber, Michael; Dürsch, Sascha; Kissel, Heiko; Könning, Tobias; Biesenbach, Jens; König, Harald; Lell, Alfred; Stojetz, Bernhard; Löffler, Andreas; Strauß, Uwe

2018-02-01

In this paper we report on further development of fiber coupled high-power diode lasers in the visible spectral range. New visible laser modules presented in this paper include the use of multi single emitter arrays @ 450 nm leading to a 120 W fiber coupled unit with a beam quality of 44 mm x mrad, as well as very compact modules with multi-W output power from 405 nm to 640 nm. However, as these lasers are based on single emitters, power scaling quickly leads to bulky laser units with a lot of optical components to be aligned. We also report on a new approach based on 450 nm diode laser bars, which dramatically reduces size and alignment effort. These activities were performed within the German government-funded project "BlauLas": a maximum output power of 80 W per bar has been demonstrated @ 450 nm. We show results of a 200 μm NA0.22 fiber coupled 35 W source @ 450 nm, which has been reduced in size by a factor of 25 compared to standard single emitter approach. In addition, we will present a 200 μm NA0.22 fiber coupled laser unit with an output power of 135 W.

A fiber-coupled displacement measuring interferometer for determination of the posture of a reflective surface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mao, Shuai; Hu, Peng-Cheng, E-mail: hupc@hit.edu.cn; Ding, Xue-Mei, E-mail: X.M.Ding@outlook.com

A fiber-coupled displacement measuring interferometer capable of determining of the posture of a reflective surface of a measuring mirror is proposed. The newly constructed instrument combines fiber-coupled displacement and angular measurement technologies. The proposed interferometer has advantages of both the fiber-coupled and the spatially beam-separated interferometer. A portable dual-position sensitive detector (PSD)-based unit within this proposed interferometer measures the parallelism of the two source beams to guide the fiber-coupling adjustment. The portable dual PSD-based unit measures not only the pitch and yaw of the retro-reflector but also measures the posture of the reflective surface. The experimental results of displacement calibrationmore » show that the deviations between the proposed interferometer and a reference one, Agilent 5530, at two different common beam directions are both less than ±35 nm, thus verifying the effectiveness of the beam parallelism measurement. The experimental results of angular calibration show that deviations of pitch and yaw with the auto-collimator (as a reference) are less than ±2 arc sec, thus proving the proposed interferometer’s effectiveness for determination of the posture of a reflective surface.« less

Microdroplet-etched highly birefringent low-loss fiber tapers.

PubMed

Mikkelsen, Jared C; Poon, Joyce K S

2012-07-01

We use hydrofluoric acid microdroplets to directly etch highly birefringent biconical fiber tapers from standard single-mode fibers. The fiber tapers have micrometer-sized cross sections, which are controlled by the etching condition. The characteristic teardrop cross section leads to a high group birefringence of B(G)≈0.017 and insertion losses <0.7 dB over waist lengths of about 2.1 mm.

High numerical aperture multimode fibers for prime focus use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kaiyuan; Zheng, Jessica R.; Saunders, Will

2016-07-01

Modern telescopes typically have prime focus speeds too fast for direct use with standard numerical aperture (NA=0.22+/-0.02) silica-cored fibers. Specifically, the current design for the proposed Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) telescope is f/2, requiring fibers with NA>0.25. Micro foreoptics can be used to slow the beam, as used on the prime focus spectrograph (PFS) on Subaru, but this adds cost and complexity, and increases losses. An attractive alternative is offered by high NA pure silica-cored fibers, which can be used directly at f/2, and which are now available from multiple vendors. We present throughput and focal ratio degradation measurements on two samples of these high NA fibers. It is found that the measured attenuation losses are comparable with the best available standard NA fibers. The fibers were also tested for focal ratio degradation, and the fiber from CeramOptec was found to have acceptable FRD, representng additional collimator losses 1%. The near field performance of the high NA fiber is also investigated and these high NA fibers exhibit very good scrambling performance; we saw no evidence for significant output near-field variations for varying input beam angles or position in a 50m fiber.

Optimization of Aqueous Ammonia Soaking of manure fibers by Response Surface Methodology for unlocking the methane potential of swine manure.

PubMed

Lymperatou, Anna; Gavala, Hariklia N; Skiadas, Ioannis V

2017-11-01

Swine manure mono-digestion often results to economically non-feasible processes, due to the high dilution and ammonia concentration together with the low degradation rates it presents. The effects of different parameters of Aqueous Ammonia Soaking (AAS) as a pretreatment for improving the digestion of manure fibers when coupled to an ammonia removal step were investigated in this study. Response Surface Methodology was followed and the influence and interactions of the following AAS parameters were studied: NH 3 concentration, duration and solid-to-liquid ratio. The mild conditions found to be optimal (7%w/w NH 3 , 96h, and 0.16kg/L) in combination to a significant increase of the short term CH 4 yield (244% in 17days), make this pretreatment a promising solution for improving swine manure mono-digestion. Furthermore, compositional analysis of the manure fibers revealed significant solubilization of hemicellulose, while no lignin removal or loss of cellulose occurred under optimal conditions. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Portable fiber-optic taper coupled optical microscopy platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weiming; Yu, Yan; Huang, Hui; Ou, Jinping

2017-04-01

The optical fiber taper coupled with CMOS has advantages of high sensitivity, compact structure and low distortion in the imaging platform. So it is widely used in low light, high speed and X-ray imaging systems. In the meanwhile, the peculiarity of the coupled structure can meet the needs of the demand in microscopy imaging. Toward this end, we developed a microscopic imaging platform based on the coupling of cellphone camera module and fiber optic taper for the measurement of the human blood samples and ascaris lumbricoides. The platform, weighing 70 grams, is based on the existing camera module of the smartphone and a fiber-optic array which providing a magnification factor of 6x.The top facet of the taper, on which samples are placed, serves as an irregular sampling grid for contact imaging. The magnified images of the sample, located on the bottom facet of the fiber, are then projected onto the CMOS sensor. This paper introduces the portable medical imaging system based on the optical fiber coupling with CMOS, and theoretically analyzes the feasibility of the system. The image data and process results either can be stored on the memory or transmitted to the remote medical institutions for the telemedicine. We validate the performance of this cell-phone based microscopy platform using human blood samples and test target, achieving comparable results to a standard bench-top microscope.

Liquid-filled simplified hollow-core photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shengnan; Gao, Wei; Li, Hongwei; Dong, Yongkang; Zhang, Hongying

2014-12-01

We report on a novel type of liquid-filled simplified hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCFs), and investigate their transmission properties with various filling liquids, including water, ethanol and FC-40. The loss and dispersion characterizations are calculated for different fiber parameters including strut thickness and core diameter. The results show that there are still low-loss windows existing for liquid-filled simplified HC-PCFs, and the low-loss windows and dispersions can be easily tailored by filling different liquids. Such liquid-filled simplified HC-PCFs open up many possibilities for nonlinear fiber optics, optical, biochemical and medical sensing.

Scalable Fabrication of Integrated Nanophotonic Circuits on Arrays of Thin Single Crystal Diamond Membrane Windows.

PubMed

Piracha, Afaq H; Rath, Patrik; Ganesan, Kumaravelu; Kühn, Stefan; Pernice, Wolfram H P; Prawer, Steven

2016-05-11

Diamond has emerged as a promising platform for nanophotonic, optical, and quantum technologies. High-quality, single crystalline substrates of acceptable size are a prerequisite to meet the demanding requirements on low-level impurities and low absorption loss when targeting large photonic circuits. Here, we describe a scalable fabrication method for single crystal diamond membrane windows that achieves three major goals with one fabrication method: providing high quality diamond, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy; achieving homogeneously thin membranes, enabled by ion implantation; and providing compatibility with established planar fabrication via lithography and vertical etching. On such suspended diamond membranes we demonstrate a suite of photonic components as building blocks for nanophotonic circuits. Monolithic grating couplers are used to efficiently couple light between photonic circuits and optical fibers. In waveguide coupled optical ring resonators, we find loaded quality factors up to 66 000 at a wavelength of 1560 nm, corresponding to propagation loss below 7.2 dB/cm. Our approach holds promise for the scalable implementation of future diamond quantum photonic technologies and all-diamond photonic metrology tools.

The effect of weathering on ecopersistence, reactivity, and potential toxicity of naturally occurring asbestos and asbestiform minerals.

PubMed

Enrico Favero-Longo, Sergio; Turci, Francesco; Tomatis, Maura; Compagnoni, Roberto; Piervittori, Rosanna; Fubini, Bice

2009-01-01

The mechanisms underlying asbestos toxicity mainly rely on experiments performed on "laboratory" fibers, but little data is available on naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). Human exposure to NOA is subject to their ecopersistence and the modulation of their potential toxicity following weathering. The effect of weathering on three fibrous minerals from the Italian Western Alps, chrysotile, tremolite, and balangeroite-a Fe-rich asbestiform mineral-was investigated by mimicking more than 100 yr of physical (freezing-thawing/wetting-drying cycles in a climatic chamber) and biochemical forces (incubation with oxalic acid). Ion release, evaluated by means of inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and variation in chemical composition, evaluated by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), indicated that weathering modified the fibers in the series: chrysotile > balangeroite > tremolite. Kinetics of ion release from the fibers (Mg, Fe, and Si) revealed different ion removal pathways. Tremolite was poorly affected. Chrysotile preferentially released cations up to a plateau, with physical and biochemical forces acting competitively. Conversely, for balangeroite, upon which weathering forces acted synergistically, the initial loss of ions facilitated further dissolution and more Si than Mg was released, suggesting an ongoing collapse of the crystal structure. Depletion of redox-reactive ions produced a significant reduction in fiber-derived *OH radicals (EPR, spin-trapping technique), but the fibrous nature was always retained. Despite weathered fibers appearing less toxic than "stored/laboratory" ones, NOA is to be considered far from safe because of fibrous nature and residual surface reactivity. Risk assessment needs to consider the effect of weathering on exposures. Both tremolite and balangeroite may contaminate, in some areas, chrysotile asbestos. However, in contrast to tremolite, balangeroite exhibits a low ecopersistence, similar to chrysotile behavior. Any contribution of balangeroite to chrysotile toxicity will thus be related to its quantitative occurrence and not to higher structural stability.

Single-mode glass waveguide technology for optical interchip communication on board level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brusberg, Lars; Neitz, Marcel; Schröder, Henning

2012-01-01

The large bandwidth demand in long-distance telecom networks lead to single-mode fiber interconnects as result of low dispersion, low loss and dense wavelength multiplexing possibilities. In contrast, multi-mode interconnects are suitable for much shorter lengths up to 300 meters and are promising for optical links between racks and on board level. Active optical cables based on multi-mode fiber links are at the market and research in multi-mode waveguide integration on board level is still going on. Compared to multi-mode, a single-mode waveguide has much more integration potential because of core diameters of around 20% of a multi-mode waveguide by a much larger bandwidth. But light coupling in single-mode waveguides is much more challenging because of lower coupling tolerances. Together with the silicon photonics technology, a single-mode waveguide technology on board-level will be the straight forward development goal for chip-to-chip optical interconnects integration. Such a hybrid packaging platform providing 3D optical single-mode links bridges the gap between novel photonic integrated circuits and the glass fiber based long-distance telecom networks. Following we introduce our 3D photonic packaging approach based on thin glass substrates with planar integrated optical single-mode waveguides for fiber-to-chip and chip-to-chip interconnects. This novel packaging approach merges micro-system packaging and glass integrated optics. It consists of a thin glass substrate with planar integrated singlemode waveguide circuits, optical mirrors and lenses providing an integration platform for photonic IC assembly and optical fiber interconnect. Thin glass is commercially available in panel and wafer formats and characterizes excellent optical and high-frequency properties. That makes it perfect for microsystem packaging. The paper presents recent results in single-mode waveguide technology on wafer level and waveguide characterization. Furthermore the integration in a hybrid packaging process and design issues are discussed.

Optical bandwidth in coupling: the multicore photonic switch.

PubMed

Attard, Alfred E

2003-05-20

In the present study, the bandwidth of a photonic switch described previously [Appl. Opt. 37,2296 (1998); 38, 3239 (1999)] is evaluated. First the optical bandwidth is evaluated for coupling between two fiber-core waveguides, in which the cores are embedded within the same cladding. Then the coupling bandwidth is determined for a fiber-core-to-slab-core waveguide, in which the cores are embedded within the same cladding. These bandwidths are then compared and contrasted with the bandwidths of the photonic switch, which consists of two fiber cores and a control waveguide. Two configurations of the photonic switch are considered: one in which the control waveguide is a fiber core and one in which the control waveguide is a slab core. For the photonic switch, the bandwidth characteristics are more complicated than for the coupled pairs, and these characteristics are discussed in detail.

Design of 20 W fiber-coupled green laser diode by Zemax

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yunfei; Zhao, Pengfei; Wu, Yulong; Chen, Yongqi; Zou, Yonggang

2017-09-01

We represent a design of a 20 W, fiber-coupled diode laser module based on 26 single emitters at 520 nm. The module can produce more than 20 W output power from a standard fiber with core diameter of 400 μm and numerical aperture (NA) of 0.22. To achieve a 20 W laser beam, the spatial beam combination and polarization beam combination by polarization beam splitter are used to combine output of 26 single emitters into a single beam, and then an aspheric lens is used to couple the combined beam into an optical fiber. The simulation shows that the total coupling efficiency is more than 95%. Project supported by the National Key R& D Program of China (No. 2016YFB0402105), the Key Deployment Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KGZD-SW-T01-2), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61404135).

Imaging quality evaluation method of pixel coupled electro-optical imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Xu; Yuan, Li; Jin, Chunqi; Zhang, Xiaohui

2017-09-01

With advancements in high-resolution imaging optical fiber bundle fabrication technology, traditional photoelectric imaging system have become ;flexible; with greatly reduced volume and weight. However, traditional image quality evaluation models are limited by the coupling discrete sampling effect of fiber-optic image bundles and charge-coupled device (CCD) pixels. This limitation substantially complicates the design, optimization, assembly, and evaluation image quality of the coupled discrete sampling imaging system. Based on the transfer process of grayscale cosine distribution optical signal in the fiber-optic image bundle and CCD, a mathematical model of coupled modulation transfer function (coupled-MTF) is established. This model can be used as a basis for following studies on the convergence and periodically oscillating characteristics of the function. We also propose the concept of the average coupled-MTF, which is consistent with the definition of traditional MTF. Based on this concept, the relationships among core distance, core layer radius, and average coupled-MTF are investigated.

Experimental demonstration of single-mode fiber coupling over relatively strong turbulence with adaptive optics.

