Low power consumption 4-channel variable optical attenuator array based on planar lightwave circuit technique

The power consumption of a variable optical attenuator（VOA） array based on a silica planar lightwave circuit was investigated. The thermal field profile of the device was optimized using the finite-element analysis. The simulation results showed that the power consumption reduces as the depth of the heat-insulating grooves is deeper, the up-cladding is thinner,the down-cladding is thicker, and the width of the cladding ridge is narrower. The materials component and thickness of the electrodes were also optimized to guarantee the driving voltage under 5 V. The power consumption was successfully reduced to as low as 155 mW at an attenuation of 30 dB in the experiment.

Four-stage cascaded variable optical attenuator with large attenuation range for quantum key distribution

A four-stage cascaded variable optical attenuator(VOA)with a large attenuation range is presented.The VOA is based on a Mach–Zehnder interferometer(MZI)and fabricated in a silica-based planar lightwave circuit(PLC)platform.The thermo-optic effect is used to achieve intensity modulation.The measured maximum attenuation of the four-stage cascaded VOA is 88.38 d B.The chip is also tested in a quantum key distribution(QKD)system to generate signal and decoy states.The mean photon number after attenuation of the four-stage cascaded VOA is less than 0.1,which can meet the requirement of QKD.

The 650-nm variable optical attenuator based on polymer/silica hybrid waveguide

Visible light variable optical attenuators（VOA） are essential devices in the application of channel power regulation and equalization in wavelength-division multiplexing cross-connect nodes in plastic optical fiber（POF） transmission systems.In this paper, a polymer/silica hybrid waveguide thermo–optic attenuator based on multimode interference（MMI） coupler is designed and fabricated to operate at 650 nm. The single-mode transmission condition, MMI coupler, and transition taper dimensions are optimized through the beam propagation method. Thermal analysis based on material properties provides the optimized heater placement angle. The fabricated VOA presents an attenuation of 26.5 dB with a 21-mW electrical input power at 650 nm. The rise time and fall time are 51.99 and 192 μs, respectively. The time–stability measurement results prove its working reliability.

A 1×4 Polymeric Digital Optical Switch Based on the Thermo-Optic Effect

We present a 1 × 4 Y-branch digital optical switch in which S-bend variable optical attenuators are integrated. The S-bend waveguides, which are always introduced to connect the switch and the standard fiber array, are made use of and designed as variable optical attenuators. A compact device with low crosstalk and larger branching-angle is obtained. The device is fabricated on the thermo-optic polymer materials,and the performance of the device is measured. With an applied driving power of less than 200mW, the device has a low crosstalk of less than - 35dB at a wavelength of 1.55 μm.

16-channel dual-tuning wavelength division multiplexer/demultiplexer

A 16-channel dual tuning wavelength division multiplexer/demultiplexer based on silicon on insulator platform is demonstrated, which is both peak wavelength tunable and output optical power tunable. The wavelength division multiplexer/demultiplexer consists of an arrayed waveguide grating for wavelength division multiplexing/demultiplexing, a heater for peak wavelength tuning and a variable optical attenuator based on p–i–n carrier-injection structure for optical power tuning. The experimental results show that the insertion loss on chip of the device is 3.7 dB–5.7 dB and the crosstalk is 7.5 dB–9 dB. For the tunability of the peak wavelength, 1.058-nm wavelength tunability is achieved with 271.2-mW power consumption, and the average modulation efficiency is 3.9244 nm/W; for the tunability of the optical power, the optical power equalization is achieved in all 16 channels, 20-dB attenuation is achieved with 144.07-mW power consumption,and the raise/fall time of VOA is 35 ns/42 ns.

Correlated Radio-Optical Variations on Intraday Timescales

Correlated radio-optical variations on intraday timescales have been observed （e.g. in BLO 0716＋714） and such radio intraday variability is suggested to have an intrinsic origin. Recently, multi-wavelength observations, simultaneous at radio, mm-submm, optical and hard X-rays, of 0716＋714, show that during a period of intraday/interday variations at radio and mm wavelengths, the apparent brightness temperature of the source exceeded the Compton-limit （-10^12 K） by 2-4 orders of magnitude, but no Compton catastrophe （or no high luminosity of inverse-Compton radiation） was detected. It is also found that the intraday/interday variations at mm-submm wavelengths are consistent with the evolutionary behavior of a standard synchrotron source and for the intraday/interday variations at centimeter wavelengths opacity effects can play a significant role, which is consistent with the interpretation suggested previously by Qian et al. Thus the apparent high brightness temperatures may probably be explained in terms of Doppler boosting effects due to bulk relativistic motion of the source. We will argue a scenario to simulate the correlations between the radio and optical variations on intraday timescales observed in BLO 0716＋714 in terms of a relativistic shock propagating through a jet with a dual structure.

