Combined Transmission Interference Spectrum of No Core Fiber and BP Neural Network for Concentration Sensing Research

To investigate wavelength response of the no core fiber（NCF）interference spectrum to concentration,a three-layer back propagation（BP）neural network model was established to optimize the concentration sensing data.In this method,the measured wavelength and the corresponding concentration were trained by a BP neural network,so that the accuracy of the measurement system was optimized.The wavelength was used as the training set and got into the input layer of the three layer BP network model which is used as the input value of the network,and the corresponding actual concentration value was used as the output value of the network,and the optimal network structure was trained.This paper discovers a preferable correlation between the predicted value and the actual value,where the former is approximately equal to the latter.The correlation coefficients of the measured and predicted values for a sucrose concentration were 1.000 89 and 1.003 94;similarly,correlations of0.999 51 and 1.018 8 for a glucose concentration were observed.The results demonstrate that the BP neural network can improve the prediction accuracy of the nonlinear relationship between the interference spectral data and the concentration in NCF sensing systems.

All-fiber optical modulator based on no-core fiber and magnetic fluid as cladding

An all-fiber optical modulator, which is composed of a piece of no-core fiber spliced between two sections of singlemode fibers and uses magnetic fluid（MF） as the cladding of the no-core fiber section, is proposed and investigated experimentally. Due to the tunable refractive index and absorption coefficient of MF, the output intensity can be modulated by controlling an applied magnetic field. The dependences of the modulator＇s temporal response on the working wavelength,the magnetic field strength（H）, and the MF＇s concentration are investigated experimentally. The results are explained qualitatively by the dynamic response process of MF under the action of a magnetic field. The findings are helpful for optimizing this kind of modulator.

Nonlinear compression of picosecond chirped pulse from thin-disk amplifier system through a gas-filled hollow-core fiber

We theoretically study the nonlinear compression of a 20-rnJ, 1030-nm picosecond chirped pulse from the thin-disk amplifier in a krypton gas-filled hollow-core fiber. The chirp from the thin-disk amplifier system has little influence on the initial pulse, however, it shows an effect on the nonlinear compression in hollow-core fiber. We use a large diameter hollow waveguide to restrict undesirable nonlinear effects such as ionization; on the other hand, we employ suitable gas pressure and fiber length to promise enough spectral broadening; with 600-μm, 6-bar （1 bar = 105 Pa）, 1.8-m hollow fiber, we obtain 31.5-fs pulse. Moreover, we calculate and discuss the optimal fiber lengths and gas pressures with different initial durations induced by different grating compression angles for reaching a given bandwidth. These results are meaningful for a compression scheme from picoseconds to femtoseconds.

Picosecond pulses compression at 1053-nm center wavelength by using a gas-filled hollow-core fiber compressor

We theoretically study the nonlinear compression of picosecond pulses with 10-m J of input energy at the 1053-nm center wavelength by using a one-meter-long gas-filled hollow-core fiber（HCF） compressor and considering the third-order dispersion（TOD） effect. It is found that when the input pulse is about 1 ps/10 m J, it can be compressed down to less than20 fs with a high transmission efficiency. The gas for optimal compression is krypton gas which is filled in a HCF with a 400-μm inner diameter. When the input pulse duration is increased to 5 ps, it can also be compressed down to less than 100 fs efficiently under proper conditions. The results show that the TOD effect has little impact on picosecond pulse compression and the HCF compressor can be applied on compressing picosecond pulses efficiently with a high compression ratio, which will benefit the research of high-field laser physics.

High sensitive fiber strain sensor using suspended-core fibers

A novel fiber strain sensor is proposed, based on the two-mode interference of a suspended-core fiber. A fullvectorial finite difference mode solver is employed as the numerical tool for characterizing the proposed strain sensor. The numerical results show that the proposed strain sensor has an estimated sensitivity of 0.05 rad/（m-με）, higher than that of the strain sensors using conventional multimode fibers, while the temperature sensitivity of the proposed sensor is relatively low.

Realization of a broadband terahertz wavelength-selective coupling based on five-core fibers

We propose a novel kind of wavelength-selective coupling for the terahertz range based on solid five-core fiber （FCF）. The performances of coupling, propagation characteristics, and confinement loss properties are numerically investigated by using a full vector beam propagation method （BPM）. Simulation results show that it is possible to realize a broad- band wavelength-selective coupling. The coupling length can reach 1.913 cm, and the confinement loss is better than 1.965 ×10^-4 cm^-1. Furthermore, a parameter, the power difference, is defined, and it numerically demonstrates the working performance of the wavelength-selective coupler; that is, when the power difference is better than - 15 dB, the frequency located in the range of 0.76 THz-100 THz is separated relatively well from the frequency of 0.3 THz. Finally, the effect of the structural parameter on the working performance of the coupler is also investigated. We show that the performance optimization is possible by appropriately tuning the core diameter, and the tunabilities of frequency and bandwidth are possible by appropriately tuning the pitch. The wavelength-selective coupler is of potential application for optical fiber sensing and communication in terahertz wavelength division multiplexer fields.