PubMed

Chen, Mo; Liu, Chao; Xian, Hao

2015-10-10

High-speed free-space optical communication systems using fiber-optic components can greatly improve the stability of the system and simplify the structure. However, propagation through atmospheric turbulence degrades the spatial coherence of the signal beam and limits the single-mode fiber (SMF) coupling efficiency. In this paper, we analyze the influence of the atmospheric turbulence on the SMF coupling efficiency over various turbulences. The results show that the SMF coupling efficiency drops from 81% without phase distortion to 10% when phase root mean square value equals 0.3λ. The simulations of SMF coupling with adaptive optics (AO) indicate that it is inevitable to compensate the high-order aberrations for SMF coupling over relatively strong turbulence. The SMF coupling efficiency experiments, using an AO system with a 137-element deformable mirror and a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor, obtain average coupling efficiency increasing from 1.3% in open loop to 46.1% in closed loop under a relatively strong turbulence, D/r₀=15.1.

Manufacture of dissolving pulps from cornstalk by novel method coupling steam explosion and mechanical carding fractionation.

PubMed

Wang, Ning; Chen, Hong-Zhang

2013-07-01

In order to solve the inhomogeneity of cornstalk as fiber material to manufacture dissolving pulp, a novel method of steam explosion coupling mechanical carding was put forward to fractionate cornstalk long fiber for the production of cornstalk dissolving pulp. The fractionated long fiber had homogeneous structure and low hemicellulose and ash content. The fiber cell content was up to 85% in area, and the hemicellulose and ash content was 8.34% and 1.10% respectively. The α-cellulose content of cornstalk dissolving pulps was up to 93.10-97.10%, the viscosity was 14.37-23.96 mPas, and the yields of cornstalk dissolving pulps were from 10.11% to 12.44%. In addition, the fractionated short fiber was to be hydrolyzed by enzyme to build sugar platform. The constructed method of steam explosion coupling mechanical carding achieved the fractionation of cornstalk into long fiber and short fiber cleanly and effectively, and provided a new way for cornstalk integrated refinery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermo-Oxidative Stability of Graphite/PMR-15 Composites: Effect of Fiber Surface Modification on Composite Shear Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madhukar, Madhu S.; Bowles, Kenneth J.; Papadopolous, Demetrios S.

1994-01-01

Experiments were conducted to establish a correlation between the weight loss of a polyimide (PMR- 15) matrix and graphite fibers and the in-plane shear properties of their unidirectional composites subjected to different isothermal aging times up to 1000 hr at 316 C. The role of fiber surface treatment on the composite degradation during the thermo-oxidative aging was investigated by using A4 graphite fibers with three surface modifications: untreated (AU-4), surface treated (AS-4), and surface treated and sized with an epoxy-compatible sizing (AS-4G). The weight loss of the matrix fibers, and composites was determined during the aging. The effect of thermal aging was seen in all the fiber samples in terms of weight loss and reduction in fiber diameter. Calculated values of weight loss fluxes for different surfaces of rectangular unidirectional composite plates showed that the largest weight loss occurred at those cut surfaces where fibers were perpendicular to the surface. Consequently, the largest amount of damage was also noted on these cut surfaces. Optical observation of the neat matrix and composite plates subjected to different aging times revealed that the degradation (such as matrix microcracking and void growth) occurred in a thin surface layer near the specimen edges. The in-plane shear modulus of the composites was unaffected by the fiber surface treatment and the thermal aging. The shear strength of the composites with the untreated fibers was the lowest and it decreased with aging. A fracture surface examination of the composites with untreated fibers suggested that the weak interface allowed the oxidation reaction to proceed along the interface and thus expose the inner material to further oxidation. The results indicated that the fiber-matrix interface affected the composite degradation process during its thermal aging and that the the weak interface accelerated the composite degradation.

Small core fiber coupled 60-W laser diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernie, Douglas P.; Mannonen, Ilkka; Raven, Anthony L.

1995-05-01

Semiconductor laser diodes are compact, efficient and reliable sources of laser light and 25 W fiber coupled systems developed by Diomed have been in clinical use for over three years. For certain applications, particularly in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and flexible endoscopy, higher powers are desirable. In these applications the use of flexible optical fibers of no more than 600 micrometers core diameter is essential for compatibility with most commercial delivery fibers and instrumentation. A high power 60 W diode laser system for driving these small core fibers has been developed. The design requirements for medical applications are analyzed and system performance and results of use in gastroenterology and urology with small core fibers will be presented.

Performance analysis and material dependence of micro holographic optical elements as couplers for fiber optic communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambadiyil, Sajan; Prasannan, G.; Sathyan, Jithesh; Ajith Kumar, P. T.

2005-01-01

Holographic Optical Elements (HOEs) are gaining much importance and finding newer and better applications in areas of optical fiber communication and optical information processing systems. In contrast to conventional HOEs, optical communication and information systems require smaller and efficient elements of desired characteristics and transfer functions. Such Micro Holographic Optical Elements (MHOEs) can either be an HOE, recorded with two narrow beams of laser light or a segment cut from a larger HOE (SHOEs), and recorded in the conventional manner. In this study, micro holographic couplers, having specific focusing and diffraction characteristics were recorded in different holographic recording media such as silver halide and dichromated gelatin. Wavelength response of the elements was tested at 633 nm and 442 nm. Variation in diffraction efficiency/coupling factor, and insertion loss of the elements were studied. The paper reports in detail about the above results and related design considerations.

Microfiber-coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detector for near-infrared wavelengths.

PubMed

You, Lixing; Wu, Junjie; Xu, Yingxin; Hou, Xintong; Fang, Wei; Li, Hao; Zhang, Weijun; Zhang, Lu; Liu, Xiaoyu; Tong, Limin; Wang, Zhen; Xie, Xiaoming

2017-12-11

High-performance superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have facilitated numerous experiments and applications, particularly in the fields of modern quantum optics and quantum communication. Two kinds of optical coupling methods have thus far been developed for SNSPDs: one produces standard fiber-coupled SNSPDs in which the fibers vertically illuminate the meandered nanowires; the other produces waveguide-coupled SNSPDs in which nanowires are fabricated on the surface of a waveguide that guides photons, and the fibers are coupled to the waveguide. In this paper, we report on first experimental demonstration of a new type of SNSPD that is coupled with a microfiber (MF). Photons are guided by the MF and are evanescently absorbed by the nanowires of the SNSPD when the MF is placed on top of superconducting NbN nanowires. Room-temperature optical experiments indicated that this device has a coupling efficiency of up to 90% when a 1.3 μm-diameter MF is used for light with wavelength of 1550 nm. We were also able to demonstrate that our MF-coupled detector achieved system detection efficiencies of 50% and 20% at incident wavelengths of 1064 and 1550 nm, respectively, for a 2 μm-diameter MF at 2.2K. We expect that MF-coupled SNSPDs may show both high efficiency and broadband characteristics upon optimization and will be used for various novel applications, such as micro/nano-fiber optics.

High strength fusion splicing of hollow core photonic crystal fiber and single-mode fiber by large offset reheating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Ningfang; Wu, Chunxiao; Luo, Wenyong; Zhang, Zuchen; Li, Wei

2016-12-01

High strength fusion splicing hollow core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) and single-mode fiber (SMF) requires sufficient energy, which results in collapse of the air holes inside HC-PCF. Usually the additional splice loss induced by the collapse of air holes is too large. By large offset reheating, the collapse length of HC-PCF is reduced, thus the additional splice loss induced by collapse is effectively suppressed. This method guarantees high-strength fusion splicing between the two types of fiber with a low splice loss. The strength of the splice compares favorably with the strength of HC-PCF itself. This method greatly improves the reliability of splices between HC-PCFs and SMFs.

Magneto-Optic Field Coupling in Optical Fiber Bragg Gratings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carman, Gregory P. (Inventor); Mohanchandra, Panduranga K. (Inventor); Emmons, Michael C. (Inventor); Richards, William Lance (Inventor)

2016-01-01

The invention is a magneto-optic coupled magnetic sensor that comprises a standard optical fiber Bragg grating system. The system includes an optical fiber with at least one Bragg grating therein. The optical fiber has at least an inner core and a cladding that surrounds the inner core. The optical fiber is part of an optical system that includes an interrogation device that provides a light wave through the optical fiber and a system to determine the change in the index of refraction of the optical fiber. The cladding of the optical fiber comprises at least a portion of which is made up of ferromagnetic particles so that the ferromagnetic particles are subject to the light wave provided by the interrogation system. When a magnetic field is present, the ferromagnetic particles change the optical properties of the sensor directly.

Design of an Fiber-Coupled Laser Heterodyne Interferometer for the FLARE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, Samuel; Yoo, Jongsoo; Ji, Hantao; Jara-Almonte, Jon

2016-10-01

The FLARE (Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments), which is currently under construction at PPPL, requires a complete set of laboratory plasma diagnostics. The Langmuir probes that will be used in the device to gather local density data require a reliable interferometer system to serve as baseline for density measurement calibration. A fully fiber-coupled infrared laser heterodyne interferometer has been designed in order to serve as the primary line-integrated electron density diagnostic. Thanks to advances in the communications industry many fiber optic devices and phase detection methods have advanced significantly becoming increasingly reliable and inexpensive. Fully fiber coupling a plasma interferometer greatly simplifies alignment procedures needed since the only free space laser path needing alignment is through the plasma itself. Fiber-coupling also provides significant resistance to vibrational noise, a common problem in plasma interferometry systems. This device also uses a greatly simplified phase detection scheme in which chips, originally developed for the communications industry, capable of directly detecting the phase shift of a signal with high time resolution. The design and initial performance of the system will be discussed.

Fiber Surface Modification Technology for Fiber-Optic Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensors

PubMed Central

Zhang, Qiang; Xue, Chenyang; Yuan, Yanling; Lee, Junyang; Sun, Dong; Xiong, Jijun

2012-01-01

Considerable studies have been performed on the development of optical fiber sensors modified by gold nanoparticles based on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) technique. The current paper presents a new approach in fiber surface modification technology for biosensors. Star-shaped gold nanoparticles obtained through the seed-mediated solution growth method were found to self-assemble on the surface of tapered optical fibers via amino- and mercapto-silane coupling agents. Transmitted power spectra of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane (APTMS)-modified fiber were obtained, which can verify that the silane coupling agent surface modification method is successful. Transmission spectra are characterized in different concentrations of ethanol and gentian violet solutions to validate the sensitivity of the modified fiber. Assembly using star-shaped gold nanoparticles and amino/mercapto silane coupling agent are analyzed and compared. The transmission spectra of the gold nanoparticles show that the nanoparticles are sensitive to the dielectric properties of the surrounding medium. After the fibers are treated in t-dodecylmercaptan to obtain their transmission spectra, APTMS-modified fiber becomes less sensitive to different media, except that modified by 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxy silane (MPTMS). Experimental results of the transmission spectra show that the surface modified by the gold nanoparticles using MPTMS is firmer compared to that obtained using APTMS. PMID:22736974

Multiscale Modeling of Ablation and Pyrolysis in PICA-Like materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lachaud, Jean; Mansour, Nagi N.

2008-01-01

During atmospheric entry of planetary probes, the thermal protection system (TIPS) of the probe is exposed to high temperatures under low pressures. In these conditions, carbonous fibrous TIPS materials may undergo oxidation leading to mass loss and wall recession called ablation. This work aims to improve the understanding of material/environment interactions through a study of the coupling between oxygen transport in the Knudsen regime, heterogeneous oxidation of carbon, and surface recession. A 3D Random Walk Monte Carlo simulation tool is used for this study. The fibrous architecture of a model material, consisting of high porosity random array of carbon fibers, is numerically represented on a 3D Cartesian grid. Mass transport in the Knudsen regime from the boundary layer to the surface, and inside this porous material is simulated by random walk. A reaction probability is used to simulate the heterogeneous oxidation reaction. The surface recession of the fibers is followed by front tracking using a simplified marching cube approach. The output data of the simulations are ablation velocity and dynamic evolution of the material porosity. A parametric study is carried out to analyze the material behavior as a function of Knudsen number for the porous media (length of the mean free path compared to the mean pore diameter) and the intrinsic reactivity of the carbon fibers. The model is applied to Stardust mission reentry conditions and explains the unexpected behavior of the TIPS material that underwent mass loss in volume.

High-speed electro-optic polymers: mm-Wave applications and silica planar lightwave circuit integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Daniel H.

The development of high speed polymer electro-optic modulators has seen steady and significant progress in recent years, enabling novel applications in RF-Photonics. Two of these are described in this Thesis: an Opto-Electronic Oscillator (OEO), which is a hybrid RF and optical oscillator capable of high spectral purity, and Photonic Time-Stretch, which is a signal processing technique for waveform spectral shifting with application to photonically-assisted A/D conversion. In both cases, the operating frequencies achieved have been the highest demonstrated to date. Application of this promising material to more complicated devices, however, is stymied by insertion loss performance. Current loss figures, while acceptable for single modulators, are too high for large arrays of modulators or intrinsically long devices such as AWGs or photonic-RF phase shifters. This is especially frustrating in light of a key virtue which polymers possess as a photonic material: its photolithographic process-ability makes patterning complex devices possible. Indeed, the current ascendancy of silica-based waveguide devices can be attributed largely to the same reason. In this Thesis, we also demonstrate the first hybrid device composed of silica planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) and polymer planar waveguides. Our approach utilizes grayscale lithography to enable vertical coupling between polymer and silica layers, minimizing entanglement of their respective fabrication processes. We have achieved coupling excess loss figures on the order of 1dB. We believe this is the natural next step in the development of electro-optic polymer devices. The two technologies are highly complementary. Silica PLCs, with excellent propagation loss and fiber coupling, are ideally suited for long passive waveguiding. By endowing them with the high-speed phase shifting capability offered by polymers, active wideband photonic devices of increasing complexity and array size can be contemplated.

Characterization and application of optical fibers: 1. Application of optical fibers in gas concentration and radiation dose measurements. 2. Polarization effects in fiber communication systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Ping

The thesis consists of two research directions: Optical fiber applications in gas concentration and radiation dose measurements; and polarization effects in fiber optic communication systems. Part I of the thesis presents two optical fiber applications. (1) An infrared (IR) fiber bundle has been designed and fabricated to measure gas concentrations in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This fiber bundle covers the IR range from 0.5 to 20 mum and reduces the light beam divergence in the CVD chamber, which makes it possible to measure gas concentrations in a region near the substrate surface. Semi-ellipsoid mirrors have been designed and used to increase the collection efficiency of infrared radiation and to compensate the loss introduced by the fiber bundle. (2) A fiber optic radiation sensor based on radiation-induced fiber loss is reported. The gamma radiation-induced loss spectra in various fibers have been studied. Among all the fibers tested, 5% P-doped fiber shows the highest sensitivity to gamma radiation. The wavelength and dose rate dependence of radiation-induced loss in 5% P-doped fiber are investigated and the possibility of using this fiber as a radiation sensor for radiation therapy is discussed. Part II of the thesis examines two polarization effects, polarization mode dispersion (PMD) and polarization dependent loss (PDL), in fiber optic communication systems based on the waveplate models. A new waveplate model, capable of generating any PMD and PDL values, is proposed to overcome the limitations of the conventional waveplate model. Using both models the statistical distributions of PDL and differential group delay (DGD) have been studied considering the presence of biased elliptical birefringence. The principal state of polarization (PSP) of an optical pulse is proposed for a fiber having both PMD and PDL. PMD and PDL of a pulse for a fiber consisting of two polarization maintaining fiber segments are calculated, and the pulse distortions due to PMD and PDL are analyzed. PMD and PDL impact on digital communication systems have been studied in terms of system Q factor, bit error rate (BER) and system outage probability. The acceptable PMD values in a system with PDL are discussed for various power margins. The Q factor distributions due to PDL and its combination with PMD have been measured experimentally and compared to numerical simulations.

