We propose and demonstrate a tunable multi-wavelength Tm-doped mode-locked fiber laser. The mode-locked operation is enabled by nonlinear polarization evolution technique. The tunable operation and multi-wavelength laser emission is achieved by periodical cavity transmission modulation. The tunable range of dual-wavelength mode-locking is 1864 to 1916 nm and tri-wavelength mode-locking is 1863 to 1912 nm, respectively, which is the widest in multi-wavelength Tm-doped mode-locked fiber laser to the best of our knowledge. The system has compact structure and both the multi-wavelength laser emission and tunable operation can be realized by controlling the polarization in the fiber ring cavity.
KEYWORDS: Scattering, Monte Carlo methods, Finite element methods, Photons, Light scattering, Diffusion, Random lasers, Mid-IR, Statistical analysis, Terahertz radiation
Modal properties of disordered optical structures, including a 1D-like multilayer structure and a 2D planar slab, have been numerically simulated in the Mid-IR region. The amount of scattering and the disorder level have been varied. A Finite Element Method solver has been used to show the modal properties of these structures, highlighting the correlation between the spectral behavior and the amount of disorder. The quality factor has also been investigated. A statistical parameter, based on the definition of photons travel distance, has been proposed to give a measure of the disorder according to the modal properties. With the help of a Monte Carlo based software this parameter has been investigated to verify its suitability.
Gold grating patterned on the end facet of an optical fiber is able to excite whispering gallery mode (WGM) in a silica microsphere. With a direct pathway of the metal reflection, the coupled WGM is able to superimpose and create an asymmetric Fano resonance. Since multiple resonances are present – the WGM, grating reflection, and a weak Fabry-Perot resonance along the diameter of the sphere – it is difficult to evaluate the power efficiency directly from the measured spectrum. Using temporal coupled-mode theory, a general model is constructed for the end-fire coupling from a grating to a WGM resonator.
Two-photon fluorescence (TPE) and second harmonic generation (SHG) can been used to extract biological information
from tissues at the molecular level, which is blind to traditional microscopes. Through these two image contrast
mechanisms, a nonlinear laser scanning endoscope (NLSE) is able to image tissue cells and the extra cellular matrix
(ECM) through a special fiber and miniaturized scanner without the requirement of poisonous chemical staining.
Therefore, NLSE reserves high potential for in-vivo pathological study and disease diagnosis. However, the high cost
and bulky size of a NLSE system has become one of the major issues preventing this technology from practical clinical
operation. In this paper, we report a fiber laser based multi-modality NLSE system with compact size and low cost, ideal
for in-vivo applications in clinical environments. The demonstration of the developed NLSE nonlinear imaging
capability on different bio-structures in liver, retina and skin are also presented.
We demonstrate the first in-fiber light-induced bioactive biotin-functionalization via photobleaching fluorophore-conjugated biotin. Photobleaching the fluorophores generated free radicals that bind to the albumin-passivated inner surface of pure silica photonic crystal fiber. The subsequent attachment of dye-conjugated streptavidin to the bound biotin qualified the photo-immobilization process and demonstrated a potential for the construction of in-fiber macromolecular assemblies or multiplexes. Compared with other in-fiber bioactive coating methods, the proposed light-induced technique requires only a low-power light source, without the need for additional preactivation steps or toxic chemical reagents. This method, hence, enables a simple and compact implementation for potential biomedical applications.
Multi-layered liposomes, comprising a concentric series of lipid bilayers – separated at fixed distances and compartmentalizing aqueous solutions of alternating refractive indices – are proposed as optical Bragg resonators.
Seminal work focuses on the feasibility of successive encapsulations coupled with size-control via extrusion. Synthesis
criteria for realization of these liposomes were subsequently discussed based on experimental observations. Numerical
studies of the proposed structure showed discernible band gaps, qualifying their potential application in biological lasing.
A lab-in-fiber platform, comprising a photonic crystal fiber component for light-sample interaction, was experimentally demonstrated to be effective as a sensor and micro-reactor. Specifically, it enabled the discrimination between free and liposome-encapsulated fluorophores as well as allowed for the excitation of in-fiber plasmonic photothermal effects, by alternating between different fiber-coupled inputs. The significant increase in fluorescence emissions upon release of fluorophores, encapsulated within liposomes at self-quenching concentrations, was perceived as a shoulder in the device’s spectral output that otherwise only comprises the input excitation. Markedly, the observed shoulder was only discernible when the photonic crystal fiber was placed in a bent orientation. This was explained to be associated with the bending-induced refractive index profile changes in the fiber cross section that led to increased amounts of evanescent fields for light-sample interactions. Results highlighted the viability of the lab-in-fiber platform as an alternative to current lab-on-a-chip devices.
