Zinc-oxide/PDMS-clad tapered fiber saturable absorber for passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

We propose and demonstrate a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser(EDFL)based on zinc-oxide/polydimethylsiloxane(ZnO/PDMS)saturable absorber(SA)that evanescently interacts with the light on a tapered fiber.The ZnO/PDMS composite is coated on the whole surface of the tapered fiber to guarantee the maximum efficiency of the SA device,with a measured insertion loss of 0.87 dB and a modulation depth of 6.4%.The proposed laser can generate soliton mode-locking operation at a threshold power of 33.07 mW.The generated output pulse yields a repetition rate and pulse width of 9.77 MHz and 1.03 ps,respectively.These results indicate that the proposed ZnO/PDMS-clad tapered fiber could be useful as an efficient,compatible,and low-cost SA device for ultrafast laser applications.

Tapered optical fiber DNA biosensor for detecting Leptospira DNA

Objective: To establish a DNA detection platform based on a tapered optical fiber to detect Leptospira DNA by targeting the leptospiral secY gene.Methods: The biosensor works on the principle of light propagating in the special geometry of the optical fiber tapered from a waist diameter of 125 to 12 μm. The fiber surface was functionalized through a cascade of chemical treatments and the immobilization of a DNA capture probe targeting the secY gene. The presence of the target DNA was determined from the wavelength shift in the optical transmission spectrum.Results: The biosensor demonstrated good sensitivity, detecting Leptospira DNA at 0.001 ng/μL, and was selective for Leptospira DNA without cross-reactivity with non-leptospiral microorganisms. The biosensor specifically detected DNA that was specifically amplified through the loop-mediated isothermal amplification approach.Conclusions: These findings warrant the potential of this platform to be developed as a novel alternative approach to diagnose leptospirosis.

Optical trapping and orientation of Escherichia coli cells using two tapered fiber probes

We report on the optical trapping and orientation of Escherichia coli(E.coli) cells using two tapered fiber probes.With a laser beam at 980 nm wavelength launched into probe I, an E. coli chain consisting of three cells was formed at the tip of probe I. After launching a beam at 980 nm into probe II, the E.coli at the end of the chain was trapped and oriented via the optical torques yielded by two probes. The orientation of the E. coli was controlled by adjusting the laser power of probe II. Experimental results were interpreted by theoretical analysis and numericalsimulations.

Research on multi-kilowatts level tapered fiber bundle N × 1 pumping combiner for high power fiber laser

Pumping combiner is a kernel component of high power fiber laser （HPFL）. We demonstrate two types of tapered fiber bundle （TFB） end-pumping combiner able to combining multi-kilowatts of pumping laser. After the experimental test of coupling performance, the 3xl coupler is proved to have a power handling capacity of 2.11 kW with a coupling efficiency of 95.1%, and the 7× 1 coupler is capable of handling pumping power of 4.72 kW with a coupling efficiency of 99.4%. These two coupler have obtained the ability to be used in laser diodes （LDs） direct beam combining and the pumping coupling of multikilowatts level fiber lasers.

Theoretical shape analysis of tapered fibers using a movable large-zone furnace

To estimate the shape of tapered fibers using tapering machines with movable large-zone furnaces, a new calculation method is proposed based on the discrete deducing method and the principle of the volume conservation of the fiber materials. This method can estimate the tapering results, i.e., the shape of the tapered fibers, based on arbitrary moving parameters of the large-zone furnace and the fiber holders. The theoretical estimated results agree with the experimental measuring shape of the tapered fibers quite well.

Ethanol catalytic deposition of MoS2 on tapered fiber

Deposition of two-dimensional（2D） MoS2 materials on the tapered fiber allows various photonic applications including saturable absorbers and four-wave mixing.Ethanol catalytic deposition（ECD） of MoS2 on the optical tapered fiber was proposed and demonstrated in this work.Different from the conventional optical driven deposition using water or organic solvent,the ECD method utilized the high volatility of the ethanol solvent,which significantly increased the movement speed of the MoS2 nanosheets and thus boosted the deposition rate and reduced the minimum power threshold to drive the deposition.We believe the ECD method should be able to be applied to other similar 2D materials such as other types of transition metal chalcogenides.