Tunable optical assembly with vibration dampening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allison, Sidney G. (Inventor); Shams, Qamar A. (Inventor); Fox, Robert L. (Inventor); Fox, legal representative, Christopher L. (Inventor); Fox Chattin, legal representative, Melanie L. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

An optical assembly is formed by one or more piezoelectric fiber composite actuators having one or more optical fibers coupled thereto. The optical fiber(s) experiences strain when actuation voltage is applied to the actuator(s). Light passing through the optical fiber(s) is wavelength tuned by adjusting the actuation voltage.

Macro-channel cooled high power fiber coupled diode lasers exceeding 1.2kW of output power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koenning, Tobias; Alegria, Kim; Wang, Zuolan; Segref, Armin; Stapleton, Dean; Faßbender, Wilhelm; Flament, Marco; Rotter, Karsten; Noeske, Axel; Biesenbach, Jens

2011-03-01

We report on a new series of fiber coupled diode laser modules exceeding 1.2kW of single wavelength optical power from a 400um / 0.2NA fiber. The units are constructed from passively cooled laser bars as opposed to other comparably powered, commercially available modules that use micro-channel heat-sinks. Micro-channel heat sinks require cooling water to meet demanding specifications and are therefore prone to failures due to contamination and increase the overall cost to operate and maintain the laser. Dilas' new series of high power fiber coupled diode lasers are designed to eliminate micro channel coolers and their associated failure mechanisms. Low-smile soldering processes were developed to maximize the brightness available from each diode laser bar. The diode laser brightness is optimally conserved using Dilas' recently developed propriety laser bar stacking geometry and optics. A total of 24 bars are coupled into a single fiber core using a polarization multiplexing scheme. The modular design permits further power scaling through wavelength multiplexing. Other customer critical features such as industrial grade fibers, pilot beams, fiber interlocks and power monitoring are standard features on these modules. The optical design and the beam parameter calculations will be presented to explain the inherit design trade offs. Results for single and dual wavelengths modules will be presented.

Treadmill exercise alleviates nigrostriatal dopaminergic loss of neurons and fibers in rotenone-induced Parkinson rats.

PubMed

Shin, Mal-Soon; Kim, Tae-Woon; Lee, Jae-Min; Ji, Eun-Sang; Lim, Baek-Vin

2017-02-01

Parkinson disease is one of the common brain diseases caused by dopaminergic neuronal loss in the substantia nigra and dopaminergic fiber loss in the striatum. In the present study, the effects of treadmill exercise on motor performance, dopaminergic loss of neurons and fibers, and α-synuclein expression in the nigrostriatum were evaluated using rotenone-induced Parkinson rats. For the induction of Parkinson rats, 3-mg/kg rotenone was injected, once a day for 14 consecutive days. Treadmill running was conducted for 30 min once a day during 14 consecutive days. Rota-rod test for motor balance and coordination and immunohistochemistry for tyrosine hydroxylase and α-synuclein in the nigrostriatum were performed. In the present study, motor balance and coordination was disturbed by induction of rotenone-induced Parkinson disease, in contrast, treadmill exercise alleviated motor dysfunction in the rotenone-induced Parkinson rats. Nigrostriatal dopaminergic loss of neurons and fibers was occurred by induction of rotenone-induced Parkinson disease, in contrast, treadmill exercise alleviated nigrostriatal dopaminergic loss of neurons and fibers in the rotenone-induced Parkinson rats. α-Synuclein expression in the nigrostriatum was enhanced by induction of rotenone-induced Parkinson disease, in contrast, treadmill exercise suppressed α-synuclein expression in the rotenone-induced Parkinson rats. Treadmill exercise improved motor function through preservation of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and fibers and suppression of nigrostriatal formation of Lewy bodies in rotenone-induced Parkinson rats.

High brightness fiber laser pump sources based on single emitters and multiple single emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheller, Torsten; Wagner, Lars; Wolf, Jürgen; Bonati, Guido; Dörfel, Falk; Gabler, Thomas

2008-02-01

Driven by the potential of the fiber laser market, the development of high brightness pump sources has been pushed during the last years. The main approaches to reach the targets of this market had been the direct coupling of single emitters (SE) on the one hand and the beam shaping of bars and stacks on the other hand, which often causes higher cost per watt. Meanwhile the power of single emitters with 100μm emitter size for direct coupling increased dramatically, which also pushed a new generation of wide stripe emitters or multi emitters (ME) of up to 1000μm emitter size respectively "minibars" with apertures of 3 to 5mm. The advantage of this emitter type compared to traditional bars is it's scalability to power levels of 40W to 60W combined with a small aperture which gives advantages when coupling into a fiber. We show concepts using this multiple single emitters for fiber coupled systems of 25W up to 40W out of a 100μm fiber NA 0.22 with a reasonable optical efficiency. Taking into account a further efficiency optimization and an increase in power of these devices in the near future, the EUR/W ratio pushed by the fiber laser manufacturer will further decrease. Results will be shown as well for higher power pump sources. Additional state of the art tapered fiber bundles for photonic crystal fibers are used to combine 7 (19) pump sources to output powers of 100W (370W) out of a 130μm (250μm) fiber NA 0.6 with nominal 20W per port. Improving those TFB's in the near future and utilizing 40W per pump leg, an output power of even 750W out of 250μm fiber NA 0.6 will be possible. Combined Counter- and Co-Propagated pumping of the fiber will then lead to the first 1kW fiber laser oscillator.

Optimization of Connector Position Offset for Bandwidth Enhancement of a Multimode Optical Fiber Link

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rawat, Banmali

2000-01-01

The multimode fiber bandwidth enhancement techniques to meet the Gigabit Ethernet standards for local area networks (LAN) of the Kennedy Space Center and other NASA centers have been discussed. Connector with lateral offset coupling between single mode launch fiber cable and the multimode fiber cable has been thoroughly investigated. An optimization of connector position offset for 8 km long optical fiber link at 1300 nm with 9 micrometer diameter single mode fiber (SMF) and 50 micrometer diameter multimode fiber (MMF) coupling has been obtained. The optimization is done in terms of bandwidth, eye-pattern, and bit pattern measurements. It is simpler, is a highly practical approach and is cheaper as no additional cost to manufacture the offset type of connectors is involved.

An enhanced effective mode area fluorine doped octagonal photonic crystal fiber with extremely low loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabir, Sumaiya; Razzak, S. M. Abdur

2018-07-01

In our paper an enhanced effective mode area octagonal photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is presented. This PCF ensures large effective mode area along with ultra-low confinement loss and bending loss. Both the elimination of air-holes from the rings near the core region and inclusion of low index fluorine doped silica rods in an octagonal pattern are the vital design features. We have used full vectorial finite element method (FEM) based software with circularly perfectly matched layer (PML) to simulate the guiding properties of PCF. Our proposed fiber achieves effective mode area of 1110 μm2. Moreover, it offers ultra-low confinement loss of 1.14 × 10-15 dB/m and can be bent as small as 30 cm without any significant bending loss of 6.49 × 10-9 dB/m. The PCF also ensures low non-linearity with small amount of splice loss. However, our proposed PCF can be used in applications like fiber amplifiers and lasers.

On the mechanical coupling of a fiber optic cable used for distributed acoustic/vibration sensing applications—a theoretical consideration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinsch, Thomas; Thurley, Tom; Jousset, Philippe

2017-12-01

In recent years, fiber optic cables are increasingly used for the acquisition of dynamic strain changes for seismic surveys. When considering seismic amplitudes, one of the first questions arising is the mechanical coupling between optical fiber and the surrounding medium. Here we analyse the interaction of ground movement with a typical telecom-grade fiber optic cable from an existing telecommunication network deployed in a sand filled trench at the surface. Within the cable, the optical fiber is embedded in a gel-filled plastic tube. We apply Hooke’s law to calculate the stress needed to strain the optical fiber throughout the cable structure. In case the stress magnitude at the cable-sand interface as well as the gel-optical fiber interface is below the yield strength of the respective material, sand and gel, it can be regarded as an elastic medium. Hence, a multilayer radial symmetric model can be used to calculate the coupling of the optical fiber with the surrounding medium. We show that the transfer function has a -3 dB lower cut-off wavelength of about 22 m. The magnitude response of this telecom-grade fiber optic cable is therefore almost perfect at typical low frequency seismic waves. The approach presented here can be applied to various cable designs to estimate the strain transfer between ground movement and an optical fiber.

Elasto-optics in double-coated optical fibers induced by axial strain and hydrostatic pressure.

PubMed

Yang, Yu-Ching; Lee, Haw-Long; Chou, Huann-Ming

2002-04-01

Stresses, microbending loss, and refractive-index changes induced simultaneously by axial strain and hydrostatic pressure in double-coated optical fibers are analyzed. The lateral pressure and normal stresses in the optical fiber, primary coating, and secondary coating are derived. Also presented are the microbending loss and refractive-index changes in the glass fiber. The normal stresses are affected by axial strain, hydrostatic pressure, material properties, and thickness of the primary and secondary coatings. It is found that microbending loss decreases with increasing thickness, the Young's modulus, and the Poisson's ratio of the secondary coating but increases with the increasing Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the primary coating. Similarly, changes in refractive index in the glass fiber decrease with the increasing Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the secondary coating but increase with the increasing Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of the primary coating. Therefore, to minimize microbending loss induced simultaneously by axial strain and hydrostatic pressure in the glass fiber, the polymeric coatings should be suitably selected. An optimal design procedure is also indicated.

Strongly-guided indium phosphide/indium gallium arsenic phosphide Mach-Zehnder modulator for optical communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Betty, Ian Brian

2006-12-01

The development of strongly-guided InP/In1-x GaxAsyP 1-y based Mach-Zehnder optical modulators for 10Gb/s telecommunications is detailed. The modulators have insertion losses including coupling as low as 4.5dB, due to the incorporation of monolithically integrated optical mode spot-size converters (SSC's). The modulators are optimized to produce system performance that is independent of optical coupling alignment and for wavelength operation between 1525nm and 1565nm. A negatively chirped Mach-Zehnder modulator design is demonstrated, giving optimal dispersion-limited reach for 10Gb/s ON/OFF-keying modulation. It is shown that the optical system performance for this design can be determined from purely DC based optical measurements. A Mach-Zehnder modulator design invoking nearly no transient frequency shifts under intensity modulation is also presented, for the first time, using phase-shifter implementations based on the Quantum-Confined-Stark-Effect (QCSE). The performance impact on the modulator from the higher-order vertical and lateral waveguide modes found in strongly-guided waveguides has been determined. The impact of these higher-order modes has been minimized using the design of the waveguide bends, MMI structures, and doping profiles. The fabrication process and optical design for the spot-size mode converters are also thoroughly explored. The SSC structures are based on butt-joined vertically tapered passive waveguide cores within laterally flared strongly-guided ridges, making them compatible with any strong-guiding waveguide structure. The flexibility of the SSC process is demonstrated by the superior performance it has also enabled in a 40Gb/s electro-absorption modulator. The presented electro-absorption modulator has 3.6dB fiber-to-fiber insertion loss, polarization dependent loss (PDL) of only 0.3dB over 15dB extinction, and low absolute chirp (|alpha H| < 0.6) over the full dynamic range.

Integrated Structural and Cable Connector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Totah, R. S.

1982-01-01

Ball-and-socket coupling includes fiber-optic cable. Three steps couple two parts of fiber-optic cable: ball is inserted into socket; cone is released in, and cable moves toward plug. Sleeve is pulled to end of its travel and cable and plug are mated. Device is a quick-connect/disconnect coupling that has application in hazardous environments, such as space, undersea and nuclear installations.

Graphite fiber intercalation: Dynamics of the bromine intercalation process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaworske, D. A.; Zinolabedini, R.

1985-01-01

The resistance of pitch-based graphite fibers was monitored, in situ, during a series of bromine intercalation experiments. The threshold pressure for the bromine intercalation of pitch-based fibers was estimated to be 102 torr. When the bromine atmosphere was removed from the reaction chamber, the resistivity of the intercalated graphite fibers increased consistently. This increase was attributed to loss of bromine from the perimeter of the fiber. The loss was confirmed by mapping the bromine concentration across the diameter of single intercalated fibers with either energy dispersive spectroscopy or scanning Auger microscopy. A statistical study comparing fibers intercalated in bromine vapor with fibers intercalated in bromine liquid showed that similar products were obtained with both methods of intercalation.

Holey fibers for low bend loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakajima, Kazuhide; Saito, Kotaro; Yamada, Yusuke; Kurokawa, Kenji; Shimizu, Tomoya; Fukai, Chisato; Matsui, Takashi

2013-12-01

Bending-loss insensitive fiber (BIF) has proved an essential medium for constructing the current fiber to the home (FTTH) network. By contrast, the progress that has been made on holey fiber (HF) technologies provides us with novel possibilities including non-telecom applications. In this paper, we review recent progress on hole-assisted type BIF. A simple design consideration is overviewed. We then describe some of the properties of HAF including its mechanical reliability. Finally, we introduce some applications of HAF including to high power transmission. We show that HAF with a low bending loss has the potential for use in various future optical technologies as well as in the optical communication network.

Compact high reliability fiber coupled laser diodes for avionics and related applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniel, David R.; Richards, Gordon S.; Janssen, Adrian P.; Turley, Stephen E. H.; Stockton, Thomas E.

1993-04-01

This paper describes a newly developed compact high reliability fiber coupled laser diode which is capable of providing enhanced performance under extreme environmental conditions including a very wide operating temperature range. Careful choice of package materials to minimize thermal and mechanical stress, used with proven manufacturing methods, has resulted in highly stable coupling of the optical fiber pigtail to a high performance MOCVD-grown Multi-Quantum Well laser chip. Electro-optical characteristics over temperature are described together with a demonstration of device stability over a range of environmental conditions. Real time device lifetime data is also presented.