Variable optical attenuators with ability to independently control two orthogonal linearly polarized light amplitudes

New techniques for controlling the amplitudes of two orthogonal linearly polarized light are presented. One is based on adjusting the DC voltage into a Mach–Zehnder modulator（MZM） to alter the amplitude of the light traveling on the slow axis of a fiber into the modulator with little changes in the fast-axis light amplitude.Another is based on adjusting the input DC voltages of a dual-polarization MZM operating in the reverse direction, which enables independent control of the two input orthogonal linearly polarized light amplitudes.Experimental results demonstrate that more than 30 dB difference in slow-and fast-axis light power can be obtained by controlling an MZM input DC voltage, and over 24 dB independent power adjustment for light traveling on the slow and fast axes into a dual-polarization MZM.

Wideband, 50 dB Attenuation Range Liquid Crystal Based Variable Optical Attenuator

A compact variable optical attenuator, covering C and L bands with over 50 dB attenuation range, is realized using a single liquid crystal cell with a tilted fused silica coating compensating the cell's small residual birefringence.

An Improved MAC Scheme of HORNET Based on Node Structure with Variable Optical Buffer

An improved unslotted CSMA/CA MAC scheme of HORNET based on the node structure with variable optical buffer is reported. It can be used for transmitting high effectively all variable IP packets in the WDM network.

NEAR INFRARED ELECTROCHROMIC VARIABLE OPTICAL ATTENUATOR FABRICATED BY LAYER-BY-LAYER ASSEMBLY

An eleetrochromic variable optical attenuator （ECVOA） was fabricated by layer-by-layer （LBL） assembly of disodium N,N-bis（p-sulfonatophenyl）naphthalenedicarboximide （Naph-SO3Na） and common cationic polymer poly（diallyldimethylammonium） chloride （PDDA）. The UV-Vis absorption spectra of the multilayer films revealed that approximately an equal amount of Naph-SO3Na was assembled in each deposition cycle. Upon one-electron reduction, multilayer films exhibited intense absorption around 452 nm and also a broad absorption band from 1200 nm to 1900 nm. Owing to the improved ionic conductivity, the optical attenuation at 1550 nm of the films showed rapid response time and reached 1.3 dB/μm within 5 s. These results indicate that layer-by-layer assembly could be an effective method for the preparation of ECVOA operating in near infrared region.

Wavefront dislocations of Gaussian beams nesting optical vortices in a turbulent atmosphere

A phase singularity of the light field created by interference of two Gaussian singular beams which propagate in a weak and near ground turbulent atmosphere is analyzed by the Rytov approximation and the short-term averaging method of the dislocation-position. We demonstrate that an edge or circular dislocation may be formed by both parallel and coaxial or noncoaxial collimated beams with different or equal beam-width interference. The edge or circular short-term wavefront dislocation of super position field depend on the atmospheric turbulence strength, beam propagation distance, amplitude ratio, dislocation of nesting vortices, and beam-width or beam-width ratio of the individual beams.

Close-range optical measurement of aircraft's 3D attitude and accuracy evaluation

A new screen-spot imaging method based on optical measurement is proposed, which is applicable to the close-range measurement of aircraft＇s three-dimensional （3D） attitude parameters. Laser tracker is used to finish the global calibrations of the high-speed cameras and the fixed screens on test site, as well as to establish media-coordinate-frames among various coordinate systems. The laser cooperation object mounted on the aircraft surface projects laser beams on the screens and the high-speed cameras synchronously record the light-spots＇ position changing with aircraft attitude. The recorded image sequences are used to compute the aircraft attitude parameters. Based on the matrix analysis, the error sources of the measurement accuracy are analyzed, and the maximum relative error of this mathematical model is estimated. The experimental result shows that this method effectively makes the change of aircraft position distinguishable, and the error of this method is no more than 3′ while the rotation angles of three axes are within a certain range.

Multichannel fiber optic Fabry-Perot nonscanning correlation demodulator

A multichannel fiber-optic Fabry-Perot （F-P） demodulator based on nonscanning correlation demodula- tion is proposed. The demodulator principle is analyzed, and the prototype of nonscanning correlation demodulation fiber-optic F-P demodulator is made and tested. The measurement range of the prototype is from 10 to 40 μm, the demodulation resolution is 8 nm, and its stability is 7 nm. This method provides a feasible solution, which guarantees the practicability of the fiber-optic F-P sensor network.

