Fiber Bragg Gratings in Small-Core Ge-Doped Photonic Crystal Fibers

This paper reports fiber Bragg gratings （FBGs） inscribed in a small-core Ge-doped photonic crystal fibers with a UV laser and a Talbot interferometer. The responses of such FBGs to temper- ature, strain, bending, and transverse-loading were systematically investigated. The Bragg wavelength of the FBGs shifts toward longer wavelengths with increasing temperature, tensile strain, and transverse-loading. The bending and transverse- loading properties of the FBGs are sensitive to the fiber orientations.

Birefringent Bragg Gratings in Highly-Nonlinear Photonic Crystal Fiber

Efficient writing of Bragg gratings in 12-ring highly-nonlinear photonie crystal fibers is described. Experimental and numerical investigations are performed to reveal the optimum angle for coupling UV writing light to the core. Furthermore, we show that the formation of a strongly briefringent grating is at a particular angle of orientation.

Characteristics of Bragg Gratings in All-Solid Photonic Bandgap Fiber

We report on fiber Bragg gratings in all-solid photonie bandgap fiber that was composed of a triangular array of high-index Ge-doped rods in pure silica background with fluorine-doped index-depressed layer surrounding the Ge-doped rod. Fiber Bragg gratings were photowritten with 193 nm ArF excimer laser and characterized for their response to strain, temperature, bending, and torsion. These gratings couple light from the forward core mode to not only backward core mode but also backward rod modes. This results in multiple resonance peaks in the reflection spectrum. All resonance wavelengths exhibited the same temperature and strain response with coefficient similar to that of Bragg gratings in standard single-mode fiber. The strength of the resonance peaks corresponding to the backward rod modes showed high sensitivity to bending and torsion.

Engineering approach to in-situ bridge health monitoring with fiber bragg gratings

In this presentation the feasibility and capability of fiber Bragg gratings （FBG） employed in bridge health monitoring are demonstrated on a real bridge. FBG＇ s wavelength shift depending on strain variance has been tested. The technique of FBG installation on bridges has been developed. 12 FBG strain sensors and 3 temperature sensors have been successfully embedded in the prestressed concrete box girder during the construction of Heilongjiang Hulan River Bridge. The prestressing tension process and quasi-static loading process of the girder were monitored with those sensors before it was installed onto the bridge. After the bridge was completed, the FBG sensors embedded have been utilized to monitor the strain shift of the beam under quasi-static load, traffic load and temperature. The results show that the traffic fluxes, possible tatigue damage and deflection of the bridge can be revealed conveniently through strain measurements with these FBG sensors, which provide key information for structural health diagnosis. The fact that the FBG strain sensors have withstood the ordeal of harsh construction process and lasted for more than one year proves that their durability and stability can satisfy the requirements for bridge health monitoring. It is also shown that the FBG strain sensor is more adaptive to long-term structural health monitoring than the electric resistance strain gauge.

Hollow and filled fiber bragg gratings in nano-bore optical fibers

To combine the technical functions and advantages of solid-core fiber Bragg gratings(FBGs) and hollow-core optical fibers(HCFs), the hollow and filled FBGs in nano-bore optical fibers(NBFs) with nano-bore in the GeO2-doped core are proposed.The fundamental mode field, effective mode index, and confinement loss of NBF with 50 nm–7 μm-diameter hollow and filled nano-bore are numerically investigated by the finite element method.The reflected spectra of FBGs in NBFs are obtained by the transmission matrix method.The hollow FBGs in NBFs can be acheived with ~5% power fraction in the bore and the ~0.9 reflectivity when bore diameter is less than 3 μm.The filled FBGs can be realized with^1% power fraction and 0.98 reflectivity with different fillings including o-xylene, trichloroethylene, and chloroform for 800-nm bore diameter.The feasibility of the index sensing by our proposed NBF FBG is also analyzed and discussed.The experimental fabrication of hollow and filled FBGs are discussed and can be achieved by current techniques.The aim of this work is to establish a principle prototype for investigating the HCFs and solid-core FBGs-based fiber-optic platforms,which are useful for applications such as the simultaneous chemical and physical sensing at the same position.