Polydimethylsiloxane-fabricated optical fiber sensor capable of measuring both large axial and shear strain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Yu; Wang, Ziyuan; Wen, Huaihai; Zhou, Zhi

2014-11-01

Fiber optic sensor (FOS) has received much attention in the field of Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) due to its advantages of low weight, small size, high sensitivity multiplexing ability, free of electromagnetic interference and long durability. However, in harsh environments, structures often undergo large strain where few traditional fiber optic sensors could survive. This paper report a novel material with features of light-transparent, chemically inert, thermally stable material Polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) fabricated large axial/shearing strain sensor. The sensor was fabricated by directly coupling a conventional signal mode fiber into half cured PDMS material using a translation stage under the inspection of a microscope. Meanwhile, a laser diode and a photo detector were used in the fabrication process to make sure the sensor achieved minimum light loss. An experiment was conducted later to investigate the sensor's transmission characteristic in 1310nm infrared laser relating with the applied axial/shearing strain. The results show that the proposed sensor survived an axial strain of 6 7.79 x 106 μɛ ; a shear of 4 6.49 x 104 μɛ with good linearity and repetition. The experiment indicates that the proposed sensor can potentially be used as strain sensing elements in Structure Health Monitoring systems under earthquake or explosion.

Method and apparatus for monitoring the power of a laser beam

DOEpatents

Paris, R.D.; Hackel, R.P.

1996-02-06

A method for monitoring the power of a laser beam in real time is disclosed. At least one optical fiber is placed through the laser beam, where a portion of light from the laser beam is coupled into the optical fiber. The optical fiber may be maintained in a stationary position or moved periodically over a cross section of the laser beam to couple light from each area traversed. Light reaching both fiber ends is monitored according to frequency and processed to determine the power of the laser beam. 6 figs.

Method and apparatus for monitoring the power of a laser beam

DOEpatents

Paris, Robert D.; Hackel, Richard P.

1996-01-01

A method for monitoring the power of a laser beam in real time is disclosed. At least one optical fiber is placed through the laser beam, where a portion of light from the laser beam is coupled into the optical fiber. The optical fiber may be maintained in a stationary position or moved periodically over a cross section of the laser beam to couple light from each area traversed. Light reaching both fiber ends is monitored according to frequency and processed to determine the power of the laser beam.

Fiber optic coupled optical sensor

DOEpatents

Fleming, Kevin J.

2001-01-01

A displacement sensor includes a first optical fiber for radiating light to a target, and a second optical fiber for receiving light from the target. The end of the first fiber is adjacent and not axially aligned with the second fiber end. A lens focuses light from the first fiber onto the target and light from the target onto the second fiber.

Large area single-mode parity-time-symmetric laser amplifiers.

PubMed

Miri, Mohammad-Ali; LiKamWa, Patrik; Christodoulides, Demetrios N

2012-03-01

By exploiting recent developments associated with parity-time (PT) symmetry in optics, we here propose a new avenue in realizing single-mode large area laser amplifiers. This can be accomplished by utilizing the abrupt symmetry breaking transition that allows the fundamental mode to experience gain while keeping all the higher order modes neutral. Such PT-symmetric structures can be realized by judiciously coupling two multimode waveguides, one exhibiting gain while the other exhibits an equal amount of loss. Pertinent examples are provided for both semiconductor and fiber laser amplifiers. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Femtosecond laser micromachining of waveguides in silicone-based hydrogel polymers.

PubMed

Ding, Li; Blackwell, Richard I; Künzler, Jay F; Knox, Wayne H

2008-06-10

By tightly focusing 27 fs laser pulses from a Ti:sapphire oscillator with 1.3 nJ pulse energy at 93 MHz repetition rate, we are able to fabricate optical waveguides inside hydrogel polymers containing approximately 36% water by weight. A tapered lensed fiber is used to couple laser light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm into these waveguides within a water environment. Strong waveguiding is observed due to large refractive index changes. A large waveguide propagation loss is found, and we show that this is caused by surface roughness which can be reduced by optimizing the waveguides.

Membrane distributed-reflector laser integrated with SiOx-based spot-size converter on Si substrate.

PubMed

Nishi, Hidetaka; Fujii, Takuro; Takeda, Koji; Hasebe, Koichi; Kakitsuka, Takaaki; Tsuchizawa, Tai; Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi; Yamada, Koji; Matsuo, Shinji

2016-08-08

We demonstrate monolithic integration of a 50-μm-long-cavity membrane distributed-reflector laser with a spot-size converter, consisting of a tapered InP wire waveguide and an SiOx waveguide, on SiO₂/Si substrate. The device exhibits 9.4-GHz/mA^0.5 modulation efficiency with a 2.2-dB fiber coupling loss. We demonstrate 25.8-Gbit/s direct modulation with a bias current of 2.5 mA, resulting in a low energy cost of 132 fJ/bit.

Thermo-oxidative stability studies of PMR-15 polymer matrix composites reinforced with various fibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Kenneth J.

1990-01-01

An experimental study was conducted to measure the thermo-oxidative stability of PMR-15 polymer matrix composites reinforced with various fibers and to observe differences in the way they degrade in air. The fibers that were studied included graphite and the thermally stable Nicalon and Nextel ceramic fibers. Weight loss rates for the different composites were assessed as a function of mechanical properties, specimen geometry, fiber sizing, and interfacial bond strength. Differences were observed in rates of weight loss, matrix cracking, geometry dependency, and fiber-sizing effects. It was shown that Celion 6000 fiber-reinforced composites do not exhibit a straight-line Arrhenius relationship at temperatures above 316 C.

Fiber Grating Coupled Light Source Capable of Tunable, Single Frequency Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krainak, Michael A. (Inventor); Duerksen, Gary L. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

Fiber Bragg grating coupled light sources can achieve tunable single-frequency (single axial and lateral spatial mode) operation by correcting for a quadratic phase variation in the lateral dimension using an aperture stop. The output of a quasi-monochromatic light source such as a Fabry Perot laser diode is astigmatic. As a consequence of the astigmatism, coupling geometries that accommodate the transverse numerical aperture of the laser are defocused in the lateral dimension, even for apsherical optics. The mismatch produces the quadratic phase variation in the feedback along the lateral axis at the facet of the laser that excites lateral modes of higher order than the TM(sub 00). Because the instability entails excitation of higher order lateral submodes, single frequency operation also is accomplished by using fiber Bragg gratings whose bandwidth is narrower than the submode spacing. This technique is particularly pertinent to the use of lensed fiber gratings in lieu of discrete coupling optics. Stable device operation requires overall phase match between the fed-back signal and the laser output. The fiber Bragg grating acts as a phase-preserving mirror when the Bragg condition is met precisely. The phase-match condition is maintained throughout the fiber tuning range by matching the Fabry-Perot axial mode wavelength to the passband center wavelength of the Bragg grating.

Engineering Porous Polymer Hollow Fiber Microfluidic Reactors for Sustainable C-H Functionalization.

PubMed

He, Yingxin; Rezaei, Fateme; Kapila, Shubhender; Rownaghi, Ali A

2017-05-17

Highly hydrophilic and solvent-stable porous polyamide-imide (PAI) hollow fibers were created by cross-linking of bare PAI hollow fibers with 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APS). The APS-grafted PAI hollow fibers were then functionalized with salicylic aldehyde for binding catalytically active Pd(II) ions through a covalent postmodification method. The catalytic activity of the composite hollow fiber microfluidic reactors (Pd(II) immobilized APS-grafted PAI hollow fibers) was tested via heterogeneous Heck coupling reaction of aryl halides under both batch and continuous-flow reactions in polar aprotic solvents at high temperature (120 °C) and low operating pressure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analyses of the starting and recycled composite hollow fibers indicated that the fibers contain very similar loadings of Pd(II), implying no degree of catalyst leaching from the hollow fibers during reaction. The composite hollow fiber microfluidic reactors showed long-term stability and strong control over the leaching of Pd species.

Wideband fiber optic communications link

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bray, J. R.

1984-12-01

This thesis examined the feasibility of upgrading a nine port fiber optic bundle telecommunications system to a single strand fiber optic system. Usable pieces of equipment were identified and new Light Emitting Diodes (LED), Photodetectors and single strand SMA styled fiber optic connectors were ordered. Background research was conducted in the area of fiber optic power launching, fiber losses, connector losses and efficiencies. A new modulation/demodulation circuit was designed and constructed using parts from unused equipment. A new front panel was constructed to house the components, switches and connectors. A 2-m piece of optical fiber was terminated with the new connectors and tested for connector loss, numeric aperture and attenuation. The new LED was characterized by its emission radiation pattern and the entire system was tested for functional operation, frequency response and bandwidth of operation. An operations manual was prepared to ensure proper use in the future. The result was a two piece, single strand, fiber optic communications systems fully TTL compatible, capable of transmitting digital signals from 80 Kbit/sec to 20 Mbit/sec. The system was tested in a half duplex mode using both baseband and carrier modulated signals.

Improving the fiber coupling efficiency for DARWIN by loss-less shaping of the receive beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voland, Ch.; Weigel, Th.; Dreischer, Th.; Wallner, O.; Ergenzinger, K.; Ries, H.; Jetter, R.; Vosteen, A.

2017-11-01

For the DARWIN mission the extremely low planet signal levels require an optical instrument design with utmost efficiency to guarantee the required science performance. By shaping the transverse amplitude and phase distributions of the receive beams, the singlemode fibre coupling efficiency can be increased to almost 100%, thus allowing for a gain of more than 20% compared to conventional designs. We show that the use of "tailored freeform surfaces" for purpose of beam shaping dramatically reduces the coupling degradations, which otherwise result from mode mismatch between the Airy pattern of the image and the fibre mode, and therefore allows for achieving a performance close to the physical limitations. We present an application of tailored surfaces for building a beam shaping optics that shall enhance fibre coupling performance as core part of a space based interferometer in the future DARWIN mission and present performance predictions by wave-optical simulations. We assess the feasibility of manufacturing the corresponding tailored surfaces and describe the proof of concept demonstrator we use for experimental performance verification.

Mid-IR fused fiber couplers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, G.; Woodbridge, T.

2016-03-01

We present results from our recent efforts on developing single-mode fused couplers in ZBLAN fibre. We have developed a custom fusion workstation for working with lower melting temperature fibres, such as ZBLAN and chalcogenide fibres. Our workstation uses a precisely controlled electrical heater designed to operate at temperatures between 100 - 250°C as our heat source. The heated region of the fibers was also placed in an inert atmosphere to avoid the formation of microcrystal inclusions during fusion. We firstly developed a process for pulling adiabatic tapers in 6/125 μm ZBLAN fibre. The tapers were measured actively during manufacture using a 2000 nm source. The process was automated so that the heater temperature and motor speed automatically adjusted to pull the taper at constant tension. This process was then further developed so that we could fuse and draw two parallel 6/125 μm ZBLAN fibres, forming a single-mode coupler. Low ratio couplers (1-10%) that could be used as power monitors were manufactured that had an excess loss of 0.76 dB. We have also manufactured 50/50 splitters and wavelength division multiplexers (WDMs). However, the excess loss of these devices was typically 2 - 3 dB. The increased losses were due to localised necking and surface defects forming as the tapers were pulled further to achieve a greater coupling ratio. Initial experiments with chalcogenide fibre have shown that our process can be readily adapted for chalcogenide fibres. A 5% coupler with 1.5 dB insertion loss was manufactured using commercial of the shelf (COTS) fibres.

AVIRIS foreoptics, fiber optics and on-board calibrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chrisp, Michael P.; Chrien, Thomas G.; Steimle, L.

1987-01-01

The foreoptics, fiber optic system and calibration source of the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) are described. The foreoptics, based on a modified Kennedy scanner, is coupled by optical fibers to the four spectrometers. The optical fibers allow convenient positioning of the spectrometers in the limited space and enable simple compensation of the scanner's thermal defocus (at the -23 C operating temp) by active control of the fiber focal plane position. A challenging requirement for the fiber optic system was the transmission to the spectral range 1.85 to 2.45 microns at .45 numerical aperture. This was solved with custom fluoride glass fibers from Verre Fluore. The onboard calibration source is also coupled to the spectrometers by the fibers and provides two radiometric levels and a reference spectrum to check the spectrometers' alignment. Results of the performance of the assembled subsystems are presented.

The point-spread function of fiber-coupled area detectors

PubMed Central

Holton, James M.; Nielsen, Chris; Frankel, Kenneth A.

2012-01-01

The point-spread function (PSF) of a fiber-optic taper-coupled CCD area detector was measured over five decades of intensity using a 20 µm X-ray beam and ∼2000-fold averaging. The ‘tails’ of the PSF clearly revealed that it is neither Gaussian nor Lorentzian, but instead resembles the solid angle subtended by a pixel at a point source of light held a small distance (∼27 µm) above the pixel plane. This converges to an inverse cube law far from the beam impact point. Further analysis revealed that the tails are dominated by the fiber-optic taper, with negligible contribution from the phosphor, suggesting that the PSF of all fiber-coupled CCD-type detectors is best described as a Moffat function. PMID:23093762

Liquid droplet sensing using twisted optical fiber couplers fabricated by hydrofluoric acid flow etching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Son, Gyeongho; Jung, Youngho; Yu, Kyoungsik

2017-04-01

We report a directional-coupler-based refractive index sensor and its cost-effective fabrication method using hydrofluoric acid droplet wet-etching and surface-tension-driven liquid flows. The proposed fiber sensor consists of a pair of twisted tapered optical fibers with low excess losses. The fiber cores in the etched microfiber region are exposed to the surrounding medium for efficient interaction with the guided light. We observe that the etching-based low-loss fiber-optic sensors can measure the water droplet volume by detecting the refractive index changes of the surrounding medium around the etched fiber core region.

Mode-field adapter for tapered-fiber-bundle signal and pump combiners.

PubMed

Koška, Pavel; Baravets, Yauhen; Peterka, Pavel; Bohata, Jan; Písařík, Michael

2015-02-01

We report on a novel mode-field adapter that is proposed to be incorporated inside tapered fused-fiber-bundle pump and signal combiners for high-power double-clad fiber lasers. Such an adapter allows optimization of signal-mode-field matching on the input and output fibers. Correspondingly, losses of the combiner signal branch are significantly reduced. The mode-field adapter optimization procedure is demonstrated on a combiner based on commercially available fibers. Signal wavelengths of 1.55 and 2 μm are considered. The losses can be further improved by using specially designed intermediate fiber and by dopant diffusion during splicing as confirmed by preliminary experimental results.