Single-Mode Modified Tapered Fiber Structure Functionalized With GO-PVA Composite Layer for Relative Humidity Sensing

A sensitive tapered optical fiber sensor incorporating graphene oxide(GO)and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)composite film for the rapid measurement of changes in relative humidity was proposed and experimentally demonstrated.The sensing principle was based on the intensity modulation of the transmitted light induced by the refractive index changes of the sensitive coatings.The sensing region was obtained by tapering a section of single-mode optical fiber(SMF)from its original 125µm diameter down to 9.03µm.The tapered structure was then modified through deposition of GO/PVA nanocomposites by using the dip-coating technique.The field emission scanning electron microscope(FESEM)and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure of the composite film.As evidenced by a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)analysis,the presence of oxygen functional groups(such as−OH and COOH)on the GO structure enabled the attachment of PVA molecules through hydrogen bonding and strong adhesion between GO/PVA layers.The performance of the sensor was tested over a wide range(20%RH to 99.9%RH)of relative humidity.The sensor showed a good response with its signal increasing linearly with the surrounding humidity.The tapered optical fiber sensor with the coating of GO/0.3g PVA achieved the highest sensitivity[0.5290RH(%)].The stability,repeatability,reversibility,as well as response time of the designated sensor were also measured and analyzed.

Temperature sensor based on a single-mode tapered optical fiber

A temperature sensor is demonstrated and fabricated by coating the single-mode tapered optical fiber with temperature-sensitive silicone rubber. It works on the change of the evanescent fields in the tapered optical fiber. Small changes in the refractive index of coating film greatly influence the power of evanescent fields, which modulate the transmission optical power in the waist region. The range of temperature measured is from -20℃ to 70 ℃. The results show that the temperature sensor has high temperature sensitivity （0.012 mW/℃） and good repeatability.

Frequency-stabilized Yb：fiber comb with a tapered single-mode fiber

We demonstrate a stable Yb：fiber frequency comb with supercontinuum generation by using a specially designed tapered single-mode fiber, in which a spectrum spanning from 500 nm to 1500 nm is produced. The carrier-envelope offset signal of the Yb：fiber comb is measured with a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 40 dB and a linewidth narrower than 120 kHz. The repetition rate and carrier-envelope offset signals are simultaneously phase locked to a microwave reference frequency.

Measurement of refrative index based on fiber Mach-Zehnder interference

In order to detect the refractive index of liquid with high precision,based on modular interference,Mach-Zehnder optical fiber refractive rate sensor was studied.Sensor structure is composed of ordinary single-mode fiber and multimode fiber,according to the singlemode multimode singlemode sequence to fuse together,and the fused optical fiber is used to process the taper.As a result,the diameter of the sensing head is about 10μm.Experimental results show that,as liquid refractive index increases range from 1.33 to 1.35,the loss peak of the transmission spectrum will shift to long wave direction.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensor based on fused biconical taper zone of optical fiber

In this paper, a novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） sensor combined with fused biconical taper fiber （FBTF） and film coated with silver sols is proposed. This structure is designed to significantly increase the SERS active surface when the length of the taper is increased and the radius is reduced, since the penetration depth is inversely proportional to the taper radius and proportional to the taper length according to the fiber-optic evanescent-wave theory. Based on the SERS sensing principle, the feasibility of FBTF sensor is analyzed in this paper. As a result, the Raman spectrum of R6G is obtained from the fused biconical taper zone surface coating with the silver sols in our experiments. The detected concentration is up to 10-7mol/L.

Parallel fabrication of silica optical microfibers and nanofibers

Optical micro/nanofibers(MNFs)taper-drawn from silica fibers possess intriguing optical and mechanical properties.Recently,MNF array or MNFs with identical geometries have been attracting more and more attention,however,current fabrication technique can draw only one MNF at a time,with a low drawing speed(typically 0.1 mm/s)and a complicated process for high-precision control,making it inefficient in fabricating multiple MNFs.Here,we propose a parallel-fabrication approach to simultaneously drawing multiple(up to 20)MNFs with almost identical geometries.For fiber diameter larger than 500 nm,measured optical transmittances of all as-drawn MNFs exceed 96.7%at 1550-nm wavelength,with a diameter deviation within 5%.Our results pave a way towards high-yield fabrication of MNFs that may find applications from MNF-based optical sensors,optical manipulation to fiber-to-chip interconnection.

