Li Wei

Bio: Li Wei is an academic researcher from Wilfrid Laurier University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Fiber laser & Polarization-maintaining optical fiber. The author has an hindex of 19, co-authored 53 publications receiving 1527 citations. Previous affiliations of Li Wei include University of Waterloo.

Tunable Passively $Q$ -switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser With Carbon Nanotubes as a Saturable Absorber

Abstract: An all-fiber tunable passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser is presented. Saturable absorbers are constructed by optically driven deposition of single-wall carbon nanotubes on fiber connectors. A low pump threshold of 11.1 mW is achieved. Self-mode-locking effect is also observed, and it could be suppressed by splicing an extra unpumped EDF into the laser ring cavity. The laser can be tuned by applying axial strain on the fiber Bragg grating which serves as a narrowband external mirror of the cavity.

Low-Cost High-Sensitivity Strain and Temperature Sensing Using Graded-Index Multimode Fibers

Abstract: We report a low-loss, low-cost high-sensitivity all-fiber strain and temperature sensor based on mode interference in graded-index multimode fibers. Blueshifts with strain and temperature sensitivities of 18.6 pm/microstrain and 58.5 pm/ degrees C have been observed. Experimental results show that smaller core diameter graded-index fibers display greater strain-induced peak wavelength shifts than larger core diameter fibers.

Simultaneous measurement for strain and temperature using fiber Bragg gratings and multimode fibers

Abstract: An all-fiber sensor capable of simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain is newly presented. The sensing head is formed by a fiber Bragg grating combined with a section of multimode fiber that acts as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer for temperature and strain discrimination. The strain and temperature coefficients of multimode fibers vary with the core sizes and materials. This feature can be used to improve the strain and temperature resolution by suitably choosing the multimode fiber. For a 10 pm wavelength resolution, a resolution of 9.21 mu epsilon in strain and 0.26 degrees C in temperature can be achieved.

Quantum Ion-Acoustic Waves in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Studied with a Quantum Hydrodynamic Model

Abstract: The quantum ion-acoustic waves in single-wall carbon nanotubes are studied with the quantum hydrodynamic model, in which the electron and ion components of the nanotubes are regarded as a two-species quantum plasma system. An analytical expression of the dispersion relation is obtained for the linear disturbance. Numerical results show that the frequency of the ion-acoustic wave strongly depends on the nanotube's radius in the long-wavelength cases.

Phase-shifted Bragg grating filters with symmetrical structures

Abstract: A comprehensive theoretical analysis of the compound phase-shifted uniform fiber Bragg grating (FBG) filter is presented. The transmission characteristics are examined by a transfer matrix formulation. It is shown that the transmission spectrum of such a filter is significantly controlled by the ratio of the grating lengths. By suitably choosing the ratio, a quasi-flat-top spectrum may be obtained. The general condition for the optimum case is derived. This characteristic makes the compound phase-shifted uniform FBG filter particularly advantageous for applications in wavelength-multiplexed optic-fiber communication systems.

Graphene photonics, plasmonics, and broadband optoelectronic devices.

Abstract: Graphene has been hailed as a wonderful material in electronics, and recently, it is the rising star in photonics, as well. The wonderful optical properties of graphene afford multiple functions of signal emitting, transmitting, modulating, and detection to be realized in one material. In this paper, the latest progress in graphene photonics, plasmonics, and broadband optoelectronic devices is reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on the ability to integrate graphene photonics onto the silicon platform to afford broadband operation in light routing and amplification, which involves components like polarizer, modulator, and photodetector. Other functions like saturable absorber and optical limiter are also reviewed.

Mechanically exfoliated black phosphorus as a new saturable absorber for both Q-switching and Mode-locking laser operation

Abstract: Black phosphorus (BP), an emerging narrow direct band-gap two-dimensional (2D) layered material that can fill the gap between the semi-metallic graphene and the wide-bandgap transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), had been experimentally found to exhibit the saturation of optical absorption if under strong light illumination. By taking advantage of this saturable absorption property, we could fabricate a new type of optical saturable absorber (SA) based on mechanically exfoliated BPs, and further demonstrate the applications for ultra-fast laser photonics. Based on the balanced synchronous twin-detector measurement method, we have characterized the saturable absorption property of the fabricated BP-SAs at the telecommunication band. By incorporating the BP-based SAs device into the all-fiber Erbium-doped fiber laser cavities, we are able to obtain either the passive Q-switching (with maximum pulse energy of 94.3 nJ) or the passive mode-locking operation (with pulse duration down to 946 fs). Our results show that BP could also be developed as an effective SA for pulsed fiber or solid-state lasers.

Graphene-based passively Q-switched dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser.

Abstract: We demonstrate a compact Q-switched dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser based on graphene as a saturable absorber (SA). By optically driven deposition of graphene on a fiber core, the SA is constructed and inserted into a diode-pumped EDF laser cavity. Also benefiting from the strong third-order optical nonlinearity of graphene to suppress the mode competition of EDF, a stable dual-wavelength Q-switching operation has been achieved using a two-reflection peak fiber Bragg grating as the external cavity mirror. The Q-switched EDF laser has a low pump threshold of 6.5mW at 974nm and a wide range of pulse-repetition rate from 3.3 to 65.9kHz. The pulse duration and the pulse energy have been characterized. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of a graphene-based Q-switched laser.

Graphene Q-switched, tunable fiber laser

Abstract: We demonstrate a wideband-tunable Q-switched fiber laser exploiting a graphene saturable absorber. We get ∼2 μs pulses, tunable between 1522 and 1555 nm with up to ∼40 nJ energy. This is a simple and low-cost light source for metrology, environmental sensing, and biomedical diagnostics.

High temperature fiber sensor with high sensitivity based on core diameter mismatch

Abstract: We report a simple fiber sensor for measurement of high temperature with high sensitivity. The sensing head is a multimode-single mode-multimode (MM-SM-MM) fiber configuration formed by splicing a section of uncoated single mode fiber (SMF) with two short sections of multimode fibers (MMF) whose core is composed of pure silica. Because of the mode-field mismatch at the splicing points of the SMF with 2 sections of MMFs, as well as index matching between the core of the MMF and the cladding of the SMF, optical power from the lead-in fiber can be partly coupled to the cladding modes of the SMF through the MMF. The cladding modes of the SMF then re-coupled to the lead-out fiber, in the same fashion. Due to the effective index difference between the core and cladding modes, an interference pattern in the transmission spectrum of the proposed device was obtained. The interference pattern was found to shift to the longer wavelength region with respect to temperature variation. The temperature sensor can measure temperature stably up to more than 900 °C with sensitivity of 0.088 nm/°C.