Easy and safe coated optical fiber direct connection without handling bare optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Kotaro; Kihara, Mitsuru; Shimizu, Tomoya; Kurashima, Toshio

2015-06-01

We propose a novel field installable splicing technique for the direct connection of 250 μm diameter coated optical fiber that does not require bare optical fiber to be handled. Our proposed technique can realize a low insertion loss over a wide field installation temperature range of -10-40 °C. The keys to coated optical fiber direct connection are a cleaving technique and a technique for removing coated optical fiber. As the cleaving technique, we employed a method where the fiber is stretched and then a blade is pushed perpendicularly against the stretched fiber. As a result we confirmed that fiber endfaces cleaved at -10-40 °C were all mirror endfaces. With the removal technique, the coating is removed inside the connecting component by incorporating a circular cone shaped coating removal part. A mechanical splice based on these techniques successfully achieved a low insertion loss of less than 0.11 dB and a return loss of more than 50 dB at -10, 20, and 40 °C. In addition, the temperature cycle characteristics were stable over a wide temperature range of -40-75 °C.

Concentration dependence and self-similarity of photodarkening losses induced in Yb-doped fibers by comparable excitation.

PubMed

Taccheo, Stefano; Gebavi, Hrvoje; Monteville, Achille; Le Goffic, Olivier; Landais, David; Mechin, David; Tregoat, Denis; Cadier, Benoit; Robin, Thierry; Milanese, Daniel; Durrant, Tim

2011-09-26

We report on an extensive investigation of photodarkening in Yb-doped silica fibers. A set of similar fibers, covering a large Yb concentration range, was made so as to compare the photodarkening induced losses. Careful measurements were made to ensure equal and uniform inversion for all the tested fibers. The results show that, with the specific set-up, the stretching parameter obtained through fitting has a very limited variation. This gives more meaning to the fitting parameters. Results tend to indicate a square law dependence of the concentration of excited ions on the final saturated loss. We also demonstrate self-similarity of loss evolution when experimental curves are simply normalized to fitting parameters. This evidence of self-similarity also supports the possibility of introducing a preliminary figure of merit for Yb-doped fiber. This will allow the impact of photodarkening on laser/amplifier devices to be evaluated. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Turning a low Q fiber resonator into a high-sensitivity displacement sensor using slow light concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bravo, Mikel; Angulo-Vinuesa, Xabier; Martin-Lopez, Sonia; Lopez-Amo, Manuel; Gonzalez-Herraez, Miguel

2013-05-01

High-Q resonators have been widely used for sensing purposes. High Q factors normally lead to sharp spectral peaks which accordingly provide a strong sensitivity in spectral interrogation methods. In this work we employ a low-Q ring resonator to develop a high sensitivity sub-micrometric resolution displacement sensor. We use the slow-light effects occurring close to the critical coupling regime to achieve high sensitivity in the device. By tuning the losses in the cavity close to the critical coupling, extremely high group delay variations can be achieved, which in turn introduce strong enhancements of the absorption of the structure. We first validate the concept using an Optical Vector Analyzer (OVA) and then we propose a simple functional scheme for achieving a low-cost interrogation of this kind of sensors.

Design of ultra-broadband terahertz polymer waveguide emitters for telecom wavelengths using coupled mode theory.

PubMed

Vallejo, Felipe A; Hayden, L Michael

2013-03-11

We use coupled mode theory, adequately incorporating optical losses, to model ultra-broadband terahertz (THz) waveguide emitters (0.1-20 THz) based on difference frequency generation of femtosecond infrared (IR) optical pulses. We apply the model to a generic, symmetric, five-layer, metal/cladding/core waveguide structure using transfer matrix theory. We provide a design strategy for an efficient ultra-broadband THz emitter and apply it to polymer waveguides with a nonlinear core composed of a poled guest-host electro-optic polymer composite and pumped by a pulsed fiber laser system operating at 1567 nm. The predicted bandwidths are greater than 15 THz and we find a high conversion efficiency of 1.2 × 10(-4) W(-1) by balancing both the modal phase-matching and effective mode attenuation.

Three-dimensional ideal theta(1)/theta(2) angular transformer and its uses in fiber optics.

PubMed

Ning, X

1988-10-01

A 3-D ideal theta(1)/theta(2) angular transformer in nonimaging optics is introduced. The axially symmetric transformer, combining a portion of a hyperbolic concentrator with two lenses, transforms an input limited Lambertian over an angle theta(1) to an output limited Lambertian over an angle theta(2) without losing throughput. This is the first known transformer with such ideal properties. Results of computer simulations of a transformer with planospherical lenses are presented. Because of its ideal angular transforming property, the transformer offers an excellent solution for power launching and fiber-fiber coupling in optical fiber systems. In principle, the theoretical maximum coupling efficiency based on radiance conservation can be achieved with this transformer. Several conceptual designs of source-fiber and fiber-fiber couplers using the transformer are given.

Experimental technique for simultaneous measurement of absorption-, emission cross-sections, and background loss coefficient in doped optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karimi, M.; Seraji, F. E.

2010-01-01

We report a new simple technique for the simultaneous measurements of absorption-, emission cross-sections, background loss coefficient, and dopant density of doped optical fibers with low dopant concentration. Using our proposed technique, the experimental characterization of a sample Ge-Er-doped optical fiber is presented, and the results are analyzed and compared with other reports. This technique is suitable for production line of doped optical fibers.

Theoretical Studies of Low-Loss Optical Fibers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-15

on the fiber surface. Single-mode fiber operation is of interest in communications. Marcuse has shown that surface imperfections are a strong source...0.01 very small value of a : 8A at X = 1 vim Marcuse single mode 2.7 typical value of a = 1 jim, A : 10.6 vm, af = 37 Pim surface imperfections 55...Braunstein, "Scattering Losses in Single and Polycrystalline Materials for Infrared Fiber Applications," unpublished. 5. D. Marcuse , "Mode Conversion

Design and optimization of a flexible high-peak-power laser-to-fiber coupled illumination system used in digital particle image velocimetry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robinson, Ronald A.; Ilev, Ilko K.

We present a study on the design and parameter optimization of a flexible high-peak-power fiber-optic laser delivery system using commercially available solid-core silica fibers and an experimental glass hollow waveguide (HW). The fiber-optic delivery system provides a flexible, safe, and easily and precisely positioned laser irradiation for many applications including uniform illumination for digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV). The delivery fibers, when coupled through a line-generating lens, produce a uniform thin laser sheet illumination for accurate and repeatable DPIV two-dimensional velocity measurements. We report experimental results on homogenizing the laser beam profile using various mode-mixing techniques. Furthermore, because a fundamentalmore » problem for fiber-optic-based high-peak-power laser delivery systems is the possible damage effects of the fiber material, we determine experimentally the peak power density damage threshold of various delivery fibers designed for the visible spectral range at a typical DPIV laser wavelength of 532 nm. In the case of solid-core silica delivery fibers using conventional lens-based laser-to-fiber coupling, the damage threshold varies from 3.7 GW/cm{sup 2} for a 100-{mu}m-core-diameter high-temperature fiber to 3.9 GW/cm{sup 2} for a 200-{mu}m-core-diameter high-power delivery fiber, with a total output laser energy delivered of at least 3-10 mJ for those respective fibers. Therefore, these fibers are marginally suitable for most macro-DPIV applications. However, to improve the high-power delivery capability for close-up micro-DPIV applications, we propose and validate an experimental fiber link with much higher laser power delivery capability than the solid-core fiber links. We use an uncoated grazing-incidence-based tapered glass funnel coupled to a glass HW with hollow air-core diameter of 700 {mu}m, a low numerical aperture of 0.05, and a thin inside cladding of cyclic olefin polymer coating for optimum transmission at 532 nm. Because of the mode homogenizing effect and lower power density, the taper-waveguide laser delivery technique ensured high damage threshold for the delivery HW, and as a result, no damage occurred at the maximum measured input laser energy of 33 mJ used in this study.« less

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibition restores Ca2+ release defects and prolongs survival in myotubularin-deficient mice

PubMed Central

Kutchukian, Candice; Lo Scrudato, Mirella; Tourneur, Yves; Poulard, Karine; Vignaud, Alban; Berthier, Christine; Allard, Bruno; Lawlor, Michael W.; Buj-Bello, Ana; Jacquemond, Vincent

2016-01-01

Mutations in the gene encoding the phosphoinositide 3-phosphatase myotubularin (MTM1) are responsible for a pediatric disease of skeletal muscle named myotubular myopathy (XLMTM). Muscle fibers from MTM1-deficient mice present defects in excitation–contraction (EC) coupling likely responsible for the disease-associated fatal muscle weakness. However, the mechanism leading to EC coupling failure remains unclear. During normal skeletal muscle EC coupling, transverse (t) tubule depolarization triggers sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release through ryanodine receptor channels gated by conformational coupling with the t-tubule voltage-sensing dihydropyridine receptors. We report that MTM1 deficiency is associated with a 60% depression of global SR Ca2+ release over the full range of voltage sensitivity of EC coupling. SR Ca2+ release in the diseased fibers is also slower than in normal fibers, or delayed following voltage activation, consistent with the contribution of Ca2+-gated ryanodine receptors to EC coupling. In addition, we found that SR Ca2+ release is spatially heterogeneous within myotubularin-deficient muscle fibers, with focally defective areas recapitulating the global alterations. Importantly, we found that pharmacological inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PtdIns 3-kinase) activity rescues the Ca2+ release defects in isolated muscle fibers and increases the lifespan and mobility of XLMTM mice, providing proof of concept for the use of PtdIns 3-kinase inhibitors in myotubular myopathy and suggesting that unbalanced PtdIns 3-kinase activity plays a critical role in the pathological process. PMID:27911767

Bi-directional ultrasonic wave coupling to FBGs in continuously bonded optical fiber sensing.

PubMed

Wee, Junghyun; Hackney, Drew; Bradford, Philip; Peters, Kara

2017-09-01

Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are typically spot-bonded onto the surface of a structure to detect ultrasonic waves in laboratory demonstrations. However, to protect the rest of the optical fiber from any environmental damage during real applications, bonding the entire length of fiber, called continuous bonding, is commonly done. In this paper, we investigate the impact of continuously bonding FBGs on the measured Lamb wave signal. In theory, the ultrasonic wave signal can bi-directionally transfer between the optical fiber and the plate at any adhered location, which could potentially produce output signal distortion for the continuous bonding case. Therefore, an experiment is performed to investigate the plate-to-fiber and fiber-to-plate signal transfer, from which the signal coupling coefficient of each case is theoretically estimated based on the experimental data. We demonstrate that the two coupling coefficients are comparable, with the plate-to-fiber case approximately 19% larger than the fiber-to-plate case. Finally, the signal waveform and arrival time of the output FBG responses are compared between the continuous and spot bonding cases. The results indicate that the resulting Lamb wave signal output is only that directly detected at the FBG location; however, a slight difference in signal waveform is observed between the two bonding configurations. This paper demonstrates the practicality of using continuously bonded FBGs for ultrasonic wave detection in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications.

Long-term high-level exercise promotes muscle reinnervation with age.

PubMed

Mosole, Simone; Carraro, Ugo; Kern, Helmut; Loefler, Stefan; Fruhmann, Hannah; Vogelauer, Michael; Burggraf, Samantha; Mayr, Winfried; Krenn, Matthias; Paternostro-Sluga, Tatjana; Hamar, Dusan; Cvecka, Jan; Sedliak, Milan; Tirpakova, Veronika; Sarabon, Nejc; Musarò, Antonio; Sandri, Marco; Protasi, Feliciano; Nori, Alessandra; Pond, Amber; Zampieri, Sandra

2014-04-01

The histologic features of aging muscle suggest that denervation contributes to atrophy, that immobility accelerates the process, and that routine exercise may protect against loss of motor units and muscle tissue. Here, we compared muscle biopsies from sedentary and physically active seniors and found that seniors with a long history of high-level recreational activity up to the time of muscle biopsy had 1) lower loss of muscle strength versus young men (32% loss in physically active vs 51% loss in sedentary seniors); 2) fewer small angulated (denervated) myofibers; 3) a higher percentage of fiber-type groups (reinnervated muscle fibers) that were almost exclusive of the slow type; and 4) sparse normal-size muscle fibers coexpressing fast and slow myosin heavy chains, which is not compatible with exercise-driven muscle-type transformation. The biopsies from the old physically active seniors varied from sparse fiber-type groupings to almost fully transformed muscle, suggesting that coexpressing fibers appear to fill gaps. Altogether, the data show that long-term physical activity promotes reinnervation of muscle fibers and suggest that decades of high-level exercise allow the body to adapt to age-related denervation by saving otherwise lost muscle fibers through selective recruitment to slow motor units. These effects on size and structure of myofibers may delay functional decline in late aging.

High-efficiency fiber-to-chip grating couplers realized using an advanced CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator platform.

PubMed

Vermeulen, D; Selvaraja, S; Verheyen, P; Lepage, G; Bogaerts, W; Absil, P; Van Thourhout, D; Roelkens, G

2010-08-16

A new generation of Silicon-on-Insulator fiber-to-chip grating couplers which use a silicon overlay to enhance the directionality and thereby the coupling efficiency is presented. Devices are realized on a 200 mm wafer in a CMOS pilot line. The fabricated fiber couplers show a coupling efficiency of -1.6 dB and a 3 dB bandwidth of 80 nm.

Mechanisms for the Crystallization of Zblan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ethridge, Edwin C.; Tucker, Dennis S.

2001-01-01

The heavy metal fluoride glasses represent a class of reasonably good glass forming compositions with very unique infrared optical properties that have been of interest to researchers for 20 years. The most extensively studied glass with the most potential for practical applications is ZBLAN which contains the fluorides of zirconium, barium, lanthanum, aluminum, and sodium. It has a broad transmission range (0.3-6 um), low index of refraction (about 1.43), low dispersion, low Raleigh scattering, ultra-low thermal 2 dispersion, and potential ultra-low signal attenuation. Potential applications include fiber amplifiers, fiber optic gyroscopes, delivery systems for laser cutting, drilling and surgery, radiation resistant data links, nonlinear optical systems, and ultra-low-loss repeater-less transcontinental and transoceanic optical fiber. Potential markets for these materials are in the tens of billions of dollars per year. Optical fiber from this system possess excellent transmission characteristics in the IR, but the glass is somewhat susceptible to nucleation and crystallization. The theoretical intrinsic loss coefficient for ZBLAN at 2 microns is 0.00 1 dB/Km. Extrinsic losses, however, cause significant attenuation. The lowest loss coefficient measured is 0.7 dB/Km. This compares with the loss coefficient for fiber optic grade fused silica glass of 0.2 dB/Km. The extrinsic losses in ZBLAN have been attributed to 1) impurities which might be lowered by containerless processing and 2) to scattering from micro-crystallites that form during glass preform production or during fiber drawing.

Calculated Coupling Efficiency Between an Elliptical-Core Optical Fiber and a Silicon Oxynitride Rib Waveguide [Corrected Copy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tuma, Margaret L.; Beheim, Glenn

1995-01-01

The effective-index method and Marcatili's technique were utilized independently to calculate the electric field profile of a rib channel waveguide. Using the electric field profile calculated from each method, the theoretical coupling efficiency between a single-mode optical fiber and a rib waveguide was calculated using the overlap integral. Perfect alignment was assumed and the coupling efficiency calculated. The coupling efficiency calculation was then repeated for a range of transverse offsets.

