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Showing papers on "Optical fiber published in 2015"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of the technologies used to implement surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effects into fiber-optic sensors for chemical and biochemical applications and a survey of results reported over the last ten years is presented.
Abstract: This paper presents a brief overview of the technologies used to implement surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effects into fiber-optic sensors for chemical and biochemical applications and a survey of results reported over the last ten years. The performance indicators that are relevant for such systems, such as refractometric sensitivity, operating wavelength, and figure of merit (FOM), are discussed and listed in table form. A list of experimental results with reported limits of detection (LOD) for proteins, toxins, viruses, DNA, bacteria, glucose, and various chemicals is also provided for the same time period. Configurations discussed include fiber-optic analogues of the Kretschmann–Raether prism SPR platforms, made from geometry-modified multimode and single-mode optical fibers (unclad, side-polished, tapered, and U-shaped), long period fiber gratings (LPFG), tilted fiber Bragg gratings (TFBG), and specialty fibers (plastic or polymer, microstructured, and photonic crystal fibers). Configurations involving the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) on continuous thin metal layers as well as those involving localized SPR (LSPR) phenomena in nanoparticle metal coatings of gold, silver, and other metals at visible and near-infrared wavelengths are described and compared quantitatively.

555 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that OAM modes can be (de)multiplexed over a multimode optical fiber with higher than −15 dB mode selectivity and without cascaded beam splitting’s 1/N insertion loss.
Abstract: Mode division multiplexing (MDM)- using a multimode optical fiber's N spatial modes as data channels to transmit N independent data streams - has received interest as it can potentially increase optical fiber data transmission capacity N-times with respect to single mode optical fibers. Two challenges of MDM are (1) designing mode (de)multiplexers with high mode selectivity (2) designing mode (de)multiplexers without cascaded beam splitting's 1/N insertion loss. One spatial mode basis that has received interest is that of orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes. In this paper, using a device referred to as an OAM mode sorter, we show that OAM modes can be (de)multiplexed over a multimode optical fiber with higher than -15 dB mode selectivity and without cascaded beam splitting's 1/N insertion loss. As a proof of concept, the OAM modes of the LP11 mode group (OAM-1,0 and OAM+1,0), each carrying 20-Gbit/s polarization division multiplexed and quadrature phase shift keyed data streams, are transmitted 5km over a graded-index, few-mode optical fibre. Channel crosstalk is mitigated using 4 × 4 multiple-input-multiple-output digital-signal-processing with <1.5 dB power penalties at a bit-error-rate of 2 × 10(-3).

247 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
19 May 2015-Sensors
TL;DR: A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on photonic crystal fiber with selectively filled analyte channels with maximum amplitude sensitivity and maximum refractive index (RI) sensitivity is proposed, suitable for detecting various high RI chemicals, biochemical and organic chemical analytes.
Abstract: We propose a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with selectively filled analyte channels. Silver is used as the plasmonic material to accurately detect the analytes and is coated with a thin graphene layer to prevent oxidation. The liquid-filled cores are placed near to the metallic channel for easy excitation of free electrons to produce surface plasmon waves (SPWs). Surface plasmons along the metal surface are excited with a leaky Gaussian-like core guided mode. Numerical investigations of the fiber’s properties and sensing performance are performed using the finite element method (FEM). The proposed sensor shows maximum amplitude sensitivity of 418 Refractive Index Units (RIU−1) with resolution as high as 2.4 × 10−5 RIU. Using the wavelength interrogation method, a maximum refractive index (RI) sensitivity of 3000 nm/RIU in the sensing range of 1.46–1.49 is achieved. The proposed sensor is suitable for detecting various high RI chemicals, biochemical and organic chemical analytes. Additionally, the effects of fiber structural parameters on the properties of plasmonic excitation are investigated and optimized for sensing performance as well as reducing the sensor’s footprint.

