Electro-Optical Effect Measurement of Thin-Film Material Using PM Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

A polarization-maintaining （PM） fiber Mach-Zehnder （MZ） interferometer has been established to measure the EO effect of very thin film materials with optical anisotropy. Unlike a common MZ interferometer, all the components are connected via polarization-maintaining fibers. At the same time, a polarized DFB laser with a maximum power output of 10mW is adopted as the light source to induce a large extinction ratio. Here,we take it to determine the electro-optical coefficients of a very thin superlattice structure with GaAs, KTP, and GaN as comparative samples. The measured EO coefficients show good comparability with the others.

Fiber Optic Moiré Interferometer

A novel fiber optic moiréinterferometer has been developed and demonstrated.A He-Ne laser and three high birefringence fibers were used to configurate a fiber optic interferometer.The moiréfringe patterns formed by the interferometer depend on the arrangement of three fiber ends.The experiment results and the intensity distribution function of the interference patterns are given.

Simulation of distributed optical fiber disturbance detection system based on Sagnac/Mach-Zehnder interferometer and cross-correlation location

A distributed optical fiber disturbance detection system consisted of a Sagnac interferometer and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is demonstrated. Two interferometers outputs are connected to an electric band-pass filter via a detector respectively. The central frequencies of the two filters are selected adaptively according to the disturbance frequency. The disturbance frequency is obtained by either frequency spectrum of the two interferometers outputs. An alarm is given out only when the Sagnac interferometer output is changed. A disturbance position is determined by calculating a time difference with a cross-correlation method between the filter output connected to the Sagnac interferometer and derivative of the filter output connected to the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The frequency spectrum, derivative and cross-correlation are obtained by a signal processing system. Theory analysis and simulation results are presented. They show that the system structure and location method are effective, accurate, and immune to environmental variations.

Ultrasonic sensitivity-improved fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interferometer using a beam collimator and its application for ultrasonic imaging of seismic physical models

An ultrasonic sensitivity-improved fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interferometer （FPI） is proposed and employed for ultra- sonic imaging of seismic physical models （SPMs）. The FPI comprises a flexible ultra-thin gold film and the end face of a graded-index multimode fiber （MMF）, both of which are enclosed in a ceramic tube. The MMF in a specified length can collimate the diverged light beam and compensate for the light loss inside the air cavity, leading to an increased spectral fringe visibility and thus a steeper spectral slope. By using the spectral sideband filtering technique, the collimated FP1 shows an improved ultrasonic response. Moreover, two-dimensional images of two SPMs are achieved in air by recon- structing the pulse-echo signals through using the time-of-flight approach. The proposed sensor with easy fabrication and compact size can be a good candidate for high-sensitivity and high-precision nondestructive testing of SPMs.

MZI/FPI Fiber Optic Dual-parameter Sensor Based on a Double Cone and Air Cavity Structure(Invited)

This paper proposes a Mach Zehnder/Fabry Perot Interferometer(MZI/FPI)fiber sensor based on Single-mode Fiber(SMF)and Hollow-core Fiber(HCF),which has high sensitivity to temperature and lateral loads.The proposed device consists of two single-mode fiber cones formed by manually controlling the fusion splicer and an air cavity formed by fusing a section of hollow-core fiber.The structure of the sensor is a double cone cascaded air cavity.At the beginning of the design,we compared the basic transmission spectra of single cone structure and double cone structure experimentally,and therefore chose to use double cone structure and air cavity cascade.Light undergoes its first reflection at the first interface between the single-mode fiber and the air cavity structure,and its second reflection at the second interface between the air cavity structure and the single-mode fiber.The two reflected light waves produced by the two reflections form FP interference,which can be used to measure lateral loads.The transmitted light is excited through the first cone,and a portion of the core mode light is excited to the cladding,while another portion of the core mode light continues to propagate in the core.The light couples at the second cone,and the cladding mode light couples back into the core,forming MZ interference with the core mode light,which can be used to measure temperature.The use of hollow-core fiber to form an air cavity has little effect on transmitted light,while avoiding the problem of crosstalk in dual parameter measurements.By designing temperature and lateral load experiments,this article verifies the sensitivity characteristics of this sensor to temperature and lateral loads.A significant redshift phenomenon was observed in the temperature experiment.A significant redshift phenomenon also occurred in the lateral load experiment.Through wavelength demodulation,the experimental results show that the wavelength sensitivity of the sensor to temperature is 56.29 pm/℃in the range of 30℃to 80℃.The wavelength sensitivity of the sensor to lateral loads is 1.123 nm/N in the range of 0~5 N.In addition,we have prepared multiple sets of fiber optic sensors with this structure and conducted repeated experiments to verify that the sensing performance of this structure of fiber optic sensors for temperature and lateral load is relatively stable.Also,the different waist diameters of cones will have a certain impact on the transmission spectrum of MZ,while the length of the air cavity will also have a certain impact on the reflection spectrum of FP.This article lists some fiber optic sensors for dual parameter measurement of temperature and lateral load.Compared with the listed sensors,the fiber optic sensor proposed in this article has better sensitivity to temperature and lateral load.And the fiber optic sensor proposed in this article has a simple manufacturing process,low production cost,and good performance,which has certain prospects in scientific research and industrial production.