Fiber pressure sensors based on periodical mode coupling effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lotem, Haim; Wang, Wen C.; Wang, Michael; Schaafsma, David; Skolnick, Bob; Grebel, Haim

2005-05-01

Fiber optic sensor technology offers the possibility of implementing low weight, high performance and cost effective health and damage assessment for infrastructure elements. Common fiber sensors are based on the effect of external action on the spectral response of a Fabry-Perot or a Bragg grating section, or on the modal dynamics in multimode (MM) fiber. In the latter case, the fiber itself acts as the sensor, giving it the potential for large range coverage. We were interested in this type of sensor because of its cost advantage in monitoring structural health. In the course of the research, a new type of a rugged modal filter device, based on off-center splicing, was developed. This device, in combination with a MM fiber, was found to be a potential single point-pressure sensing device. Additionally, by translating the pressing point along a MM sensing fiber with a constant load and speed, a sinusoidal intensity modulation was observed. This harmonic behavior, during load translation, is explained by the theory of mode coupling and dispersion. The oscillation period, L~0.43. mm, obtained at 980 nm in a Corning SMF-28 fiber, corresponds to the wavevector difference, Db, between the two-coupled modes, by L = 2p/Db. An additional outcome of the present research is the observation that the response of the loaded MM fiber is strongly dependent on the polarization state of the light traveling along the MM fiber due to different response of the modes to polarization active elements. Our main conclusions are that in MM fiber optic sensor design, special cautions need to be taken in order to stabilize the system, and that the sensitivity along a MM fiber sensor is periodic with a period of ~ 0.4 - 0.5 mm, depending on various fiber parameters and excited modes.

Tolerancing the alignment of large-core optical fibers, fiber bundles and light guides using a Fourier approach.

PubMed

Sawyer, Travis W; Petersburg, Ryan; Bohndiek, Sarah E

2017-04-20

Optical fiber technology is found in a wide variety of applications to flexibly relay light between two points, enabling information transfer across long distances and allowing access to hard-to-reach areas. Large-core optical fibers and light guides find frequent use in illumination and spectroscopic applications, for example, endoscopy and high-resolution astronomical spectroscopy. Proper alignment is critical for maximizing throughput in optical fiber coupling systems; however, there currently are no formal approaches to tolerancing the alignment of a light-guide coupling system. Here, we propose a Fourier alignment sensitivity (FAS) algorithm to determine the optimal tolerances on the alignment of a light guide by computing the alignment sensitivity. The algorithm shows excellent agreement with both simulated and experimentally measured values and improves on the computation time of equivalent ray-tracing simulations by two orders of magnitude. We then apply FAS to tolerance and fabricate a coupling system, which is shown to meet specifications, thus validating FAS as a tolerancing technique. These results indicate that FAS is a flexible and rapid means to quantify the alignment sensitivity of a light guide, widely informing the design and tolerancing of coupling systems.

Tolerancing the alignment of large-core optical fibers, fiber bundles and light guides using a Fourier approach

PubMed Central

Sawyer, Travis W.; Petersburg, Ryan; Bohndiek, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

Optical fiber technology is found in a wide variety of applications to flexibly relay light between two points, enabling information transfer across long distances and allowing access to hard-to-reach areas. Large-core optical fibers and light guides find frequent use in illumination and spectroscopic applications; for example, endoscopy and high-resolution astronomical spectroscopy. Proper alignment is critical for maximizing throughput in optical fiber coupling systems, however, there currently are no formal approaches to tolerancing the alignment of a light guide coupling system. Here, we propose a Fourier Alignment Sensitivity (FAS) algorithm to determine the optimal tolerances on the alignment of a light guide by computing the alignment sensitivity. The algorithm shows excellent agreement with both simulated and experimentally measured values and improves on the computation time of equivalent ray tracing simulations by two orders of magnitude. We then apply FAS to tolerance and fabricate a coupling system, which is shown to meet specifications, thus validating FAS as a tolerancing technique. These results indicate that FAS is a flexible and rapid means to quantify the alignment sensitivity of a light guide, widely informing the design and tolerancing of coupling systems. PMID:28430250

Adaptive slit beam shaping for direct laser written waveguides.

PubMed

Salter, P S; Jesacher, A; Spring, J B; Metcalf, B J; Thomas-Peter, N; Simmonds, R D; Langford, N K; Walmsley, I A; Booth, M J

2012-02-15

We demonstrate an improved method for fabricating optical waveguides in bulk materials by means of femtosecond laser writing. We use an LC spatial light modulator (SLM) to shape the beam focus by generating adaptive slit illumination in the pupil of the objective lens. A diffraction grating is applied in a strip across the SLM to simulate a slit, with the first diffracted order mapped onto the pupil plane of the objective lens while the zeroth order is blocked. This technique enables real-time control of the beam-shaping parameters during writing, facilitating the fabrication of more complicated structures than is possible using nonadaptive methods. Waveguides are demonstrated in fused silica with a coupling loss to single-mode fibers in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 dB and propagation loss <0.4 dB/cm.

Three-dimensional patterning in polymer optical waveguides using focused ion beam milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruse, Kevin; Burrell, Derek; Middlebrook, Christopher

2016-07-01

Waveguide (WG) photonic-bridge taper modules are designed for symmetric planar coupling between silicon WGs and single-mode fibers (SMFs) to minimize photonic chip and packaging footprint requirements with improving broadband functionality. Micromachined fabrication and evaluation of polymer WG tapers utilizing high-resolution focused ion beam (FIB) milling is performed and presented. Polymer etch rates utilizing the FIB and optimal methods for milling polymer tapers are identified for three-dimensional patterning. Polymer WG tapers with low sidewall roughness are manufactured utilizing FIB milling and optically tested for fabrication loss. FIB platforms utilize a focused beam of ions (Ga+) to etch submicron patterns into substrates. Fabricating low-loss polymer WG taper prototypes with the FIB before moving on to mass-production techniques provides theoretical understanding of the polymer taper and its feasibility for connectorization devices between silicon WGs and SMFs.

Equalizer tap length requirement for mode group delay-compensated fiber link with weakly random mode coupling.

PubMed

Bai, Neng; Li, Guifang

2014-02-24

The equalizer tap length requirement is investigated analytically and numerically for differential modal group delay (DMGD) compensated fiber link with weakly random mode coupling. Each span of the DMGD compensated link comprises multiple pairs of fibers which have opposite signs of DMGD. The result reveals that under weak random mode coupling, the required tap length of the equalizer is proportional to modal group delay of a single DMGD compensated pair, instead of the total modal group delay (MGD) of the entire link. By using small DMGD compensation step sizes, the required tap length (RTL) can be potentially reduced by 2 orders of magnitude.

Hybrid semiconductor fiber lasers for telecommunications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalili, Alireza

2006-12-01

Highly stable edge emitting semiconductor lasers are of utmost importance in most telecommunications applications where high-speed data transmission sets strict limits on the purity of the laser signal. Unfortunately, most edge emitting semiconductor lasers, unlike gaseous or solid-state laser sources, operate with many closely spaced axial modes, which accounts for the observed instability and large spikes in the output spectrum of such lasers. Consequently, in most telecom applications distributed feedback (DFB) or distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) techniques are used to ensure stability and single-frequency operation, further adding to the cost and complexity of such lasers. Additionally, coupling of the highly elliptical output beam of these lasers to singlemode fibers complicates the packaging procedure and sub-micron alignment of various optical components is often necessary. Utilizing the evanescent coupling between a semiconductor antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) and a side polished fiber, this thesis presents an alternative side-coupled laser module that eliminates the need for the cumbersome multi-component alignment processes of conventional laser packages, and creates an inherent mode selection mechanism that guarantees singlemode radiation into the fiber without any gratings. We have been able to demonstrate the first side-coupled fiber semiconductor laser in this technology, coupling more than 3mW of power at 850nm directly into a 5/125mum singlemode fiber. This mixed-cavity architecture yields a high thermal stability (˜0.06nm/°C), and negligible spectral spikes are observed. Theoretical background and simulation results, as well as several supplementary materials are also presented to further rationalize the experimental data. A side-coupled light-emitter and pre-amplifier are also proposed and discussed. We also study different architectures for attaining higher efficiency, higher output power, and wavelength tunability in such lasers. Finally, we discuss possible venues for integration of these side-coupled devices in a telecommunication system. Approved for publication.

Fiber optic probe having fibers with endfaces formed for improved coupling efficiency and method using same

DOEpatents

O`Rourke, P.E.; Livingston, R.R.

1995-03-28

A fiber optic probe is disclosed for detecting scattered light, with transmitting and receiving fibers having slanted ends and bundled together to form a bevel within the tip of the probe. The probe comprises a housing with a transparent window across its tip for protecting the transmitting and receiving fibers held therein. The endfaces of the fibers are slanted, by cutting, polishing and the like, so that they lie in a plane that is not perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the respective fiber. The fibers are held in the tip of the probe using an epoxy and oriented so that lines normal to the slanted endfaces are divergent with respect to one another. The epoxy, which is positioned substantially between the transmitting and receiving fibers, is tapered so that the transmitting fiber, the epoxy and the receiving fiber form a bevel of not more than 20 degrees. The angled fiber endfaces cause directing of the light cones toward each other, resulting in improved light coupling efficiency. A light absorber, such as carbon black, is contained in the epoxy to reduce crosstalk between the transmitting and receiving fibers. 3 figures.

Fiber optic probe having fibers with endfaces formed for improved coupling efficiency and method using same

DOEpatents

O'Rourke, Patrick E.; Livingston, Ronald R.

1995-01-01

A fiber optic probe for detecting scattered light, with transmitting and receiving fibers having slanted ends and bundled together to form a bevel within the tip of the probe. The probe comprises a housing with a transparent window across its tip for protecting the transmitting and receiving fibers held therein. The endfaces of the fibers are slanted, by cutting, polishing and the like, so that they lie in a plane that is not perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the respective fiber. The fibers are held in the tip of the probe using an epoxy and oriented so that lines normal to the slanted endfaces are divergent with respect to one another. The epoxy, which is positioned substantially between the transmitting and receiving fibers, is tapered so that the transmitting fiber, the epoxy and the receiving fiber form a bevel of not more than 20 degrees. The angled fiber endfaces cause directing of the light cones toward each other, resulting in improved light coupling efficiency. A light absorber, such as carbon black, is contained in the epoxy to reduce crosstalk between the transmitting and receiving fibers.

Low temperature monitoring system for subsurface barriers

DOEpatents

Vinegar, Harold J [Bellaire, TX; McKinzie, II Billy John [Houston, TX

2009-08-18

A system for monitoring temperature of a subsurface low temperature zone is described. The system includes a plurality of freeze wells configured to form the low temperature zone, one or more lasers, and a fiber optic cable coupled to at least one laser. A portion of the fiber optic cable is positioned in at least one freeze well. At least one laser is configured to transmit light pulses into a first end of the fiber optic cable. An analyzer is coupled to the fiber optic cable. The analyzer is configured to receive return signals from the light pulses.

Loss of spinal substance P pain transmission under the condition of LPA1 receptor-mediated neuropathic pain.

PubMed

Inoue, Makoto; Yamaguchi, Asuka; Kawakami, Megumi; Chun, Jerold; Ueda, Hiroshi

2006-08-16

Among various machineries occurring in the experimental neuropathic pain model, there exists the loss of pain transmission through C-fiber neurons as well as the hypersensitivity through A-fibers. The current study reveals that molecular machineries underlying the latter hypersensitivity are derived from the events through LPA1 receptor and its downstream RhoA-activation following peripheral nerve injury. The loss of C-fiber responses, which are mediated by spinal substance P (SP) pain transmission was observed with the nociceptive flexor responses by intraplantar injection of SP in nerve-injured mice. The immunohistochemistry revealed that SP signal in the dorsal horn was markedly reduced in such mice. All these changes were completely abolished in LPA1-/- mice or by the pretreatment with BoNT/C3, a RhoA inhibitor. In addition, the loss of C-fiber responses and the down-regulation of spinal SP signal induced by single intrathecal LPA injection were also abolished in such treatments. All these results suggest that the loss of pain transmission through polymodal C-fiber neurons is also mediated by the LPA1 activation following nerve injury.

Infrared Fiber Optics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-01

attention for IR fiber fabrication to date and gives their transmission ranges. At HRL, we have studied KCI, KBr, 8 TlBr , and KRS-5 (TlBrI); Honeywell...past three years to suc- cessfully fabricate KRS-5 and TlBr fibers. Polycrystalline fibers of these Tl-containing salts were prepared with losses as...crystalline materials such as KRS-5 (TIBrI), TlBr , AgCl, and KCI have been used for a variety of 10.6-pm, CO2 laser applications.1 - 4 The losses in the

Fabrication of bundle-structured tube-leaky optical fibers for infrared thermal imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, T.; Katagiri, T.; Matsuura, Y.

2017-02-01

Bundled glass tubular fibers were fabricated by glass drawing technique for endoscopic infrared-thermal imaging. The bundle fibers were made of borosilicate glass and have a structure like a photonic crystal fiber having multiple hollow cores. Fabricated fibers have a length of 90 cm and each pixel sizes are less than 80 μm. By setting the thickness of glass wall to a quarter-wavelength optical thickness, light is confined in the air core as a leaky mode with a low loss owing to the interference effect of the thin glass wall and this type of hollow-core fibers is known as tube leaky fibers. The transmission losses of bundled fibers were firstly measured and it was found that bundled tube-leaky fibers have reasonably low transmission losses in spite of the small pixel size. Then thermal images were delivered by the bundled fibers combining with an InSb infrared camera. Considering applications with rigid endoscopes, an imaging system composed of a 30-cm long fiber bundle and a half-ball lens with a diameter of 2 mm was fabricated. By using this imaging system, a metal wire with a thickness of 200 μm was successfully observed and another test showed that the minimum detected temperature was 32.0 °C and the temperature resolution of the system was around 0.7 °C.

APOGEE fiber development and FRD testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunner, Sophia; Burton, Adam; Crane, Jeff; Zhao, Bo; Hearty, Fred R.; Wilson, John C.; Carey, Larry; Leger, French; Skrutskie, Mike; Schiavon, Ricardo; Majewski, Steven R.