239 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of recent advances in the random fiber laser field, including high-power and high-efficiency generation, spectral and statistical properties of random fiber lasers, nonlinear kinetic theory of such systems, and emerging applications in telecommunications and distributed sensing are provided.
Abstract: Random fiber lasers blend together attractive features of traditional random lasers, such as low cost and simplicity of fabrication, with high-performance characteristics of conventional fiber lasers, such as good directionality and high efficiency. Low coherence of random lasers is important for speckle-free imaging applications. The random fiber laser with distributed feedback proposed in 2010 led to a quickly developing class of light sources that utilize inherent optical fiber disorder in the form of the Rayleigh scattering and distributed Raman gain. The random fiber laser is an interesting and practically important example of a photonic device based on exploitation of optical medium disorder. We provide an overview of recent advances in this field, including high-power and high-efficiency generation, spectral and statistical properties of random fiber lasers, nonlinear kinetic theory of such systems, and emerging applications in telecommunications and distributed sensing.

236 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employ the link between the local polarization of strongly confined light and its direction of propagation to realize low-loss non-reciprocal transmission through a silica nanofiber at the single-photon level.
Abstract: 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.

226 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the characteristics of VCSELs and photodiodes used in current generation 28 Gb/s links and present several methods to extend link distances using more advanced data encoding schemes.
Abstract: The vast majority of optical links within the data center are based on vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) operating at 850 nm over multimode optical fiber. Deployable links have evolved in speed from 1 Gb/s in 1996 to 28 Gb/s in 2014. Serial data links at 40 and 56 Gb/s are now under development and place even more demand on the VCSEL and photodiodes. In this paper, we present the characteristics of VCSELs and photodiodes used in current generation 28 Gb/s links and present several methods to extend link distances using more advanced data encoding schemes. Finally, we will present results on wavelength division multiplexing on multimode optical fiber that demonstrate 40 Gb/s Ethernet connections up to 300 m on duplex OM3 optical fiber, and present results on fiber optimized for modal bandwidth in the 850 to 980 nm range.

218 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
26 Jun 2015-Science
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that optical carrier stability plays a critical role in canceling Kerr-induced distortions and that nonlinear wave interaction in silica can be substantially reverted if optical carriers possess a sufficient degree of mutual coherence, indicating that fiber information capacity can be notably increased over previous estimates.
Abstract: Nonlinear optical response of silica imposes a fundamental limit on the information transfer capacity in optical fibers. Communication beyond this limit requires higher signal power and suppression of nonlinear distortions to prevent irreversible information loss. The nonlinear interaction in silica is a deterministic phenomenon that can, in principle, be completely reversed. However, attempts to remove the effects of nonlinear propagation have led to only modest improvements, and the precise physical mechanism preventing nonlinear cancellation remains unknown. We demonstrate that optical carrier stability plays a critical role in canceling Kerr-induced distortions and that nonlinear wave interaction in silica can be substantially reverted if optical carriers possess a sufficient degree of mutual coherence. These measurements indicate that fiber information capacity can be notably increased over previous estimates.

186 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A low-loss suspended core As(38)Se(62) fiber with core diameter of 4.5 μm and a zero-dispersion wavelength of 3.5μm was used for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation and was in good correspondence with the calculated dispersion.
Abstract: A low-loss suspended core As(38)Se(62) fiber with core diameter of 4.5 μm and a zero-dispersion wavelength of 3.5 μm was used for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation. The dispersion of the fiber was measured from 2.9 to 4.2 μm and was in good correspondence with the calculated dispersion. An optical parametric amplifier delivering 320 fs pulses with a peak power of 14.8 kW at a repetition rate of 21 MHz was used to pump 18 cm of suspended core fiber at different wavelengths from 3.3 to 4.7 μm. By pumping at 4.4 μm with a peak power of 5.2 kW coupled to the fiber a supercontinuum spanning from 1.7 to 7.5 μm with an average output power of 15.6 mW and an average power >5.0 μm of 4.7 mW was obtained.