A fiber profilometer is developed to measure hard-to-access areas. This system utilizes low coherence light interferometry technique to detect profiles of internal surfaces of samples. A differentiation method is employed to enhance vertical resolutions of imaging results. An auto-focusing scheme is proposed to obtain an optimized lateral resolution. The performance of the profilometer system is demonstrated by experimental studies.
We present a theoretical study on an index-asymmetric double-electrode waveguide structure and identify a
long-range surface plasmon polariton (LRSPP) super-mode for index-sensing. We propose to operate the
LRSPP by monitoring its cut-off wavelength which promises ultra-sensitivity. The sensitivity is calculated to be
6.5×104 nm per refractive index unit (RIU), which is one order magnitude higher than most plasmonic sensors
based on spectral interrogation. Additionally, based on computations from the transfer matrix theory, we present
the properties of this LRSPP supermode.
Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs), although a highly effective platform for sensing, encounter difficulties with coupling as
well as infiltration and evacuation. A PCF integrated microfluidic chip has therefore been fabricated to demonstrate
improved coupling for real-time chemical sensing. Furthermore, an extremely sensitive dip-shifting analysis was
employed for the detection regime. Results eventually demonstrated its notable sensitivity and a refractive index
resolution of 10-7 RIU, rendering it suitable for utilization in highly sensitive sensing applications.
In this paper, we report a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) using a novel nanostructure core fiber (NCF). The NCF is an all-solid
silica based structure with a 2D periodic lattice of high index rods in the core. The FBG is written by a phase mask
technique in an UV laser system. The temperature and strain sensitivities of the grating device have been obtained
experimentally.
The fabrication of a tunable all-solid photonic bandgap fiber coupler based on side-polishing technique is reported.
The all-solid photonic bandgap fiber is set into a silica block and then polished to access the evanescent field. The
photonic bandgap fiber coupler was assembled by mating two identical half-blocks with each other. By
longitudinally adjusting the relative position between the mated pair, the tunable coupling ratio as much as 92.5% at
1550 nm is achieved. The investigation of the spectrum properties shows that the coupler has excellent tunability
properties, for which the coupling ratio can be smoothly and continuously tuned.
A simple and straightforward method is applied to experimentally obtain the wavelength dependence of the intercore beat length for two different types of twin-core microstructured polymer optical fiber. The results are compared with numerical calculations using a full-vectorial plane-wave expansion method, which shows good agreement.
Photonic crystal fiber (PCF) has been studied intensively in the past decade owing to its potential in fiber optic communication and sensing applications. Many research interests have been attracted to the long period gratings (LPGs) and LPG based devices in PCFs in recent years. Because of the microstructured air holes, the effective modal index shows strong wavelength dependence, which will result some anomalous properties in such gratings distinguished with conventional fiber. However, the mode coupling characteristics have not been investigated in details and the systematic comparison with the single mode fiber (SMF) based LPGs have not been analyzed yet. Moreover, because of the existence of the air holes in the cladding, we can include different aqueous solutions in such holey structure, such as pure water or sugar solutions. Meanwhile, the refractive index of these inclusions can be easily tuned by changing the temperatures, which will result in an evolution of the cladding modes. So some interesting coupling effects can be expected between the core and cladding modes. In this paper, the evolution of mode coupling with the structure change is discussed firstly. Then the attention is focused to investigate the PCF based mechanical LPGs with aqueous solution inclusions. The shift of resonance wavelength with the solution brix and the temperature is evaluated both theoretically and experimentally. This grating device offers the unique advantages of being tunable, removable, reconfigurable and strain-stable. These properties guarantee it to be utilized as a stable candidate for temperature and refractive index sensing.
We proposed flexible bandwidth control for a two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal coupled-cavity waveguide. The 2D waveguide is designed to operate in single-mode. The bandwidth not only determines the operating frequency range of the waveguide, but also affects the group velocity of the guided modes much. Researches in enlargement and precise controlling of bandwidth are of great importance for waveguide structure design based on photonic crystals. Moreover, to keep the signal pulse shape along a single-mode waveguide, minimized group velocity within a wide bandwidth is required for the design. In our previous studies we have demonstrated controlling the upper and lower cut off frequencies of the guided band both independently and simultaneously. In this work, large bandwidth-tuning for a single-mode guided band with fixed center frequency is realized by changing two configuration parameters, namely defect radius and defect width. Plane wave expansion method is utilized for calculation. The largest bandwidth tuning range up to 50.7% of photonic bandgap (PBG) is achieved for normalized center frequency at 0.377. Furthermore, for different bandwidths, we investigate the relations of group velocities and wave vectors, which are crucial to engineer the group velocity dispersion in the waveguide. Our results demonstrate the possibility of large bandwidth tuning while single-mode operation is maintained, which could be extended to photonic crystal slab waveguide with some modifications. We believe this work will contribute to the design of integrated optical devices based on photonic crystal waveguides, such as multiplexers and de-multiplexers which can make use of the flexible bandwidth control capabilities.