Magneto-Optic Fiber Bragg Gratings with Application to High-Resolution Magnetic Field Sensors

Magneto-optic fiber Bragg gratings （MFBG） based on magneto-optic materials have a lot of potential applications for sensing and optical signal processing. The transmission and reflection spectra of guided optical waves in the MFBG are investigated. According to the sensitivity of MFBG spectral lines to the magneto-optic coupling intensity varying with applied magnetic field, a novel magnetic field sensor of high-resolution up to 0.01 nm/（kA/m） is predicted.

Tunable Super-Structured Fiber Bragg Gratings with Perfect Sequences Based on m-Sequence

Recently, a tunable fiber Bragg grating(FBG) was developed by using stress-responsive colloidal crystals. In this paper, we have simulated the application of these nanoparticles into the super-structured fiber Bragg grating(SSFBG) written with perfect sequences derived from a short maximal-length sequence. A tunable SSFBG will be available to overcome the prohibitive temperature variation of the optical codecs. Nevertheless,we presented a method to implement coherent time spreading optical code-division multiple-access(OCDMA) where a unique code(or perfect sequence) can be reused and mixed with different wavelengths to obtain a tunable wavelength-division multiplexing(WDM)system. In order to maximize the binary throughput, we have selected a unique short maximal-length sequence composed of 7 chips that can be tuned with 7 different optical wavelengths. We found thousands of different tunable combinations that presented power contrast ratios(P/C) higher than 12 dB. When a WDM-OCDMA system used 2 different combinations simultaneously, the perfect binary detection with error correction codes was achieved successfully. The tunable SSFBG with colloidal crystals will be a simple and good alternative choice for fiber-to-the-home(FTTH) communications.

Fabrication of High Quality Broadband Type IIA Chirped Fiber Bragg Gratings

Chirped fiber Bragg gratings have found many applications in optical communication and sensing systems. High quality filters based on chirped fiber Bragg gratings with reflection bandwidth of 2.6 and 32nm and high reflectivity are demonstrated experimentally with 2 and 4cm long phase masks, respectively. These filters with flat reflection band and high reflectivity are achieved by writing type IIA chirped Bragg gratings.

Temperature-and Strain-Compensated Directional Curvature Sensor Based on Bragg Gratings in Three-Core Fiber with Bridged Waveguides

Fiber-based curvature sensors,especially those capable of discerning the direction of curvature,have attracted more and more interest due to their promising applications in structural health monitoring,high-precision measurement,medical and biological diagnosis-treat instruments,and so on.Here,we propose and demonstrate a compact directional curvature sensor that comprises two bridged waveguides and three Bragg gratings in a section of three-core fiber(TCF).Both the waveguides and gratings are integrated by femtosecond laser micromachining method.The waveguides,connecting the TCF outer cores to the lead-in single-mode fiber core,function as beam couplers to realize simultaneous interrogation of all three gratings without any separate fan-in/out component.Owing to the spatial specificity,the outer-core gratings exhibit high and direction-dependent sensitivity to curvature,whereas the central-core grating is nearly insensitive to curvature but shows similar sensitivities to ambient temperature and axial strain as the outer-core gratings.It can be used to compensate the cross impact of temperature and strain when the outer-core gratings are applied for curvature detection.Moreover,the wavelength interval between two outer-core gratings is also proposed as an indicator for curvature sensing.It features with a much higher sensitivity to curvature and reduced sensitivities to temperature and axial strain.The corresponding maximum sensitivity to curvature is as high as 191.89 pm/m-1,while the sensitivities to temperature and strain are only 0.3 pm/℃and 0.0218 pm/με,respectively.Therefore,our proposed device provides a compact and robust all-infiber solution for directional curvature sensing.It not only offers high sensitivity and accuracy but also immunity to temperature and axial strain fluctuations,making it a promising tool for a wide range of applications.

Fiber oscillator of 5 kW using fiber Bragg gratings inscribed by a visible femtosecond laser

We fabricate a pair of fiber Bragg gratings(FBGs)by a visible femtosecond laser phase mask scanning technique on passive large-mode-area double-cladding fibers for multi-kilowatt fiber oscillators.The bandwidth of high-reflection(HR)and lowreflection(LR)FBG is~1.6 nm and 0.3 nm,respectively.The reflection of the HR-FBG is higher than 99%,and that of the LR-FBG is about 10%.A bidirectional pumped all-fiber oscillator is constructed using this pair of FBGs,a record output power of 5027 W located in the signal core is achieved with a slope efficiency of~82.1%,and the beam quality factor M2is measured to be~1.6 at the maximum power.The FBGs are simply fixed on a water cooling plate without a special package,and the thermal efficiency of the HR-FBG and the LR-FBG is 2.76℃/kW and 1℃/kW,respectively.Our research provides an effective solution for robust high-power all-fiber laser oscillators.