184 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
20 Jul 2015
TL;DR: In this article, the first femtosecond fiber laser operating near 3μm was reported, based on nonlinear polarization evolution in an Er3+-doped fluoride glass fiber with an estimated peak power of 3.5kW.
Abstract: Ultrafast fiber lasers operating in the near-infrared have revolutionized laser science by enabling numerous breakthroughs in both fundamental science and industrial applications. In this Letter, we extend the spectral coverage of these laser sources to the mid-infrared by reporting the first femtosecond fiber laser operating near 3 μm. This passively mode-locked fiber ring laser based on nonlinear polarization evolution in an Er3+-doped fluoride glass fiber generates 207 fs pulses at 2.8 μm with an estimated peak power of 3.5 kW. This demonstration paves the way for further developments of promising applications in the molecular fingerprint region such as frequency comb spectroscopy.

183 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A subwavelength refractive index engineered nanostructure is demonstrated to mitigate loss and wavelength resonances by suppressing diffraction effects, enabling a coupling efficiency over 92% (0.32 dB) and polarization independent operation for a broad spectral range exceeding 100 nm.
Abstract: Coupling of light to and from integrated optical circuits has been recognized as a major practical challenge since the early years of photonics. The coupling is particularly difficult for high index contrast waveguides such as silicon-on-insulator, since the cross-sectional area of silicon wire waveguides is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than that of a standard single-mode fiber. Here, we experimentally demonstrate unprecedented control over the light coupling between the optical fiber and silicon chip by constructing the nanophotonic coupler with ultra-high coupling efficiency simultaneously for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations. We specifically demonstrate a subwavelength refractive index engineered nanostructure to mitigate loss and wavelength resonances by suppressing diffraction effects, enabling a coupling efficiency over 92% (0.32 dB) and polarization independent operation for a broad spectral range exceeding 100 nm.

178 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a novel fiber optic temperature sensor has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated with ~9 times sensitivity enhancement by using two cascaded Sagnac interferometers, which consist of the same type of polarization maintaining fibers with slightly different lengths.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This power scaling demonstration of a fiber laser operating near the vibrational resonance of water is likely to have a significant impact on several biomedical applications.
Abstract: We report the demonstration of a 2938 nm erbium-doped fluoride glass fiber laser delivering a record output power of 30.5 W in continuous wave operation. The passively cooled all-fiber laser cavity based on intracore fiber Bragg gratings has an overall laser efficiency of 16% as a function of the launched pump power at 980 nm and a single-mode output beam quality of M2<1.2. This power scaling demonstration of a fiber laser operating near the vibrational resonance of water is likely to have a significant impact on several biomedical applications.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A biocompatible step-index optical fiber made of poly(ethylene glycol) and alginate hydrogels is demonstrated that exhibits excellent light-guiding efficiency in biological tissues.
Abstract: A biocompatible step-index optical fiber made of poly(ethylene glycol) and alginate hydrogels is demonstrated The fabricated fiber exhibits excellent light-guiding efficiency in biological tissues Moreover, the core of hydrogel fibers can be easily doped with functional molecules and nanoparticles for localized light emission, sensing, and therapy