Robust Transfer of Optical Frequency over 500km Fiber Link with Instability of 10^(−21)

Our primary objective is to mitigate the adverse effects of temperature fluctuations on the optical frequency transmission system by reducing the length of the interferometer.Following optimization,the phase-temperature coefficient of the optical system is reduced to approximately 1.35 fs/K.By applying a sophisticated temperature control to the remained“out-of-loop”optics fiber,the noise floor of the system has been effectively lowered to 10−21 level.Based on this performance-enhanced transfer system,we demonstrate coherent transmission of optical frequency through 500-km spooled fiber link.After being actively compensated,the transfer instability of 4.5×10^(−16) at the averaging time of 1 s and 5.6×10^(−21) at 10000 s is demonstrated.The frequency uncertainty of received light at remote site relative to that of the origin light at local site is achieved to be 1.15×10^(−19).This enhanced system configuration is particularly well suited for future long-distance frequency transmission and comparison of the most advanced optical clock signals.

Optical Fiber Bragg Grating Michelson Interferometer

A new Michelson interferometer based on fiber Bragg grating（FBG） is demonstrated. FBCs are used as reflectors, and the laser is replaced by a broadband source as input light in this interferometer. To demodulate the signals, a 3 × 3 coupler is used as a splitter. By combining with software demodulation, the outer interference can be obtained from the outputs of the interferometer. This kind of interferometer can also be wavelength-multiplexed easily by composing a series Michelson interferometer. The experiment results show that the clear interference fringe can be obtained by adjusting the path difference to make it less than interference length of FBG. The signals are also demodulated.

Measuring Optical Length and Analyzing Accuracy Error Based on All-Fiber Optic Interferometer

An optical length measuring system base on all-fiber optic interferometer is proposed. The theoretical analysis indicates that, when the two branches of the interferometer are equal, the output have the maximum coherent intensity. Therefore, the optical length can be obtained by measuring the distance of collimator movement. Through the experiment and simulation, the impact of the signal-to-noise ratio and fluctuation of the coupling efficiency on null error has been obtained.

A Thin-Core Fiber Modal Interferometer for Liquid-Level Sensing

A fiber-optic liquid-level sensor is proposed and experimentally demonstrated.It is a Mach–Zehnder interferometer(MZI)composed of a thin-core single-mode fiber(TCSMF)without coating sandwiched between two single-mode fibers(SMFs).The transmission spectrum properties of the MZI modified by liquid around the TCSMF are used for detecting the liquid level.It is found that the sensor exhibits an excellent linear relationship between the level and the shift of interference dip wavelength and its achieved sensitivities are 0.160 nm/mm and 0.288 nm/mm for liquid with an RI of 1.3330 and 1.3696,respectively.Employing the spectrum differential integration(SDI)method to analyze transmission spectra can increase the detecting resolution of the liquid level.Due to its advantages of an extremely easy fabrication process,high sensitivity and a large sensing range,the sensor is an ideal candidate for continuous liquid level sensing.