Field-programmable gate array-based large-capacity sensing network with 1642 ultra-weak fiber Bragg gratings

A field-programmable gate array （FPGA）-based large-capacity sensing network with ultra-weak fiber Bragg gratings （FBGs） is proposed and experimentally studied. The demodulation system is constructed to interrogate 1642 serial time-division-multiplexing FBGs with a peak refleetivity of about -40 dB and equal separations of 2.5 m. Two semiconductor optical amplifiers and an InGaAs linear sensor array controlled by an FPGA are introduced to the demodulation system to achieve fast, precise, and flexible interrogation. The low crosstalk and spectral distortion axe investigated through both theoretical analysis and experiments.

Analysis of Sampled Fiber Bragg Grating Based on the Photonic Crystal Theory

One of the most basic characteristics of photonic crystal is frequency band gap. When defects are introduced into the periodic photonic crystal, a number of defect modes appear in the stop band. In this paper, we exploit transfer matrix method based on photonic crystal theory, and assume the sampled fiber Bragg grating as one-dimensional dual photonic crystal with a large size defect. Characteristics of the sampled fiber Bragg grating are analyzed. Experimental results show that the sampled fiber Bragg grating has many reflective peaks. Its reflectivity, center wavelength, reflective peak intervals and band width all change with the grating parameters, including grating length, duty ratio of the material with high dielectric constant, and index modulation depth and period. Results agree with the conventional couple mode theory which can be used when analyzing other characteristics of the sampled fiber Bragg grating or applying it into practice.

Response Analysis of Ultrasonic Sensing System Based on Fiber Bragg Gratings of Different Lengths

In recent years, fiber Bragg gratings （FBGs） have been widely used in ultrasonic detection for practical structural health monitoring in light of its unique advantages over the conventional sensors. Although FBGs have been successfully tested in ultrasonic inspection, the effect of the grating length on the sensitivity of the FBG ultrasonic sensing system is yet to be analyzed. Hence, using the simulation model, the main influencing factor on the sensitivity of the ultrasonic sensing system with different lengths gratings was first investigated. In the following experiment, the ultrasonic responses of the sensing system with six different lengths FBGs were obtained, respectively. The theoretical analysis and the experimental results would be useful for sensitivity improvement of the FBG-based ultrasonic and acoustic emission sensing system.

Gamma-radiation effects in pure-silica-core photonic crystal fiber

We investigated the steady state gamma-ray radiation response of pure-silica-core photonic crystal fibers（PSC-PCFs）under an accumulated dose of 500 Gy and a dose rate of 2.38 Gy/min. The radiation-induced attenuation（RIA） spectra in the near-infrared region from 800 nm to 1700 nm were obtained. We find that the RIA at 1550 nm is related with hydroxyl（OH^-） absorption defects in addition to the identified self-trapped hole（STH） defects. Moreover, it is proposed and demonstrated that reduced OH^-absorption defects can decrease the RIA at 1550 nm. The RIA at 1550 nm has effectively declined from 27.7 d B/km to 3.0 dB/km through fabrication improvement. Preliminary explanations based on the unique fabrication processes were given to interpret the RIA characteristics of PSC-PCFs. The results show that the PSC-PCFs,which offer great advantages over conventional fibers, are promising and applicable to fiber sensors in harsh environments.

Center of Gravity Estimation Using a Reaction Board Instrumented With Fiber Bragg Gratings

The purpose of the present work is to construct a reaction board based on fiber Bragg gratings （FBGs） that could be used for estimation of the 2D coordinates of the projection of center of gravity （CG） of an object. The apparatus is consisted of a rigid equilateral triangular board mounted on three supports at the vertices, two of which have cantilevers instrumented with FBGs. When an object of known weight is placed on the board, the bending strain of the cantilevers is measured by a proportional wavelength shift of the FBGs. Applying the equilibrium conditions of a rigid body and proper calibration procedures, the wavelength shift is used to estimate the vertical reaction forces and moments of force at the supports and the coordinates of the object＇s CG projection on the board. This method can be used on a regular basis to estimate the CG of the human body or objects with complex geometry and density distribution. An example is provided for the estimation of the CG projection coordinates of two orthopaedic femur bone models, one intact, and the other with a hip stem implant encased. The clinical implications of changing the normal CG location by means of a prosthesis have been discussed.