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review paper introduces two major applications of the transmission matrix: enhancing light energy delivery and imaging through scattering media and solved matrix inversion problem to reconstruct an object image from the distorted image by the scattering media.
Abstract: A conventional lens has well-defined transfer function with which we can form an image of a target object. On the contrary, scattering media such as biological tissues, multimode optical fibers and layers of disordered nanoparticles have highly complex transfer function, which makes them impractical for the general imaging purpose. In recent studies, we presented a method of experimentally recording the transmission matrix of such media, which is a measure of the transfer function. In this review paper, we introduce two major applications of the transmission matrix: enhancing light energy delivery and imaging through scattering media. For the former, we identified the eigenchannels of the transmission matrix with large eigenvalues and then coupled light to those channels in order to enhance light energy delivery through the media. For the latter, we solved matrix inversion problem to reconstruct an object image from the distorted image by the scattering media. We showed the enlargement of the numerical aperture of imaging systems with the use of scattering media and demonstrated endoscopic imaging through a single multimode optical fiber working in both reflectance and fluorescence modes. Our approach will pave the way of using scattering media as unique optical elements for various biophotonics applications.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work provides the first evidence for solitons involving more than a few modes, and for spatiotemporal multimode soliton fission and Raman shifting, in multimode opticalsolitons with up to roughly 10 spatial modes.
Abstract: As optical fiber communications and fiber lasers approach fundamental limits there is considerable interest in multimode fibers. In nonlinear science, they represent an exciting environment for complex nonlinear waves. As in single-mode fiber, solitons may be particularly important. Multimode solitons consist of synchronized, non-dispersive pulses in multiple spatial modes, which interact via the Kerr nonlinearity of the fiber. They are expected to exhibit novel spatiotemporal characteristics, dynamics and, like single-mode solitons, may provide a convenient intuitive tool for understanding more complex nonlinear phenomena in multimode fibers. Here we explore experimentally and numerically basic properties and spatiotemporal behaviors of these solitons: their formation, fission, and Raman dynamics.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A fiber-optic sensor based on a silicon Fabry-Pérot cavity, fabricated by attaching a silicon pillar on the tip of a single-mode fiber, for high-resolution and high-speed temperature measurement, suggesting a maximum frequency of ~2 kHz can be reached to address the needs for highly dynamic environmental variations such as those found in the ocean.
Abstract: We report a fiber-optic sensor based on a silicon Fabry-Perot cavity, fabricated by attaching a silicon pillar on the tip of a single-mode fiber, for high-resolution and high-speed temperature measurement. The large thermo-optic coefficient and thermal expansion coefficient of the silicon material give rise to an experimental sensitivity of 84.6 pm/°C. The excellent transparency and large refractive index of silicon over the infrared wavelength range result in a visibility of 33 dB for the reflection spectrum. A novel average wavelength tracking method has been proposed and demonstrated for sensor demodulation with improved signal-to-noise ratio, which leads to a temperature resolution of 6 × 10−4 °C. Due to the high thermal diffusivity of silicon, a response time as short as 0.51 ms for a sensor with an 80-µm-diameter and 200-µm-long silicon pillar has been experimentally achieved, suggesting a maximum frequency of ~2 kHz can be reached, to address the needs for highly dynamic environmental variations such as those found in the ocean.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: By pumping an 11-cm-long step-index chalcogenide fiber with ∼330 fs pulses at 4.0 μm from an optical parametric amplifier, mid-infrared supercontinuum generation spanning from ∼1.8 to ∼10‬μm within a dynamic range of ±15‬‬dB has been demonstrated at a relatively low power threshold of ∼3000‬W.
Abstract: By pumping an 11-cm-long step-index chalcogenide fiber with ∼330 fs pulses at 4.0 μm from an optical parametric amplifier, mid-infrared supercontinuum generation spanning from ∼1.8 to ∼10 μm within a dynamic range of ±15 dB has been demonstrated at a relatively low power threshold of ∼3000 W.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: With the use of multi-level amplitude modulation formats and digital-signal-processing, the modulator is shown to operate below a hard-decision forward error-correction threshold of 3.8×10-3 at bitrates up to 112 Gbps over 2 km of single mode optical fiber using PAM-4, and over 5 km of optical fiber with PAM -8.
Abstract: The design and characterization of a slow-wave series push-pull traveling wave silicon photonic modulator is presented. At 2 V and 4 V reverse bias, the measured −3 dB electro-optic bandwidth of the modulator with an active length of 4 mm are 38 GHz and 41 GHz, respectively. Open eye diagrams are observed up to bitrates of 60 Gbps without any form of signal processing, and up to 70 Gbps with passive signal processing to compensate for the test equipment. With the use of multi-level amplitude modulation formats and digital-signal-processing, the modulator is shown to operate below a hard-decision forward error-correction threshold of 3.8×10−3 at bitrates up to 112 Gbps over 2 km of single mode optical fiber using PAM-4, and over 5 km of optical fiber with PAM-8. Energy consumed solely by the modulator is also estimated for different modulation cases.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an optical fiber Michelson interferometer (MI)-based sensor was proposed to overcome the cross-sensitivity problem between surrounding RI and temperature, which achieved a high resolution of 4.9 × 10−6 RIU and sensitivity of −202.46 dB/RIU.
Abstract: a b s t r a c t We demonstrated a refractive index (RI) sensor based on optical fiber Michelson interferometer (MI), which was fabricated by splicing a section of thin core fiber (TCF) to a standard single mode fiber with a core offset. Experimentally, such a MI-based RI sensor with a core offset of 8 m and a TCF length of 3 mm exhibits a high resolution of 4.9 × 10−6 RIU and sensitivity of −202.46 dB/RIU, which is two or three times higher than that of intensity-modulated RI sensors reported previously. In contrast, our MIbased RI sensor is insensitive to temperature, thus overcoming the cross-sensitivity problem between surrounding RI and temperature. Moreover, intensity modulation, rather than wavelength modulation, was used in the proposed MI-based RI sensor, and the sensor also has the advantages of compact size (8 mm), simple structure, easy fabrication, and good repeatability. © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is revealed that the TIs are absolutely a class of promising and reliable SAs for pulse generation at 3-μm mid-infrared waveband.
Abstract: We report an 1150-nm diode-pump passively Q-switched Ho3+-doped ZBLAN fiber laser using topological insulator (TI): Bi2Te3 as the saturable absorber (SA). The TI: Bi2Te3 prepared using the cost-effective hydrothermal intercalation/exfoliation method was dropped onto a CaF2 substrate to fabricate the free-space SA component. It has a low saturable peak intensity of 2.12 MW/cm2 and a high modulation depth of 51.3% measured at 2 μm. Inserting this component into a linear-cavity Ho3+-doped ZBLAN fiber laser, stable Q-switched pulses at 2979.9 nm were obtained with the repetition rate of 81.96 kHz and pulse duration of 1.37 μs. The achieved maximum output power and pulse energy were 327.4 mW at a slope efficiency of 11.6% and 3.99 μJ, respectively, only limited by the available pump power. Our work reveals that the TIs are absolutely a class of promising and reliable SAs for pulse generation at 3-μm mid-infrared waveband.