Amplification characteristics in active tapered segmented cladding fiber with large mode area

A kind of tapered segmented cladding fiber(T-SCF)with large mode area(LMA)is proposed,and the mode and amplification characteristics of T-SCFs with concave,linear,and convex tapered structures are investigated based on finite-element method(FEM)and few-mode steady-state rate equation.Simulation results indicate that the concave tapered structure can introduce high loss for high-order modes(HOMs)that is advantageous to achieve single-mode operation,whereas the convex tapered structure provides large effective mode area that can help to mitigate nonlinear effects.Meanwhile,the small-to-large amplification scheme shows further advantages on stripping off HOMs,and the large-to-small amplification scheme decreases the heat load density induced by the high-power pump.Moreover,singlemode propagation performance,effective mode area,and heat load density of the T-SCF are superior to those of tapered step index fiber(T-SIF).These theoretical model and numerical results can provide instructive suggestions for designing high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers.

3D Printing Technology for Tapered Optical Fiber Protection With Gas Sensing Possibilities

We present a new procedure for protecting micro-optical fibers(tapered fibers)by using the 3-dimensional(3D)printing technology.A standard single-mode optical fiber was tapered down to the diameter of 1mm and embedded in a polymeric matrix obtained by an additive manufacturing routine.We show that the proposed structure protects the fiber taper against environmental humidity while keeping permeability to gas flow and the possibility of the realization of gas detection experiments.To our knowledge,this is the first time 3D printed casings were applied to protect fiber tapers from humidity deterioration.We envisage this new approach will allow the development of new fiber taper devices to better resist in humid environments.

Tapered Optical Fiber-Based LSPR Biosensor for Ascorbic Acid Detection

The ascorbic acid(AA)is a biomarker that can be used to detect the symptoms of severe disorders such as scurvy,Parkinson’s,Alzheimer’s,and cardiovascular diseases.In this work,a simple and effective sensor model is developed to diagnose the presence of AA samples.To develop the sensor,a tapered single-mode optical fiber has been used with the well-known phenomenon of localized surface plasmon resonance(LSPR).For LSPR,the tapered region is immobilized with synthesized gold nanoparticles(AuNPs)and zinc oxide nanoparticles(ZnO-NPs)whose absorbance peak wavelengths appear at 519nm and 370nm,respectively.On the basis of nanoparticles(NPs)configurations,two different biosensor probes are developed.In the first one,the sensing region is immobilized with AuNPs and named Probe I.In the second probe,the immobilized layer of AuNPs is further coated with a layer of ZnO-NPs,and a resultant probe is termed as Probe II.The characterizations of synthesized AuNPs and developed fiber probes are done by the ultraviolet-visible(UV-vis)spectrophotometer,high-resolution transmission electron microscope(HR-TEM),atomic force microscopy(AFM),and scanning electron microscope(SEM).To enhance the selectivity,a sensing region of probes is functionalized with ascorbate oxidase enzyme that oxidizes the AA in the presence of oxygen.The response of developed sensor probes is authenticated by sensing the samples of AA in the range from 500 nM to 1 mM,which covers the range of AA found in human bodies,i.e.,40μM-120μM.The performance analysis of the developed sensor probes has been done in terms of their stability,reproducibility,reusability,and selectivity.To observe the stability of AA,a pH-test has also been done that results in a better solubility of AA molecules in phosphate-buffered saline(PBS)solution.

Liquid-level sensor based on tapered chirped fiber grating

An optic-fiber liquid-level sensor based on tapered chirped grating was proposed and demonstrated experimentally.With a properly designed column buoy hung to chain wheel,the liquid-level variation was converted to axial strain,which made the reflection spectrum of the tapered chirped grating narrowed or broadened correspondingly.And a high-sensitive liquid-level sensor was obtained by monitoring the bandwidth variation of the tapered chirped grating.Compared with traditional absolute wavelength or power detection,this special monitoring technique based on bandwidth modulation makes the liquid-level sensor insensitive to spatially uniform temperature variations and power fluctuations from down-lead or light source.