Al-digital demodulation system of interferometric fiber optic sensors using an improved PGC algorithm based on fundamental frequency mixing

We present an all-digital demodulation system of interferometric fiber optic sensor based on an improved arctangent-differential-self-multiplying(arctan-DSM)algorithm.The total harmonic distortion(THD)and the light intensity disturbance(LID)are also suppressed,the same as those in the traditional arctan-DSM algorithm.Moreover,the lowest sampling frequency is also reduced by introducing anti-aliasing filter,so the occupation of the system memory is reduced.The simulations show that the improved algorithm can correctly demodulate cosine signal and chirp signal with lower sampling frequency.

Design of multi-spectrum BRDF measurement system

A multi-spectrum bidirectional reflectance distribution function （BRDF） measurement system was developed with the adoption of single reference standard measurement method. An arm-adjustable corner device was designed for the BRDF system. Changing the distance to the sample by moving the detector arm made the device applicable to different wavelengths. The system could be used for the spectrum range from visible light （0.6328μm） to mid-far infrared （10.6μm）, the facular size between 0.8 3 cm. The rotating limit of detector arm was ±180°, the rotation range of sample holding table was 360°, and the angle resolution was 0.036°. A silicon carbide sample was measured using this system with reflectance zenith from -55° to ＋55°. According to the error analysis, the measurement uncertainty of this device was about 6.42%.

Research progresses of SOI optical waveguide devices and integrated optical switch matrix

SOI (silicon-on-insulator) is a new material with a lot of important perform- ances such as large index difference, low transmission loss. Fabrication processes for SOI based optoelectronic devices are compatible with conventional IC processes. Having the potential of OEIC monolithic integration, SOI based optoelectronic devices have shown many good characteristics and become more and more attractive recently. In this paper, the recent progresses of SOI waveguide devices in our research group are presented. By highly effective numerical simulation, the single mode conditions for SOI rib waveguides with rectangular and trapezoidal cross-section were accurately investigated. Using both chemical anisotropic wet etching and plasma dry etching techniques, SOI single mode rib waveguide, MMI coupler, VOA (variable optical attenuator), 2×2 thermal-optical switch were successfully designed and fabricated. Based on these, 4×4 and 8×8 SOI optical waveguide integrated switch matrixes are demonstrated for the first time.

Compact liquid-refractive index measuring equipment

Based on total reflection principle, a compact liquid-refractive index measuring equipment was designed and fabricated, in which a diode laser was used as light source and a charge-coupled device (CCD) as photodetector. The influence on measurement accuracy of the wavelength shift and intensity fluctuation of the diode laser were surmounted by an effective feedback method. It is crucial whether the diode laser could be used in such a system.

A novel Stokes parameters coding scheme for free-space coherent optical communication

This paper proposes a novel continuous variable coherent optical communication mode. In this mode, two quadrature Stokes parameters are regarded as observed physical quantity, and single linearly polarized component is used as carrier wave. At the sending end, electro-optical amplitude modulator （EOM） of 45° azimuth is used to indirectly complete the linear modulation of S2 component, and S3 component is changed by continuously rotating a half-wave plate （HWP）. The receiving end adopts the mode of Q-Q-H wave plate are rotated to select the component of measured S2 or S3. The circuit of balance homodyne detection is designed, and the detection system is built by combination with LabVIEW to complete signal demodulation. New optical path scheme is verified by both theory and experiment.

Study on silicon micro-resonators by using a novel optical excitation and detection apparatus

A novel optical excitation and detection apparatus was used to investigate the characteristics of silicon micro-resonators, which was activated into vibration by a laser beam irradiation. The beam diameter of the excitation light was less than 10 μm. The vibration amplitude of the resonator was detected by the interferometer with high resolution of 0.1 nm and measurement repeatability of less than 3 nm. The resonant frequency of the micro-resonator was obtained to be 8.75 kHz with full-width at half-maximum （FWHM） of 0.18 kHz. It is shown that the method is useful and reliable for measuring micro-displacement and micro-vibration of minute objects with nanometer accuracy.

All-optical clock recovery for 40 Gbaud NRZ-QPSK signals using amplified feedback DFB laser diode

An all-optical clock recovery scheme based on monolithic amplified feedback DFB laser （AFL） diode is proposed for nonreturn-to-zero （NRZ） quadrature phase shift keying （QPSK） format signals. By using a preprocessing stage, clock recovery （CR） is successfully demonstrated for 40-Gbaud NRZ-QPSK signals based on this scheme. The dependence of the timing jitter of the recovered clock on the optical power of the injected signal is investigated. A minimum timing jitter of 362.8 fs （integrated within a frequency range from 10 Hz to 10 MHz） is obtained.