Journal ArticleDOI
23 Nov 2015-Analyst
TL;DR: This review presents a broad overview of lab-on-fiber biosensors, with particular reference to lab- on-tip platforms, where the labs are integrated on the optical fiber facet and highlights some of the further development opportunities, including lab-in-a-needle technology, which could have a direct and disruptive impact in localized cancer treatment applications.
Abstract: The integration of microfluidics and photonic biosensors has allowed achievement of several laboratory functions in a single chip, leading to the development of photonic lab-on-a-chip technology. Although a lot of progress has been made to implement such sensors in small and easy-to-use systems, many applications such as point-of-care diagnostics and in vivo biosensing still require a sensor probe able to perform measurements at precise locations that are often hard to reach. The intrinsic property of optical fibers to conduct light to a remote location makes them an ideal platform to meet this demand. The motivation to combine the good performance of photonic biosensors on chips with the unique advantages of optical fibers has thus led to the development of the so-called lab-on-fiber technology. This emerging technology envisages the integration of functionalized materials on micro- and nano-scales (i.e. the labs) with optical fibers to realize miniaturized and advanced all-in-fiber probes, especially useful for (but not limited to) label-free chemical and biological applications. This review presents a broad overview of lab-on-fiber biosensors, with particular reference to lab-on-tip platforms, where the labs are integrated on the optical fiber facet. Light-matter interaction on the fiber tip is achieved through the integration of thin layers of nanoparticles or nanostructures supporting resonant modes, both plasmonic and photonic, highly sensitive to local modifications of the surrounding environment. According to the physical principle that is exploited, different configurations - such as localized plasmon resonance probes, surface enhanced Raman scattering probes and photonic probes - are classified, while various applications are presented in context throughout. For each device, the surface chemistry and the related functionalization protocols are reviewed. Moreover, the implementation strategies and fabrication processes, either based on bottom-up or top-down approaches, are discussed. In conclusion we highlight some of the further development opportunities, including lab-in-a-needle technology, which could have a direct and disruptive impact in localized cancer treatment applications.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A compact, low loss, and highly sensitive optical fiber curvature sensor is presented, which allows for using either visibility or spectral shift for sensor interrogation when the device is bent.
Abstract: A compact, low loss, and highly sensitive optical fiber curvature sensor is presented. The device consists of a few-millimeter-long piece of seven-core fiber spliced between two single-mode fibers. When the optical fiber device is kept straight, a pronounced interference pattern appears in the transmission spectrum. However, when the device is bent, a spectral shift of the interference pattern is produced, and the visibility of the interference notches changes. This allows for using either visibility or spectral shift for sensor interrogation. The dynamic range of the device can be tailored through the proper selection of the length of the seven-core fiber. The effects of temperature and refractive index of the external medium on the response of the curvature sensor are also discussed. Linear sensitivity of about 3000 nm/mm−1 for bending was observed experimentally.