Calculation of the Coupling Coefficient of Twin-Core Fiber Based on the Supermode Theory with Finite Element Method

Currently, coupled mode theory (CMT) is widely used for calculating the coupling coefficient of twin-core fibers (TCFs) that are used in a broad range of important applications. This approach is highly accurate for scenarios with weak coupling between the cores but shows significant errors in the strong coupling scenarios, necessitating the use of a more accurate method for coupling coefficient calculations. Therefore, in this work, we calculate the coupling coefficients of TCFs using the supermode theory with finite element method (FEM) that has higher accuracy than CMT, particularly for the strong coupling TCF. To investigate the origin of the differences between the results obtained by these two methods, the modal field distributions of the supermodes of TCF are simulated and analyzed in detail.

Femtosecond parabolic pulse nonlinear compression with gas-filled hollow-core fiber

We study theoretically the spectral intensity evolutions of the femtosecond Gaussian and parabolic pulses with different initial pulse energies and compare the nonlinear compressions of these pulses based on a meter-long hollow-core fiber filled with neon for different initial pulse durations. The pulses are first coupled into gas-filled hollow-core fiber for spectrum broadening, then compressed by the optimal chirp compensation. The parabolic pulse possesses a shorter pulse duration, larger peak power, and cleaner wings than Gaussian pulse. The properties are useful for compressing the pulses and thus generating the high-energy, short-duration pulses.

Generation of few-cycle radially-polarized infrared pulses in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber

We perform a numerical study for temporally compressing radially-polarized（RP） infrared pulses in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber（HCF）. The dynamic transmission and nonlinear compression of RP pulses centered at wavelengths of0.8 m, 1.8 m, 3.1 m, and 5.0 m in HCFs are simulated. By comparing the propagation of pulses with the same optical cycles and intensity, we find that under proper conditions these pulses can be compressed down to 2–3 cycles. In the transverse direction, the spatiotemporal beam profile ameliorates from 0.8-m to 1.8-m and 3.1-m pulses before the appearance of high-order dispersion. These results show an alternative method of scaling generation for delivering RP infrared pulses in gas-filled HCFs, which can obtain energetic few-cycle pulses, and will be beneficial for relevant researches in the infrared scope.

Spatiotemporal propagation dynamics of intense optical pulses in loosely confined gas-filled hollow-core fibers

We numerically study the propagation dynamics of intense optical pulses in gas-filled hollow-core fibers（HCFs）. The spatiotemporal dynamics of the pulses show a transition from tightly confined to loosely confined characteristics as the fiber core is increased, which manifests as a deterioration in the spatiotemporal uniformity of the beam. It is found that using the gas pressure gradient does not enhance the beam quality in large-core HCFs, while inducing a positive chirp in the pulse to lower the peak power can improve the beam quality. This indicates that the self-focusing effect in the HCFs is the main driving force for the propagation dynamics. It also suggests that pulses at longer wavelengths are more suitable for HCFs with large cores because of the lower critical power of self-focusing, which is justified by the numerical simulations. These results will benefit the generation of energetic few-cycle pulses in large-core HCFs.

Self-compression of 1.8-μm pulses in gas-filled hollow-core fibers

We numerically study the self-compression of the optical pulses centered at 1.8-μm in a hollow-core fiber （HCF） filled with argon. It is found that the pulse can be self-compressed to 2 optical cycles when the input pulse energy is 0.2-mJ and the gas pressure is 500-mbar （1 bar=10^5 Pa）. Inducing a proper positive chirp into the input pulse can lead to a shorter temporal duration after self-compression. These results will benefit the generation of energetic few-cycle mid-infrared pulses.

Theoretical Analysis on Inter-Core Crosstalk Suppression Model for Multi-Core Fiber

Decreasing mode coupling coefficient(κ) is an effective approach to suppress the inter-core crosstalk. Therefore, we deploy a low index rod and rectangle trench in the middle of two neighboring cores to reduce κ so that the overlap of electric field distribution can be suppressed. We also propose approximate analytical solution(AAS) for κ of two crosstalk suppression models, which are two cores with one low index rod deployed in the middle and two cores with one low index rectangle trench deployed in the middle. We then do some modification for the results obtained by AAS and the modified results are proved to agree well with that obtained by finite element method(FEM). Therefore, we can use the modified AAS to get inter-core crosstalk for abovementioned two models quickly.

Generation of few-cycle laser pulses:Comparison between atomic and molecular gases in a hollow-core fiber

We numerically study the pulse compression approaches based on atomic or molecular gases in a hollow-core fiber.From the perspective of self-phase modulation（SPM）, we give the extensive study of the SPM influence on a probe pulse with molecular phase modulation（MPM） effect. By comparing the two compression methods, we summarize their advantages and drawbacks to obtain the few-cycle pulses with micro- or millijoule energies. It is also shown that the double pump-probe approach can be used as a tunable dual-color source by adjusting the time delay between pump and probe pulses to proper values.