2010-07-01

Development of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) near-infrared spectrograph has motivated thorough investigation into the properties and performance of optical fibers. The fiber selected for APOGEE is a step index, multi-mode fiber, developed by PolyMicro, with a 120μm low OH, fused silica core, 25μm cladding, and 10μm buffer. The instrument design includes a 40 meter fiber run, connecting the spectrograph to the 2.5m Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) telescope, and an additional 2.5 meter fiber segment located within the instrument dewar, a vacuum-sealed, cryogenic environment. This light path is convoluted and includes many transitions and connections where the beam is susceptible irrevocable loss. To optimize the spectrograph performance it is necessary to minimize the losses incurred in the fiber system, especially those resulting in focal ratio degradation (FRD). The focus of this research has been to identify potential sources of loss and where applicable, select material components to minimize this effect. There is little previous documented work concerning the performance of optical fibers within this wavelength band (1.5-1.7μm). Consequently, the following includes comprehensive explanations of the APOGEE fiber system components, our experimental design and optical test bed set-up, beam alignment procedures, fiber terminating and polishing techniques, and results from our examination of FRD as correlated with source wavelength, fiber length and termination, and environmental conditions.

An etched fiber optic vibration sensor to monitor the simply supported beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putha, Kishore; Dinakar, Dantala; Rao, Pachava V.; Sengupta, Dipankar; Srimannarayana, K.; Sai Shankar, M.

2012-04-01

A single mode fiber optic vibration senor is designed and demonstrated to monitor the vibration of a simply supported beam. A rectangular beam (length 30.8 cm, width 2.5cm and thickness 0.5mm) made of spring-steel is arranged as simply supported beam and is made to vibrate periodically. To sense the vibrations a telecommunication fiber is chemically etched such that its diameter reaches 50μm and is glued using an epoxy at the centre of the beam. A broadband light (1550nm) is launched into Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) through a circulator. The light reflected by the FBG (1540.32nm) is coupled into the centre etched fibre through the circulator and is detected by photodiode connected to a transimpedance amplifier. The electrical signal is logged into the computer through NI-6016 DAQ. The sensor works on transmission power loss due to the mode volume mismatch and flexural strain (field strength) of the fiber due to the bending in the fiber with respect to the bending of the spring-steel beam. The beam is made to vibrate and the corresponding intensity of light is recorded. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique is used to measure the frequencies of vibration. The results show that this sensor can sense vibration of low frequency accurately and repeatability is high. The sensor has high linear response to axial displacement of about 0.8 mm with sensitivity of 32mV/10μm strain. This lowcost sensor may find a place in industry to monitor the vibrations of the beam structures and bridges.

Femtosecond pulse inscription of a selective mode filter in large mode area fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krämer, Ria G.; Voigtländer, Christian; Freier, Erik; Liem, Andreas; Thomas, Jens U.; Richter, Daniel; Schreiber, Thomas; Tünnermann, Andreas; Nolte, Stefan

2013-02-01

We present a selective mode filter inscribed with ultrashort pulses directly into a few mode large mode area (LMA) fiber. The mode filter consists of two refractive index modifications alongside the fiber core in the cladding. The refractive index modifications, which were of approximately the same order of magnitude as the refractive index difference between core and cladding have been inscribed by nonlinear absorption of femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm wavelength, 120 fs pulse duration). If light is guided in the core, it will interact with the inscribed modifications causing modes to be coupled out of the core. In order to characterize the mode filter, we used a femtosecond inscribed fiber Bragg grating (FBG), which acts as a wavelength and therefore mode selective element in the LMA fiber. Since each mode has different Bragg reflection wavelengths, an FBG in a multimode fiber will exhibit multiple Bragg reflection peaks. In our experiments, we first inscribed the FBG using the phase mask scanning technique. Then the mode filter was inscribed. The reflection spectrum of the FBG was measured in situ during the inscription process using a supercontinuum source. The reflectivities of the LP01 and LP11 modes show a dependency on the length of the mode filter. Two stages of the filter were obtained: one, in which the LP11 mode was reduced by 60% and one where the LP01 mode was reduced by 80%. The other mode respectively showed almost no losses. In conclusion, we could selectively filter either the fundamental or higher order modes.

Bend-insensitive single-mode photonic crystal fiber with ultralarge effective area for dual applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, Md. Asiful; Alam, M. Shah

2013-05-01

A novel photonic crystal fiber (PCF) having circular arrangement of cladding air holes has been designed and numerically optimized to obtain a bend insensitive single mode fiber with large mode area for both wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) communication and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) application. The bending loss of the proposed bent PCF lies in the range of 10-3 to 10-4 dB/turn or lower over 1300 to 1700 nm, and 2 × 10-4 dB/turn at the wavelength of 1550 nm for a 30-mm bend radius with a higher order mode (HOM) cut-off frequency below 1200 nm for WDM application. When the whole structure of the PCF is scaled down, a bending loss of 6.78×10-4 dB/turn at 1550 nm for a 4-mm bend radius is obtained, and the loss remains in the order of 10-4 dB/turn over the same range of wavelength with an HOM cut-off frequency below 700 nm, and makes the fiber useful for FTTH applications. Furthermore, this structure is also optimized to show a splice loss near zero for fusion-splicing to a conventional single-mode fiber (SMF).

MEMS micromirrors for optical switching in multichannel spectrophotometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuantranont, Adisorn; Lomas, Tanom; Bright, Victor M.

2004-04-01

This paper reports for the first time that a novel MEMS-based micromirror switch has successfully demonstrated for optical switching in a multi-channel fiber optics spectrophotometer system. The conventional optomechanical fiber optic switches for multi-channel spectrophotometers available in market are bulky, slow, low numbers of channels and expensive. Our foundry MEMS-based micromirror switch designed for integrating with commercially available spectrophotometers offers more compact devices, increased number of probing channels, higher performance and cheaper. Our MEMS-based micromirror switch is a surface micromachined mirror fabricated through MUMPs foundry. The 280 μm x 280 μm gold coated mirror is suspended by the double-gimbal structure for X and Y axis scanning. Self-assembly by solders is used to elevate the torsion mirror 30 μm over the substrate to achieve large scan angle. The solder self-assembly approach dramatically reduces the time to assembly the switch. The scan mirror is electrostatically controlled by applying voltages. The individual probing signal from each probing head is guided by fibers with collimated lenses and incidents on the center of the mirror. The operating scan angle is in the range of 3.5 degrees with driving voltage of 0-100 V. The fastest switching time of 4 millisecond (1 ms rise time and 3 ms fall time) is measured corresponding to the maximum speed of the mirror of 0.25 kHz when the mirror is scanning at +/- 1.5 degrees. The micromirror switch is packaged with a multi-mode fiber bundle using active alignment technique. A centered fiber is the output fiber that is connected to spectrophotometer. Maximum insertion loss of 5 dB has been obtained. The accuracy of measured spectral data is equivalent to the single channel spectrophotometer with a small degradation on probing signal due to fiber coupling.

High brightness diode laser module development at nLIGHT Photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, Kirk; Karlsen, Scott; Brown, Aaron; Reynolds, Mitch; Mehl, Ron; Leisher, Paul; Patterson, Steve; Bell, Jake; Martinsen, Rob

2009-05-01

We report on the development of ultra-high brightness laser diode modules at nLIGHT Photonics. This paper demonstrates a laser diode module capable of coupling over 100W at 976 nm into a 105 μm, 0.15 NA fiber with fiber coupling efficiency greater than 85%. The high brightness module has an optical excitation under 0.13 NA, is virtually free of cladding modes, and has been wavelength stabilized with the use of volume holographic gratings for narrow-band operation. Utilizing nLIGHT's Pearl product architecture, these modules are based on hard soldered single emitters packaged into a compact and passively-cooled package. These modules are designed to be compatible with high power 7:1 fused fiber combiners, enabling over 500W power coupled into a 220 μm, 0.22 NA fiber. These modules address the need in the market for high brightness and wavelength stabilized diode lasers for pumping fiber lasers and solid-state laser systems.

Single-longitudinal-mode, narrow bandwidth double-ring fiber laser stabilized by an efficiently taper-coupled high roundness microsphere resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Hongdan; Liu, Linqian; Ding, Zuoqin; Wang, Jie; Xiao, Yu; Zhang, Zuxing

2018-06-01

This paper proposes and demonstrates a single-longitudinal-mode, narrow bandwidth fiber laser, using an ultra-high roundness microsphere resonator (MSR) with a stabilized package as the single-longitudinal-mode selector inside a double-ring fiber cavity. By improving the heating technology and surface cleaning process, MSR with high Q factor are obtained. With the optimized coupling condition, light polarization state and fiber taper diameter, we achieve whispering gallery mode (WGM) spectra with a high extinction ratio of 23 dB, coupling efficiency of 99.5%, a 3 dB bandwidth of 1 pm and a side-mode-suppression-ratio of 14.5 dB. The proposed fiber laser produces single-longitudinal-mode laser output with a 20-dB frequency linewidth of about 340 kHz, a signal-to-background ratio of 54 dB and a high long-term stability without mode-hopping, which is potential for optical communication and sensing applications.

The MaNGA integral field unit fiber feed system for the Sloan 2.5 m telescope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Drory, N.; MacDonald, N.; Byler, N.

2015-02-01

We describe the design, manufacture, and performance of bare-fiber integral field units (IFUs) for the SDSS-IV survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) on the the Sloan 2.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory. MaNGA is a luminosity-selected integral-field spectroscopic survey of 10{sup 4} local galaxies covering 360–1030 nm at R∼2200. The IFUs have hexagonal dense packing of fibers with packing regularity of 3 μm (rms), and throughput of 96 ± 0.5% from 350 nm to 1 μm in the lab. Their sizes range from 19 to 127 fibers (3–7 hexagonal layers) using Polymicro FBP 120:132:150 μm core:clad:buffermore » fibers to reach a fill fraction of 56%. High throughput (and low focal-ratio degradation (FRD)) is achieved by maintaining the fiber cladding and buffer intact, ensuring excellent surface polish, and applying a multi-layer anti-reflection (AR) coating of the input and output surfaces. In operations on-sky, the IFUs show only an additional 2.3% FRD-related variability in throughput despite repeated mechanical stressing during plate plugging (however other losses are present). The IFUs achieve on-sky throughput 5% above the single-fiber feeds used in SDSS-III/BOSS, attributable to equivalent performance compared to single fibers and additional gains from the AR coating. The manufacturing process is geared toward mass-production of high-multiplex systems. The low-stress process involves a precision ferrule with a hexagonal inner shape designed to lead inserted fibers to settle in a dense hexagonal pattern. The ferrule ID is tapered at progressively shallower angles toward its tip and the final 2 mm are straight and only a few microns larger than necessary to hold the desired number of fibers. Our IFU manufacturing process scales easily to accommodate other fiber sizes and can produce IFUs with substantially larger fiber counts. To assure quality, automated testing in a simple and inexpensive system enables complete characterization of throughput and fiber metrology. Future applications include larger IFUs, higher fill factors with stripped buffer, de-cladding, and lenslet coupling.« less

The MaNGA Integral Field Unit Fiber Feed System for the Sloan 2.5 m Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drory, N.; MacDonald, N.; Bershady, M. A.; Bundy, K.; Gunn, J.; Law, D. R.; Smith, M.; Stoll, R.; Tremonti, C. A.; Wake, D. A.; Yan, R.; Weijmans, A. M.; Byler, N.; Cherinka, B.; Cope, F.; Eigenbrot, A.; Harding, P.; Holder, D.; Huehnerhoff, J.; Jaehnig, K.; Jansen, T. C.; Klaene, M.; Paat, A. M.; Percival, J.; Sayres, C.

2015-02-01

We describe the design, manufacture, and performance of bare-fiber integral field units (IFUs) for the SDSS-IV survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) on the the Sloan 2.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory. MaNGA is a luminosity-selected integral-field spectroscopic survey of 104 local galaxies covering 360-1030 nm at R˜ 2200. The IFUs have hexagonal dense packing of fibers with packing regularity of 3 μm (rms), and throughput of 96 ± 0.5% from 350 nm to 1 μm in the lab. Their sizes range from 19 to 127 fibers (3-7 hexagonal layers) using Polymicro FBP 120:132:150 μm core:clad:buffer fibers to reach a fill fraction of 56%. High throughput (and low focal-ratio degradation (FRD)) is achieved by maintaining the fiber cladding and buffer intact, ensuring excellent surface polish, and applying a multi-layer anti-reflection (AR) coating of the input and output surfaces. In operations on-sky, the IFUs show only an additional 2.3% FRD-related variability in throughput despite repeated mechanical stressing during plate plugging (however other losses are present). The IFUs achieve on-sky throughput 5% above the single-fiber feeds used in SDSS-III/BOSS, attributable to equivalent performance compared to single fibers and additional gains from the AR coating. The manufacturing process is geared toward mass-production of high-multiplex systems. The low-stress process involves a precision ferrule with a hexagonal inner shape designed to lead inserted fibers to settle in a dense hexagonal pattern. The ferrule ID is tapered at progressively shallower angles toward its tip and the final 2 mm are straight and only a few microns larger than necessary to hold the desired number of fibers. Our IFU manufacturing process scales easily to accommodate other fiber sizes and can produce IFUs with substantially larger fiber counts. To assure quality, automated testing in a simple and inexpensive system enables complete characterization of throughput and fiber metrology. Future applications include larger IFUs, higher fill factors with stripped buffer, de-cladding, and lenslet coupling.

Nonlinear-optical studies of organic liquids and polymer optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vigil, Steven Richard

We present the results of non-resonant optical Kerr effect measurements of the neat organic liquids nitrobenzene, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl-methacrylate. We also present the results of one- photon resonant optical Kerr effect measurements of solutions of the organic dyes indole squarylium and silicon-phthalocyanine:methylmethacrylate (separately) in carbon tetrachloride. Fits of the molecular third-order susceptibility theory to the one-photon resonant data indicate the presence of high-lying two-photon states for each of the dye molecules studied. We also present results concerning light coupling in dye- doped dual-core polymer optical fibers. Measurements of the coupling length at low intensity are in agreement with linear coupling length calculations. Intensity- dependent coupling is observed as the intensity launched into the fiber is increased.

A fiber optic temperature sensor based on multi-core microstructured fiber with coupled cores for a high temperature environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makowska, A.; Markiewicz, K.; Szostkiewicz, L.; Kolakowska, A.; Fidelus, J.; Stanczyk, T.; Wysokinski, K.; Budnicki, D.; Ostrowski, L.; Szymanski, M.; Makara, M.; Poturaj, K.; Tenderenda, T.; Mergo, P.; Nasilowski, T.