Graphene-and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes-Coated Tapered Plastic Optical Fiber for Detection of Lard Adulteration in Olive Oil

A rapid and high-performance sensor for lard adulterant in edible oil was developed using the tapered plastic optical fiber(POF)coated with graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.The coating material was deposited onto a tapered POF with a taper waist diameter and a taper length of 0.45 mm and 1 cm,respectively.The addition of the coating material was used to increase the sensitivity and selectivity coefficient of the tapered POF toward the lard substance.The sensing mechanism is based on a simultaneous interaction of lard substance and an evanescent wave of tapered POF with the coating layers.The results showed that graphene coating on the tapered POF increased the selectivity coefficient of the tapered POF towards lard substance from 33.54 to 324.19,and it gave a sensitivity of 0.427 dBm/%.In comparison,multi-walled carbon nanotubes coating increased the selectivity coefficient to 71.65 and increased its sensitivity to 1.189 dBm/%.Thus,the proposed configuration of the tapered POF with the coating material offered a simple configuration for a rapid,high sensitivity and selectivity detection of lard adulterant in edible oils.

Towards tapered-fiber-based all-fiberized high power narrow linewidth fiber laser

Yb-doped fiber laser(YDFL) is a promising kind of laser source due to high efficiency, excellent beam quality, robust configuration, diverse applications and so on. The progress of large-mode-area double cladding active fiber and high power laser diodes have been continuously promoting the power scaling of the YDFLs. However, the further power scaling is blocked by some physic issues including nonlinear effect, thermal-induced mode instability(MI), optical damage and so forth. So, newlydesigned fibers with special structures are invented to address or relieve these limitations. The tapered fiber, which has changed mode area along its longitudinal direction, has been demonstrated to benefit suppressing the nonlinear effect, especially the stimulated Brillouin scattering(SBS) effect. In this paper, we will review the previous work done to explore the advantages of the tapered fiber for high power output, and then for the first time to our knowledge, demonstrate an all-fiberized high power narrow linewidth fiber laser based on a homemade tapered Yb-doped fiber(T-YDF). As a result, an output power of 260 W with a narrow linewidth of ~2 GHz is obtained, with SBS effectively suppressed owing to gradually increased mode area of the T-YDF as well as continuously changed Brillouin frequency shift dependent on the core diameter. Further power scaling is limited by MI, and the features of MI are studied in detail. It is pointed out that, the MI seems the primary and durative limitation factor of the tapered fiber amplifier for high power narrow linewidth output due to the gradually increased effective numerical aperture(NA) and the excitation of the high-order modes, even although it has the advantage to reduce other nonlinear effects. At last,worthwhile discussion about the optimization of the T-YDF and the whole fiber laser system for both SBS and MI suppression is conducted based on the previous and our results. It is concluded that the small diameter at the small-diameter end and low optical NA are preferred in the design of a T-YDF to ensure good beam quality and improve the MI threshold. The good splicing quality and proper coiling or bend state are also necessary.

Nonadiabatic Tapered Optical Fiber for Biosensor Applications

A brief review on biconical tapered fiber sensors for biosensing applications is presented. A variety of configurations and formats of this sensor have been devised for label free biosensing based on measuring small refractive index changes. The biconical nonadiabatic tapered optical fiber offers a number of favorable properties for optical sensing, which have been exploited in several biosensing applications, including cell, protein, and DNA sensors. The types of these sensors present a low-cost fiber biosensor featuring a miniature sensing probe, label-free direct detection, and high sensitivity.

Evanescent Wave Absorption Sensor Based Tapered Plastic Optical Fiber Coated with Monolayer Graphene for Ethanol Molecules Detection

An evanescent wave absorption （EWA） sensor based tapered plastic optical fiber （TPOF） coated with monolayer graphene film for ethanol molecules detection is demonstrated in this study. The continuous and monolayer graphene films were grown on a Cu foil by using chemical vapor deposition （CVD） technology. Polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） was used as the carrier to support the transfer of graphene from Cu foil to the skinless tapered optical fiber core. The accuracy of the TPOF sensor with graphene （G-TPOF sensor） is much higher than that without gra- phene （TPOF sensor）, which can be attributed to the molecules enriched on the surface of graphene. The absorbance （A） and the concentrations of ethanol solution show an excellent proportional relationship in a range of 0--100%. The dynamic response of the G-TPOF sensor has shown strong reversibility, repeatability and stability at room temperature. The response time and recovery time of the G-TPOF sensor for different concentrations are all less than 30 s. Beyond that, we selected the Chinese liquor as the analyte, and the results are consistent with the concen- tration-list obtained in the experiment.