Different supercontinuum generation processes in photonic crystal fibers pumped with a 1064-nm picosecond pulse

Picosecond pulse pumped supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber is investigated by performing a series of comparative experiments. The main purpose is to investigate the supercontinuum generation processes excited by a given pump source through the experimental study of some specific fibers. A 20-W all-fiber picosecond master oscillator-power amplifier （MOPA） laser is used to pump three different kinds of photonic crystal fibers for supercontinuum generation. Three diverse supercontinuum formation processes are observed to correspond to photonie crystal fibers with distinct dis- persion properties. The experimental results are consistent with the relevant theoretical results. Based on the above analyses, a watt-level broadband white light supercontinuum source spanning from 500 nm to beyond 1700 nm is demonstrated by using a picosecond fiber laser in combination with the matched photonic crystal fiber. The limitation of the group velocity matching curve of the photonic crystal fiber is also discussed in the paper.

Multi-Wavelength Optical Packet Routing Technologies Based on Superstructured Fiber Bragg Gratings

A WDM compatible Edge-to-Edge Self-Routed optical packet switched network that simplifies the optical processing is proposed. The system employs all-optical packet label generation and recognition using coded superstructured Fiber Bragg gratings.

Intensity-Modulated Optical Fiber Sensors Based on Chirped-Fiber Bragg Gratings

Intensity-modulated fiber Bragg grating （FBG） sensors, compared with normal wavelength-encoding FBG sensors, can reduce the cost of sensor system significantly by using cost-efficient optical power detection devices, instead of expensive wavelength measurement instruments. Chirped-FBG （CFBG） based intensity-modulated sensors show potential applications in various sensing areas due to their many advantages, including inherent independence of temperature, high measurement speed, and low cost, in addition to the merits of all fiber-optic sensors. This paper theoretically studies the sensing principle of CFBG-based intensity-modulated sensors and briefly reviews their recent progress in measurement of displacement, acceleration, and tilt angle.

Novel Apodized Fiber Bragg GratingApplied for Medical Sensors:Performance Investigation

Sensors play an important role in shaping and monitoring human health.Exploration of methods to use Fiber Bragg Grating(FBG)with enhanced sensitivity has attracted great interest in the field of medical research.In this paper,a novel apodization function is proposed and performance evaluation and optimization of the same have been made.A comparison was conducted between various existing apodization functions and the proposed one based on optical characteristics and sensor parameters.The results evince the implementation of the proposed apodization function for vital sign measurement.The optical characteristics considered for evaluation are Peak Resonance Reflectivity level,Side Lobes Reflectivity level and FullWidth HalfMaximum(FWHM).The proposed novel apodization novel function has better FWHM,which is narrower than the FWHM of uniform FBG.Sensor characteristics like a quality parameter,detection accuracy and sensitivity also show improvement.The proposed novel apodization function is demonstrated to have a better shift in wavelength in terms of temperature and pulse measurement than the existing functions.The sensitivity of the proposed apodized function is enhanced with a Poly-dimethylsiloxane coating of varying thickness,which is 6 times and 5.14 times greater than uniform Fiber Bragg grating and FBG with the proposed novel apodization function,respectively,enhancing its utilization in the field of medicine.

Encrypted optical fiber tag based on encoded fiber Bragg grating array

Optical fibers are typically used in telecommunications services for data transmission,where the use of fiber tags is essential to distinguish between the different transmission fibers or channels and thus ensure the working functionality of the communication system.Traditional physical entity marking methods for fiber labeling are bulky,easily confused,and,most importantly,the label information can be accessed easily by all potential users.This work proposes an encrypted optical fiber tag based on an encoded fiber Bragg grating(FBG)array that is fabricated using a point-by-point femtosecond laser pulse chain inscription method.Gratings with different resonant wavelengths and reflectivities are realized by adjusting the grating period and the refractive index modulations.It is demonstrated that a binary data sequence carried by a fiber tag can be inscribed into the fiber core in the form of an FBG array,and the tag data can be encrypted through appropriate design of the spatial distributions of the FBGs with various reflection wavelengths and reflectivities.The proposed fiber tag technology can be used for applications in port identification,encrypted data storage,and transmission in fiber networks.