Debonding Patch Detection in FRP-Strengthened Materials with Fiber-Optic Interferometer

The interfacial debonding in fiber-reinforced plastic(FRP)strengthened repair material will affect the bonding strength and lead to failure of the repair without warning.Unfortunately the interfacial damage is normally invisible and often in the form of a patch rather than a through-width crack.Therefore,a debonding patch detection technique based on fiber optic interferometry is proposed.A quasi-impulse loading is applied with a rubberhead hammer and the total elongation of a surface-mounted optical fiber along the length of the repair material is measured as a function of load position.When a debonding patch is present,the induced sudden slope or sign change on the plot of fiber integral strain v.s.load position will reveal the extent and the location of the debonded area.The results of the study indicate that the proposed technique is applicable for debonding patch detection in repaired members under various support conditions.

Temperature-induced effect on refractive index of graphene based on coated in-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer

The temperature-induced complex refractive index（CRI） effect of graphene is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally based on a graphene coated in-fiber MZI（Mach-Zehnder interferometer）. The relationships between real and imaginary parts of the graphene CRI and temperature are obtained through investigating the dip wavelength and intensity of the MZI interference spectrum changing with temperature, respectively. The temperature effect of CRI of the graphene is also analyzed theoretically. Both experimental and theoretical studies show that the real part and imaginary part of the CRI nonlinearly decrease and increase with temperature increasing, respectively. This graphene-coated in-fiber MZI structure also possesses the advantages of easy fabrication, miniaturization, low cost and robustness. It has potential applications in nanomaterial-based optic devices for communication and sensing.

Liquid-level Measurement with Fiber-optic Low Coherence Interferometer: Micrometer-resolution Approach

According to the fact that the surface of liquid with low viscosity coefficient is a good reflection plane for a broadband light beam, liquid-level measurement in micrometer resolution is designed based on a fiber-optic low coherence interferometer in Michelson configuration. The wave front of the reflected light beam is well enough to form an interferogram with a beam reflected from an optic mirror mounted on a stepping scanning-motor. The central peak of the interferogram is read as a measure of the liquid level. Experimental results show that this noncontact method can reach a resolution of ±1.25 μm in the measurement range of 86 mm.

A Novel Mach–Zehnder Interferometer Based on Hybrid Liquid Crystal–Photonic Crystal Fiber

We propose a novel all fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer（MZI） based on photonic crystal fiber（PCF） filled with liquid crystal（LC）. The interference between the core mode and the cladding modes of a PCF is utilized.To excite the cladding modes, a region is formed using fiber fusion splicer. Due to the fact that varying effective index difference between the core region and the LC-filled cladding region can cause different transmission spectra,we mainly study the MZIs with different LC-filled structures and different lengths of LC filling. The measured results demonstrate that quite clear interference spectra can be obtained. Through analysis spatial frequency spectrum and temperature spectrum of two MZIs with different LC-filled structures, we can obtain that the MZI with adjacent two LC-filled holes has clearer interference spectrum and higher temperature sensitivity. Thus we choose this MZI to measure the temperature sensitivity with different lengths of LC filling. When the length of LC filling is 2 cm, the temperature sensitivities can be enlarged to 1.59 nm/C. The interferometer shows a good temperature tunability and sensitivity, which can be a good candidate for a highly tunable optical filtering and temperature sensing applications.

Strain measurement using frequency modulation fiber optic interferometer

The method for measuring the strain of an object using an optical fiber and a frequency modulation(FM) coupled cavity semiconductor laser is proposed.This method uses the coherent FM heterodyne principle of the Michelson interferometer and can avoid the π/2 nonreciprocal phase bias and phase shifting problem existing in general fiber optic interferential sensors, the maximum detection range is limited by the coherent length of the semiconductor laser and its relative factor.