2018-02-01

Sensors based on fiber optics are irreplaceable wherever immunity to strong electro-magnetic fields or safe operation in explosive atmospheres is needed. Furthermore, it is often essential to be able to monitor high temperatures of over 500°C in such environments (e.g. in cooling systems or equipment monitoring in power plants). In order to meet this demand, we have designed and manufactured a fiber optic sensor with which temperatures up to 900°C can be measured. The sensor utilizes multi-core fibers which are recognized as the dedicated medium for telecommunication or shape sensing, but as we show may be also deployed advantageously in new types of fiber optic temperature sensors. The sensor presented in this paper is based on a dual-core microstructured fiber Michelson interferometer. The fiber is characterized by strongly coupled cores, hence it acts as an all-fiber coupler, but with an outer diameter significantly wider than a standard fused biconical taper coupler, which significantly increases the coupling region's mechanical reliability. Owing to the proposed interferometer imbalance, effective operation and high-sensitivity can be achieved. The presented sensor is designed to be used at high temperatures as a result of the developed low temperature chemical process of metal (copper or gold) coating. The hermetic metal coating can be applied directly to the silica cladding of the fiber or the fiber component. This operation significantly reduces the degradation of sensors due to hydrolysis in uncontrolled atmospheres and high temperatures.

Characterization of a gated fiber-optic-coupled detector for application in clinical electron beam dosimetry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tanyi, James A.; Nitzling, Kevin D.; Lodwick, Camille J.

2011-02-15

Purpose: Assessment of the fundamental dosimetric characteristics of a novel gated fiber-optic-coupled dosimetry system for clinical electron beam irradiation. Methods: The response of fiber-optic-coupled dosimetry system to clinical electron beam, with nominal energy range of 6-20 MeV, was evaluated for reproducibility, linearity, and output dependence on dose rate, dose per pulse, energy, and field size. The validity of the detector system's response was assessed in correspondence with a reference ionization chamber. Results: The fiber-optic-coupled dosimetry system showed little dependence to dose rate variations (coefficient of variation {+-}0.37%) and dose per pulse changes (with 0.54% of reference chamber measurements). The reproducibilitymore » of the system was {+-}0.55% for dose fractions of {approx}100 cGy. Energy dependence was within {+-}1.67% relative to the reference ionization chamber for the 6-20 MeV nominal electron beam energy range. The system exhibited excellent linear response (R{sup 2}=1.000) compared to reference ionization chamber in the dose range of 1-1000 cGy. The output factors were within {+-}0.54% of the corresponding reference ionization chamber measurements. Conclusions: The dosimetric properties of the gated fiber-optic-coupled dosimetry system compare favorably to the corresponding reference ionization chamber measurements and show considerable potential for applications in clinical electron beam radiotherapy.« less

Calculated coupling efficiency between an elliptical-core optical fiber and an optical waveguide over temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tuma, Margaret L.; Weisshaar, Andreas; Li, Jian; Beheim, Glenn

1995-01-01

To determine the feasibility of coupling the output of a single-mode optical fiber into a single-mode rib waveguide in a temperature varying environment, a theoretical calculation of the coupling efficiency between the two was investigated. Due to the complex geometry of the rib guide, there is no analytical solution to the wave equation for the guided modes, thus, approximation and/or numerical techniques must be utilized to determine the field patterns of the guide. In this study, three solution methods were used for both the fiber and guide fields; the effective-index method (EIM), Marcatili's approximation, and a Fourier method. These methods were utilized independently to calculate the electric field profile of each component at two temperatures, 20 C and 300 C, representing a nominal and high temperature. Using the electric field profile calculated from each method, the theoretical coupling efficiency between an elliptical-core optical fiber and a rib waveguide was calculated using the overlap integral and the results were compared. It was determined that a high coupling efficiency can be achieved when the two components are aligned. The coupling efficiency was more sensitive to alignment offsets in the y direction than the x, due to the elliptical modal field profile of both components. Changes in the coupling efficiency over temperature were found to be minimal.

Sidelobe suppression in all-fiber acousto-optic tunable filter using torsional acoustic wave.

PubMed

Lee, Kwang Jo; Hwang, In-Kag; Park, Hyun Chul; Kim, Byoung Yoon

2010-06-07

We propose two techniques to suppress intrinsic sidelobe spectra in all-fiber acousto-optic tunable filter using torsional acoustic wave. The techniques are based on either double-pass filter configuration or axial tailoring of mode coupling strength along an acousto-optic interaction region in a highly birefringent optical fiber. The sidelobe peak in the filter spectrum is experimentally suppressed from -8.3 dB to -16.4 dB by employing double-pass configuration. Axial modulation of acousto-optic coupling strength is proposed using axial variation of the fiber diameter, and the simulation results show that the maximum side peak of -9.3 dB can be reduced to -22.2dB. We also discuss the possibility of further spectral shaping of the filter based on the axial tailoring of acousto-optic coupling strength.

Dynamic fiber delivery of 3 W 160 fs pulses with photonic crystal hollow core fiber patchcord

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Resan, Bojan; Auchli, Raffael; Holtz, Ronald

2017-02-01

We report output characteristics from the FC/APC connectorized photonics crystal hollow core fiber when is subjected to coiling down to 50 mm radius, bending, torsion etc. We achieved coupling efficiency up to 75%, output average power 2 W and 24 nJ pulse energy. With proper coupling the depolarization could be as low as 7%. Torsion of the photonic crystal patchcord destroys the polarization and other pulse properties.

Design and fabrication of sub-wavelength annular apertures on fiber tip for femtosecond laser machining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tung, Yen-Chun; Chung, Ming-Han; Sung, I.-Hui; Lee, Chih-Kung

2014-03-01

Adopting optical technique to pursue micromachining must make a compromise between the focal spot sizes the depth of focus. The focal spot size determines the minimum features can be fabricated. On the other hand, the depth of focus influences the ease of alignment in positioning the fabrication light beam. A typical approach to bypass the diffraction limit is to adopt the near-field approach, which has spot size in the range of the optical fiber tip. However, the depth of focus of the emitted light beam will be limited to tens of nanometers in most cases, which posts a difficult challenge to control the distance between the optical fiber tip and the sample to be machined optically. More specifically, problems remained in this machining approach, which include issues such as residue induced by laser ablation tends to deposit near the optical fiber tip and leads to loss of coupling efficiency. We proposed a method based on illuminating femtosecond laser through a sub-wavelength annular aperture on metallic film so as to produce Bessel light beam of sub-wavelength while maintaining large depth of focus first. To further advance the ease of use in one such system, producing sub-wavelength annular aperture on a single mode optical fiber head with sub-wavelength focusing ability is detailed. It is shown that this method can be applied in material machining with an emphasis to produce high aspect ratio structure. Simulations and experimental results are presented in this paper.

Simultaneous monitoring the real and imaginary parts of the analyte refractive index using liquid-core photonic bandgap Bragg fibers.

PubMed

Li, Jingwen; Qu, Hang; Skorobogatiy, Maksim

2015-09-07

We demonstrate simultaneous monitoring of the real and imaginary parts of the liquid analyte refractive index by using a hollow-core Bragg fiber. We apply this two-channel fiber sensor to monitor concentrations of various commercial cooling oils. The sensor operates using spectral monitoring of the fiber bandgap center wavelength, as well as monitoring of the fiber transmission amplitude at mid-bandgap position. The sensitivity of the fiber sensor to changes in the real part of the core refractive index is found to be 1460nm/Refractive index unit (RIU). By using spectral modality and effective medium theory, we determine the concentrations of the two commercial fluids from the measured refractive indices with an accuracy of ~0.57% for both low- and high-loss oils. Moreover, using an amplitude-based detection modality allows determination of the oil concentration with accuracy of ~1.64% for low-loss oils and ~2.81% for the high-loss oils.

High Efficiency Coupling of Optical Fibres with SU8 Micro-droplet Using Laser Welding Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yardi, Seema; Gupta, Ankur; Sundriyal, Poonam; Bhatt, Geeta; Kant, Rishi; Boolchandani, D.; Bhattacharya, Shantanu

2016-09-01

Apart from micro- structure fabrication, ablation, lithography etc., lasers find a lot of utility in various areas like precision joining, device fabrication, local heat delivery for surface texturing and local change of microstructure fabrication of standalone optical micro-devices (like microspheres, micro-prisms, micro-scale ring resonators, optical switches etc). There is a wide utility of such systems in chemical/ biochemical diagnostics and also communications where the standalone optical devices exist at a commercial scale but chip based devices with printed optics are necessary due to coupling issues between printed structures and external optics. This paper demonstrates a novel fabrication strategy used to join standalone optical fibres to microchip based printed optics using a simple SU8 drop. The fabrication process is deployed for fiber to fiber optical coupling and coupling between fiber and printed SU-8 waveguides. A CO2 laser is used to locally heat the coupling made up of SU8 material. Optimization of various dimensional parameters using design of experiments (DOE) on the bonded assembly has been performed as a function of laser power, speed, cycle control, spot size so on so forth. Exclusive optical [RF] modelling has been performed to estimate the transmissibility of the optical fibers bonded to each other on a surface with SU8. Our studies indicate the formation of a Whispering gallery mode (WGM) across the micro-droplet leading to high transmissibility of the signal. Through this work we have thus been able to develop a method of fabrication for optical coupling of standalone fibers or coupling of on-chip optics with off-chip illumination/detection.

Suspended core subwavelength fibers: towards practical designs for low-loss terahertz guidance.

PubMed

Rozé, Mathieu; Ung, Bora; Mazhorova, Anna; Walther, Markus; Skorobogatiy, Maksim

2011-05-09

In this work we report two designs of subwavelength fibers packaged for practical terahertz wave guiding. We describe fabrication, modeling and characterization of microstructured polymer fibers featuring a subwavelength-size core suspended in the middle of a large porous outer cladding. This design allows convenient handling of the subwavelength fibers without distorting their modal profile. Additionally, the air-tight porous cladding serves as a natural enclosure for the fiber core, thus avoiding the need for a bulky external enclosure for humidity-purged atmosphere. Fibers of 5 mm and 3 mm in outer diameters with a 150 µm suspended solid core and a 900 µm suspended porous core respectively, were obtained by utilizing a combination of drilling and stacking techniques. Characterization of the fiber optical properties and the subwavelength imaging of the guided modes were performed using a terahertz near-field microscopy setup. Near-field imaging of the modal profiles at the fiber output confirmed the effectively single-mode behavior of such waveguides. The suspended core fibers exhibit transmission from 0.10 THz to 0.27 THz (larger core), and from 0.25 THz to 0.51 THz (smaller core). Due to the large fraction of power that is guided in the holey cladding, fiber propagation losses as low as 0.02 cm(-1) are demonstrated specifically for the small core fiber. Low-loss guidance combined with the core isolated from environmental perturbations make these all-dielectric fibers suitable for practical terahertz imaging and sensing applications. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Real-time dissolution measurement of sized and unsized calcium phosphate glass fibers.

PubMed

Rinehart, J D; Taylor, T D; Tian, Y; Latour, R A

1999-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop an efficient "real time" measurement system able to directly measure, with microgram resolution, the dissolution rate of absorbable glass fibers, and utilize the system to evaluate the effectiveness of silane-based sizing as a means to delay the fiber dissolution process. The absorbable glass fiber used was calcium phosphate (CaP), with tetramethoxysilane selected as the sizing agent. E-glass fiber was used as a relatively nondegrading control. Both the unsized-CaP and sized-CaP degraded linearly at both the 37 degrees C and 60 degrees C test temperature levels used. No significant decrease in weight-loss rate was recorded when the CaP fiber tows were pretreated, using conventional application methods, with the tetramethoxysilane sizing for either temperature condition. The unsized-CaP and sized-CaP weight loss rates were each significantly higher at 60 than at 37 degrees C (both p < 0.02), as expected from dissolution kinetics. In terms of actual weight loss rate measured using our system for phosphate glass fiber, the unsized-CaP fiber we studied dissolved at a rate of 10.90 x 10(-09) and 41.20 x 10(-09) g/min-cm(2) at 37 degrees C and 60 degrees C, respectively. Considering performance validation of the developed system, the slope of the weight loss vs. time plot for the tested E-glass fiber was not significantly different compared to a slope equal to zero for both test temperatures. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ultra low-loss hybrid core porous fiber for broadband applications.

PubMed

Islam, Md Saiful; Sultana, Jakeya; Atai, Javid; Abbott, Derek; Rana, Sohel; Islam, Mohammad Rakibul

2017-02-01

In this paper, we present the design and analysis of a novel hybrid porous core octagonal lattice photonic crystal fiber for terahertz (THz) wave guidance. The numerical analysis is performed using a full-vector finite element method (FEM) that shows that 80% of bulk absorption material loss of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), commercially known as TOPAS can be reduced at a core diameter of 350 μm. The obtained effective material loss (EML) is as low as 0.04  cm^-1 at an operating frequency of 1 THz with a core porosity of 81%. Moreover, the proposed photonic crystal fiber also exhibits comparatively higher core power fraction, lower confinement loss, higher effective mode area, and an ultra-flattened dispersion profile with single mode propagation. This fiber can be readily fabricated using capillary stacking and sol-gel techniques, and it can be used for broadband terahertz applications.

Optimized mode-field adapter for low-loss fused fiber bundle signal and pump combiners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koška, Pavel; Baravets, Yauhen; Peterka, Pavel; Písařík, Michael; Bohata, Jan

2015-03-01

In our contribution we report novel mode field adapter incorporated inside bundled tapered pump and signal combiner. Pump and signal combiners are crucial component of contemporary double clad high power fiber lasers. Proposed combiner allows simultaneous matching to single mode core on input and output. We used advanced optimization techniques to match the combiner to a single mode core simultaneously on input and output and to minimalize losses of the combiner signal branch. We designed two arrangements of combiners' mode field adapters. Our numerical simulations estimates losses in signal branches of optimized combiners of 0.23 dB for the first design and 0.16 dB for the second design for SMF-28 input fiber and SMF-28 matched output double clad fiber for the wavelength of 2000 nm. The splice losses of the actual combiner are expected to be even lower thanks to dopant diffusion during the splicing process.

Biwavelength transceiver module for parallel simultaneous bidirectional optical interconnections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Nga T. H.; Ukaegbu, Ikechi A.; Sangirov, Jamshid; Cho, Mu-Hee; Lee, Tae-Woo; Park, Hyo-Hoon

2013-12-01

The design of a biwavelength transceiver (TRx) module for parallel simultaneous bidirectional optical interconnects is described. The TRx module has been implemented using two different wavelengths, 850 and 1060 nm, to send and receive signals simultaneously through a common optical interface while optimizing cost and performance. Filtering mirrors are formed in the optical fibers which are embedded on a V-grooved silicon substrate for reflecting and filtering optical signals from/to vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)/photodiode (PD). The VCSEL and PD are flip-chip bonded on individual silicon optical benches, which are attached on the silicon substrate for optical signal coupling from the VCSEL to fiber and from fiber to the PD. A high-speed and low-loss ceramic printed circuit board, which has a compact size of 0.033 cc, has been designed to carry transmitter and receiver chips for easy packaging of the TRx module. Applied for quad small form-factor pluggable applications at 40-Gbps operation, the four-channel biwavelength TRx module showed clear eye diagrams with a bit error rate (BER) of 10-12 at input powers of -5 and -5.8 dBm for 1060 and 850 nm operation modes, respectively.