Journal ArticleDOI
30 Sep 2015-Sensors
TL;DR: This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS) and analytical results reached with fiber- Optic chemical and biological sensors.
Abstract: This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 μm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A novel and highly sensitive liquid level sensor based on a polymer optical fiber Bragg grating (POFBG) is experimentally demonstrated and a novel multi-sensor arrangement proposed which has the potential to provide level readings independent of temperature and the liquid density is proposed.
Abstract: A novel and highly sensitive liquid level sensor based on a polymer optical fiber Bragg grating (POFBG) is experimentally demonstrated. Two different configurations are studied and both configurations show the potential to interrogate liquid level by measuring the strain induced in a POFBG embedded in a silicone rubber diaphragm, which deforms due to hydrostatic pressure variations. The sensor exhibits a highly linear response over the sensing range and a good repeatability. For comparison, a similar sensor using a FBG inscribed in silica fiber is fabricated, which displays a sensitivity that is a factor of 5 smaller than the POFBG. The temperature sensitivity is studied and a novel multi-sensor arrangement proposed which has the potential to provide level readings independent of temperature and the liquid density.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the first inscription of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP)-perfluorinated polymer optical fibers (POFs) was reported.
Abstract: We report on the first inscription of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP)-perfluorinated polymer optical fibers (POFs). We have used a direct write method with a femtosecond laser operating in the visible. The FBGs have a typical reflectivity of 70%, a bandwidth of 0.25 nm, a 3-mm length, and an index change of $\sim 10^{-4}$ . The FBGs operate in the $C$ -band, where CYTOP offers key advantages over polymethyl methacrylate optical fibers, displaying significantly lower optical loss in the important near-infrared (NIR) optical communications window. In addition, we note that CYTOP has a far lower affinity for water absorption and a core-mode refractive index that coincides with the aqueous index regime. These properties offer several unique opportunities for POF sensing at NIR wavelengths, such as compatibility with existing optical networks, the potential for POF sensor multiplexing and suitability for biosensing. We demonstrate compatibility with a commercial Bragg grating demodulator.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor is presented, in which a sheet of graphene acting as a sensing layer is coated around the gold film.
Abstract: In this paper, a fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor is presented, in which a sheet of graphene acting as a sensing layer is coated around the gold film. A theoretical study of the proposed fiber-optic biosensor has been carried out by applying four-layer modal, which shows that by incorporating a graphene sensing layer, the sensitivity of the proposed SPR fiber biosensor can be greatly enhanced than the conventional gold film SPR fiber sensors. The relationship between resonance wavelengths and sensitivity of the proposed graphene sensing layer-based SPR fiber biosensor with the number of sensing layer has also been studied.