Reflective Ladder Topology Network Based on White Light Fiber-Optic Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

In order to improve the multiplexing capability of the optical sensors based on the lower interferential optic fiber sensing technology and the white light fiber-optic Mach-Zehnder interferometer,reflective ladder topology network ( RLT) with tailored formula was proposed. The topology network consists of 6 rungs sensing elements linked by 5 couplers. Two cases with different choices of couplers were contrasted: one is equal coupling ratio,and the other is tailored coupling ratio. Through the simulation of these two cases,the detailed multiplexing capability was analyzed,and accordingly the experiments were also carried out. The simulation results showed that,the tailored formula enhances the multiplexing capability of the structure. In the first case, the maximum number of sensors which can be multiplexed is 8,and in the other case is 12 fiber optic sensors. The experimental results have a good agreement with numerical simulation results. Thus,it is considered expedient to incorporate RLT into large-scale building,grounds,bridges,dams,tunnels,highways and perimeter security.

Fiber Optic Fourier Transform White-Light Interferometry

Fiber optic Fourier transform white-light inter-fereometry is presented to interrogate the absolute optical path difference of an Maeh-Zehnder interferometer. The phase change of the interferometer caused by scanning wavelength can be calculated by a Fourier transform-based phase demodulation technique. A linear output is achieved.

High-speed PGC demodulation model and method with subnanometer displacement resolution in a fiber-optic micro-probe laser interferometer

As the key of embedded displacement measurement,a fiber-optic micro-probe laser interferometer(FMI)is of great interest in developing high-end equipment as well as precision metrology.However,conventional phasegenerated carrier(PGC)approaches are for low-speed scenes and local error analysis,usually neglecting the global precision analysis and dynamic effect of system parameters under high-speed measurement,thus hindering their broad applications.We present a high-speed PGC demodulation model and method to achieve subnanometer displacement measurement precision in FMI.This model includes a global equivalent resolution analysis and revelation of the demodulation error mechanism.Utilizing this model,the failure issues regarding the PGC demodulation method under high speed and large range are addressed.Furthermore,an ultra-precision PGC demodulation algorithm based on the combination of static and dynamic delay adaptive regulation is proposed to enable high-speed and large-range displacement measurement.In this paper,the proposed model and algorithm are validated through simulation and experimental tests.The results demonstrate a displacement resolution of 0.1 nm with a standard deviation of less than 0.5 nm when measuring at a high velocity of 1.5 m/s—nearly a tenfold increase of the latest study.

Combined optical fiber interferometric sensors for the detection of acoustic emission

A type of combined optical fiber interferometric acoustic emission sensor is proposed. The sensor can be independent on the laser source and make light interference by matching the lengths of two arms,so it can be used to monitor the health of large structure. Theoretical analyses indicate that the system can be equivalent to the Michelson interferometer with two optical fiber loop reflectors,and its sensitivity has been remarkably increased because of the decrease of the losses of light energy. PZT is powered by DC regulator to control the operating point of the system,so the system can accurately detect feeble vibration which is generated by ultrasonic waves propagating on the surface of solid. The amplitude and the frequency of feeble vibration signal are obtained by detecting the output light intensity of interferometer and using Fourier transform technique. The results indicate that the system can be used to detect the acoustic emission signals by the frequency characteristics.

Application of Wavelet Transform in Dual-differential Optical Fiber F-P Interferometric Micro-displacement Measurement System

Based on dual-differential comparing principle, an experimental system of optical fiber F-P interferometric micro-displacement measurement is introduced. It is capable of achieving the absolute displacement measurement, and wavelet transforms is adopted as theory fundament to extract the optical F-P interferometric characteristic signal and remove the noise, so its resolution can reach 0. 01 μm in the dynamic range of 0～ 1 mm.

Utilization of Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometers with Spectral Interferometric Interrogation for Microdisplacement Measurement

The paper presents a number of signal processing approaches for the spectral interferometric interrogation of extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometers(EFPIs). The analysis of attainable microdisplacement resolution is performed and the analytical equations describing the dependence of resolution on parameters of the interrogation setup are derived. The efficiency of the proposed signal processing approaches and the validity of analytical derivations are supported by experiments. The proposed approaches allow the interrogation of up to four multiplexed sensors with attained resolution between 30 pm and 80 pm, up to three times improvement of microdisplacement resolution of a single sensor by means of using the reference interferometer and noisecompensating approach, and ability to register signals with frequencies up to 1 kHz in the case of 1 Hz spectrum acquisition rate. The proposed approaches can be used for various applications, including biomedical, industrial inspection, and others, amongst the microdisplacement measurement.