An optical bandpass filter with two ultranarrow transmission bands, based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG), is presented. The wavelength spacing can be easily changed through controlling the separate distance between two introduced π phase shifts. When it is served in a fiber ring laser, the stable dual-wavelength lasing with ultranarrow wavelength spacing is achieved. This novel device will find potential applications in the generation of various high-frequency microwave signals, fiber sensing, etc.
Theoretical and experimental results are reported for a twin-core microstructured polymer fiber. A full-vectorial numerical method based supermode theory is applied in the symmetrical structure to obtain the interference between the even and odd modes. The wavelength dependence of the coupling length is measured, and compared to calculations using a full-vectorial numerical method. Both results show good agreement.
We experimentally demonstrate a temperature-stable multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser source using a high-birefringent photonic crystal fiber (HiBi-PCF) as the birefringent component of the Sagnac loop filter within the laser cavity. Three different high-birefringence (Hi-Bi) fibers are used in the loop filter to compare the temperature stability of the fiber laser systems: polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber (PM-EDF), panda Hi-Bi fiber, and HiBi-PCF. Because of the high birefringence and low temperature sensitivity of the HiBi-PCF, fiber length in the loop is greatly reduced and the temperature stability of the system is dramatically enhanced.
Microstructured optical fiber (MOF) is a new class of optical fiber that has emerged in recent years. It is formed by an array of air holes running along the fiber length. They are fascinating because of various novel properties, including endlessly single-mode operation, scalable dispersion and nonlinearity, and the surprising phenomenon of a short wavelength bend loss edge, etc. These optical characteristics make possible wide-ranging applications in optical communication. In this paper, we investigate the mode coupling characteristics induced by periodic microbending in MOF. Coupling between various modes in normal single mode fiber (SMF) and polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) have already been investigated theoretically as well as experimentally. Periodic microbending created by a corrugated fixture on a SMF is known to induce the mode coupling between a codirectional propagating core (LP01) and cladding mode (LP11). In our experiment, a core-cladding mode coupler was built and tested based on a section of endlessly single mode MOF (fabricated with the stack-and-draw process). The fiber was bended between a pair of identical grooved plates with 250μm periodicity, thus this can be treated as a mechanical-stress-induced long period grating (LPG). The effect of microbending is controlled using stress gauge. The coupling strength is compared between single mode fiber and MOF under the same stress gage condition. The modal coupling coefficient enhancement is observed in MOF because of the complex index distribution.
We have demonstrated the Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF)-based Long Period Grating (LPG) by machanical stress, in which each groove of the microbending will induce a local index change in the fiber via the photoelastic effect and such gratings can be completely erased by removing the pressure from the fiber. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) formed by cascading a pair of PCF-based LPGs has been investigated in details in this paper for the application as an all-PCF filter. Because of the microstructured air holes, the effective index shows strong wavelength dependence, which will result some different properties distinguished with conventional optical fiber and we can expect some novel characteristics of this grating device. However, in the previous work, sensitive interference spectrum was only observed when stripping off the acrylate coating, which make the fiber device very fragile. And the coupling characteristics have not been analyzed in details yet. Cascaded LPGs were demonstrated to form a MZI, where multiple resonances were eaisly obtained without stripping the acrylate fiber coating by applying a much larger stress. The cascaded PCF-based LPGs have performed anomalous grating characteristics. This grating device offers the unique advantages of being tunable, erasable, reconfigurable and good interfering efficiency makes it promising applications in WDM communication.
Improved transmission line laser model has been developed to study the polarization characteristics by incorporating into spin-flip model (SFM). Theoretical studies on the influence of the Bragg reflectivity on the polarization switching of VCSEL have been discussed in this paper. We have demonstrated that reflectivity of Bragg reflectors can be optimized to provide suitable hysteresis loops width which indicates the tolerance of the input power.
Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCFs) have recently attracted many attentions from research groups worldwide and many novel applications have been developed. We find that this kind of special fiber also enables various new possibilities for the construction of novel optical sensors that are highly compact and functional. In this paper, a novel stress and strain sensor based on triple-core PCF is proposed. The triple identical solid cores are triangularly arranged to detect the stress from different transverse directions as well as the strain in the longitudinal direction. Fiber cross-section structure variation due to stress is simulated in a PCF structure. Different mode distributions caused from stress in the triple-core structure is systematically investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge. Meanwhile, output mode distribution sensitively changes with fiber length variation caused by strain. Relationship between sensitivity and fiber geometrical structure (fiber length, hole diameter, hole to hole center pitch distance) are explored and analyzed. We conclude that the PCF-based stress sensor exhibits many functionality and advantages such as totally single-mode operation, short length, strong sensitivity of strain, and good sensitivity of stress from all directions in the fiber cross-section. Furthermore, three identical endlessly single mode PCFs will be fused together and tapered to construct a triple-core structure. Various parameters are measured and tested upon this tapered trip-core PCF and the results will be published soon.
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