Journal ArticleDOI
30 Jun 2015-Sensors
TL;DR: Fiber Bragg gratings have been analyzed in detail, because they have proved to constitute the most promising technology in this field, and two different alternatives for strain measurements are also described.
Abstract: Aircraft structures require periodic and scheduled inspection and maintenance operations due to their special operating conditions and the principles of design employed to develop them. Therefore, structural health monitoring has a great potential to reduce the costs related to these operations. Optical fiber sensors applied to the monitoring of aircraft structures provide some advantages over traditional sensors. Several practical applications for structures and engines we have been working on are reported in this article. Fiber Bragg gratings have been analyzed in detail, because they have proved to constitute the most promising technology in this field, and two different alternatives for strain measurements are also described. With regard to engine condition evaluation, we present some results obtained with a reflected intensity-modulated optical fiber sensor for tip clearance and tip timing measurements in a turbine assembled in a wind tunnel.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Low-loss all-fiber photonic lantern (PL) mode multiplexers capable of selectively exciting the first six fiber modes of a multimode fiber and the use of graded index fibers in a PL eases the length requirements of the adiabatic tapered transition and could enable scaling to large numbers are demonstrated.
Abstract: Low-loss all-fiber photonic lantern (PL) mode multiplexers (MUXs) capable of selectively exciting the first six fiber modes of a multimode fiber (LP01, LP11a, LP11b, LP21a, LP21b, and LP02) are demonstrated. Fabrication of the spatial mode multiplexers was successfully achieved employing a combination of either six step or six graded index fibers of four different core sizes. Insertion losses of 0.2-0.3 dB and mode purities above 9 dB are achieved. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the use of graded index fibers in a PL eases the length requirements of the adiabatic tapered transition and could enable scaling to large numbers.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A combined imaging technique where confocal images are acquired through a multimode fiber by digitally engineering the excitation wavefront and then applying a virtual digital pinhole on the collected signal to acquire images through the fiber with significantly increased contrast.
Abstract: Acquiring high-contrast optical images deep inside biological tissues is still a challenging problem. Confocal microscopy is an important tool for biomedical imaging since it improves image quality by rejecting background signals. However, it suffers from low sensitivity in deep tissues due to light scattering. Recently, multimode fibers have provided a new paradigm for minimally invasive endoscopic imaging by controlling light propagation through them. Here we introduce a combined imaging technique where confocal images are acquired through a multimode fiber. We achieve this by digitally engineering the excitation wavefront and then applying a virtual digital pinhole on the collected signal. In this way, we are able to acquire images through the fiber with significantly increased contrast. With a fiber of numerical aperture 0.22, we achieve a lateral resolution of 1.5µm, and an axial resolution of 12.7µm. The point-scanning rate is currently limited by our spatial light modulator (20Hz).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, three kinds of fiber optic sensors employing surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and lossy mode resonance (LMR) have been fabricated over unclad core of the fiber using zinc oxide (ZnO).
Abstract: Fabrication and characterization of fiber optic sensors employing surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and lossy mode resonance (LMR) for the detection of hydrogen sulfide gas have been carried out. Three kinds of probes, two utilizing LMR technique and the one utilizing SPR technique, have been fabricated over unclad core of the fiber using zinc oxide (ZnO). The first LMR probe, named as LMR 1, has been fabricated by coating ZnO thin film with an over layer of ZnO nanoparticles while the second LMR probe, named as LMR 2, has a layer of ZnO nanoparticles over the unclad core of the fiber. The third probe, named as SPR probe, has been fabricated by coating silver film and a thin over layer of ZnO over unclad core of the fiber. The variation of peak absorbance/resonance wavelength with the concentration of the hydrogen sulfide gas has been used to calibrate all the three sensors having different platforms. The results show the maximum sensitivity to H 2 S gas for LMR 1 probe while the minimum for the SPR probe. In addition, the LMR 1 probe is highly selective to hydrogen sulfide gas in comparison to other two probes. This has been confirmed by performing experiments using different gases. The LMR 1 sensor probe has number of advantages, in addition to high sensitivity and selectivity, such as low cost, miniaturized probe, fast response, reusability of the probe, capability of online monitoring and remote sensing.