Energetic few-cycle pulse compression in gas-filled hollow core fiber with concentric phase mask

The compression of high-energy, linearly polarized pulses in a gas-filled hollow core fiber(HCF) by using a concentric phase mask is studied theoretically. Simulation results indicate that using a properly designed concentric phase mask, a40-fs input pulse centered at 800 nm with energy up to 10.0 mJ can be compressed to a full width at half maximum(FWHM) of less than 5 fs after propagating through a neon-filled HCF with a length of 1 m and diameter of 500 μm with a transmission efficiency of 67%, which is significantly higher than that without a concentric phase mask. Pulses with energy up to 20.0 mJ can also be efficiently compressed to less than 10 fs with the concentric phase mask. The higher efficiency due to the concentric phase mask can be attributed to the redistribution of the transverse intensity profile, which reduces the effect of ionization. The proposed method exhibits great potential for generating few-cycle laser pulse sources with high energy by the HCF compressor.

The Study on the Polycrystal Germanium Dioxide Hollow-core Fiber and Its Performances

A method of fabricating pure germanium dioxide hollow-core fibers has been introduced for the first time. The inner diameter of the fiber is φ0.8mm, with the transmission loss of 1.23dB/m at 10.6μm. The mechanism of transmitting CO_2 laser by the fiber is analyzed. The transmitting performances are discussed and its application fields are envisaged.

Resonance-enhanced multi-octave supercontinuum generation in antiresonant hollow-core fibers

Ultrafast supercontinuum generation in gas-filled waveguides is an enabling technology for many intriguing applications ranging from attosecond metrology towards biophotonics,with the amount of spectral broadening crucially depending on the pulse dispersion of the propagating mode.In this study,we show that structural resonances in a gas-filled antiresonant hollow core optical fiber provide an additional degree of freedom in dispersion engineering,which enables the generation of more than three octaves of broadband light that ranges from deep UV wavelengths to near infrared.Our observation relies on the introduction of a geometric-induced resonance in the spectral vicinity of the ultrafast pump laser,outperforming gas dispersion and yielding a unique dispersion profile independent of core size,which is highly relevant for scaling input powers.Using a krypton-filled fiber,we observe spectral broadening from 200 nm to 1.7μm at an output energy of B 23μJ within a single optical mode across the entire spectral bandwidth.Simulations show that the frequency generation results from an accelerated fission process of solitonlike waveforms in a non-adiabatic dispersion regime associated with the emission of multiple phase-matched Cherenkov radiations on both sides of the resonance.This effect,along with the dispersion tuning and scaling capabilities of the fiber geometry,enables coherent ultra-broadband and high-energy sources,which range from the UV to the mid‐infrared spectral range.

High sensitivity all-fiber bend sensor based on modal interferences in a ring core fiber

We proposed and experimentally demonstrated an all-fiber sensor for measuring bend with high sensitivity based on a ring core fiber(RCF)modal interferometer.The sensor was fabricated by splicing a segment of RCF between two pieces of multimode fiber(MMF)and single-mode fiber(SMF)at the ends of the MMF as lead-in and lead-out.Due to the first segment of the MMF,the transmitted light is coupled into the ring core,silica center,and cladding of the RCF,exciting multiple modes in the RCF.By the modal interferences in the structure,bending sensing can be realized by interrogating the intensity of the interference dip.Experimental results show a high bending sensitivity of-25.63 dB/m^(-1)in the range of 1.0954 m^(-1)to1.4696 m^(-1).In addition,the advantages of the bend sensor,such as small size,low temperature sensitivity,and simple fabrication process,can be used for curvature measurement in building health monitoring.

Theoretical investigation of core mode cut-off condition for tapered multicore fiber

Core mode cutoff is a useful concept not only for a tapered single-core fiber(SCF) but also for a tapered multicore fiber(MCF) to realize cladding mode transmission. In this paper, cut-off conditions of either core mode for tapered SCFs or supermodes for MCFs are theoretically investigated. Rigorous analytical formulas are derived for the modes of SCF by a three-layer waveguide model, and an approximation formula of the cut-off condition is given for the LP01 mode. The supermodes of MCFs are analyzed by the coupling mode theory, and the cut-off condition is calculated by a numerical method. Simulation results show that the in-phase supermode of MCFs has a similar cut-off condition with that of SCF. Based on this property, a convenient approximate formula is given to estimate the cut-off condition of the in-phase supermode for tapered MCFs.

Suspended-core Fibers for Sensing Applications

A brief review on suspended-core fibers for sensing applications is presented. A historical overview over the previous ten years about this special designed microstructure optical fiber is described. This fiber presents attractive optical properties for chemical/biological or gas measurement, but it can be further explored for alternative sensing solutions, namely, in-fiber interferometers based on the suspended-core or suspended-multi-core fiber, for physical parameter monitoring.

Fabrication and Testing of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Truss Core Sandwich Panels

Truss core sandwich panels reinforced by carbon fibers were assembled with bonded laminate facesheets and carbon fiber reinforced truss cores. The top and bottom facesheets were interconnected with truss cores. Both ends of the truss cores were embedded into four layers of top and bottom facesheets. The mechanical properties of truss core sandwich panels were then investigated under out-of-plane and in-plane compression loadings to reveal the failure mechanisms of sandwich panels. Experimental results indicated that the mechanical behavior of sandwich structure under in-plane loading is dominated by the buckling and debonding of facesheets.