Characterization and Saturable Absorption Property of Graphene Oxide on Optical Fiber by Optical Deposition

We prepared graphene oxide（GO） saturable absorber（SA） successfully through optical deposition method, which is a simple but effective approach to deposit various materials onto substrate under the effects of light, and investigated several factors that influence the optical deposition result of GO onto optical fiber end, including poly（methyl methacrylate）（PMMA） concentration, light intensity, light mode, and deposition time. The efficient optically deposited GO preserving its nonlinearity guaranteed by GO/PMMA composite formation was also demonstrated. The GO SA prepared by optical deposition shows superior saturable absorption property with modulation depth and nonsaturable loss of 6% and 40%, respectively.

Macular thickness as a predictor of loss of visual sensitivity in ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy

Ethambutol is a common cause of drug-related optic neuropathy.Prediction of the onset of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy and consequent drug withdrawal may be an effective method to stop visual loss.Previous studies have shown that structural injury to the optic nerve occurred earlier than the damage to visual function.Therefore,we decided to detect structural biomarkers marking visual field loss in early stage ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy.The thickness of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer,macular thickness and visual sensitivity loss would be observed in 11 ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy patients（22 eyes） using optical coherence tomography.Twenty-four healthy age-and sex-matched participants（48 eyes） were used as controls.Results demonstrated that the temporal peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and average macular thickness were thinner in patients with ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy compared with healthy controls.The average macular thickness was strongly positively correlated with central visual sensitivity loss（r2=0.878,P=0.000）.These findings suggest that optical coherence tomography can be used to efficiently screen patients.Macular thickness loss could be a potential factor for predicting the onset of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy.

Equal-amplitude optical comb generation using multi-frequency phase modulation in optical fibers

We theoretically analyze and experimentally demonstrate a method of generating equal-amplitude optical comb exploiting multi-frequency phase modulation. The theoretical analysis shows that 4n-1 equalamplitude spectral lines can be obtained when the modulation signal comprises n frequency components including the fundamental frequency and the odd harmonic frequencies, and 2n＋1 equal-amplitude spectral lines can be obtained when the modulation signal comprises n frequency components including the fundamental frequency and the even harmonic frequencies. Then, we numerically simulate the spectra of 5, 7, 9, and 11 equal-amplitude spectral lines, respectively, which are also obtained in experiments with frequency separation of 30 MHz and flatness of better than 0.3 dB.

50 GHz optical true time delay beamforming in hybrid optical/mm-wave access networks with multi-core optical fiber distribution

We propose and experimentally validate an optical true time delay beamforming scheme with straightforward integration into hybrid optical/millimeter（mm）-wave access networks. In the proposed approach, the most complex functions, including the beamforming network, are implemented in a central office, reducing the complexity and cost of remote antenna units. Different cores in a multi-core fiber are used to distribute the modulated signals to high-speed photodetectors acting as heterodyne mixers. The mm-wave carrier frequency is fixed to 50 GHz（VBand）, thereby imposing a progressive delay between antenna elements of a few picoseconds. That true time delay is achieved with an accuracy lower than 1 ps and low phase noise.

Development of Non-Halogen Flame Retardant Optical Fiber and Optical Fiber Cord

A non-halogen highly flame-retardant 0.9mm optical fiber and 2.0mm simplex optical cord, which are harmonized with the ecosystem, have been developed. The characteristics of them are presented in this paper.

Comparison of Optical Transport Schemes for LMDS with Optical Fiber Backbone

We investigate and compare the performance of four optical transport schemes for distributing Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) signals using an optical fiber backbone.

Hybrid Optical Comb Filter with Multi-Port Fiber Coupler for DWDM Optical Network

Optical comb filters based on multi-port fused fiber couplers are proposed and numerically analyzed, 3-arm MZI composed by 1×7 fiber splitter and 3×3 fiber coupler, and 2-stage cascaded FIR type MZI interleave filter.

Case studies of high-sensitivity monitoring of natural and engineered slopes

High-sensitivity monitoring solutions are crucial for early warning systems of earth structures. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of such systems for natural and engineered slopes using two case studies. At the Gradenbach Observatory, one key element of the monitoring system is a large fiber optic strain rosette embedded in the slope. We demonstrate that the strain rosette can depict landslide deformations much earlier than geodetic sensors like GPS or total stations and is therefore well suitable for an early warning system. In a second application we report the construction of a reinforced earth structure using geogrids. A distributed fiber optic measurement system was installed to measure the current operating grade of the geogrids within the earth structure. About 2 km of Brillouin sensing cables were installed in the project area. It is demonstrated that the developed monitoring system is well suited for assessing the current state of health of reinforced earth structures.

4×4 multiple-input multiple-output coherent microwave photonic link with optical independent sideband and optical orthogonal modulation

A 4× 4 multiple-input multiple-output coherent microwave photonic （MWP） link to transmit four wireless signals with an identical microwave center frequency over a single optical wavelength based on optical independent sideband （OISB） modulation and optical orthogonal modulation with an improved spectral efficiency is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. At the transmitter, the OISB modulation and optical orthogonal modulation are implemented to generate an OISB signal using a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator （DP- MZM） driven by four microwave orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing （OFDM） signals with an identical microwave center frequency. At the receiver, the OISB signal is coherently detected at a coherent receiver where a free-running local oscillator （LO） laser source is employed. Digital signal processing is then used to recover the four OFDM signals, to eliminate the phase noise from the transmitter laser source and the LO laser source, and to cancel the unstable wavelength difference between the wavelengths of the transmitter laser source and the LO laser source. Error-free transmission of three 16 quadrature amplitude modulation （16-QAM） 1 Gbps OFDM signals and one 16-QAM 1.5 Gbps OFDM signal at a microwave center frequency of 2.91 GHz over a 10 km single-mode fiber is experimentally demonstrated.

Study of Temporal Thermal Response of Microfiber Bragg Grating

Fiber Bragg grating has been successfully fabricated in the silica microfiber by the use of femtosecond laser point-by-point inscription.Temporal thermal response of the fabricated silica microfiber Bragg grating has been measured by the use of the CO_(2) laser thermal excitation method,and the result shows that the time constant of the microfiber Bragg grating is reduced by an order of magnitude compared with the traditional single-mode fiber Bragg grating and the measured time constant is〜21 ms.

Multi-band microwave photonic satellite repeater scheme employing intensity Mach-Zehnder modulators

To solve the satellite repeater＇s flexible and wideband frequency conversion problem, we propose a novel microwave photonic repeater system, which can convert the upload signal＇s carrier to six different frequencies. The scheme employs one 20 GHz bandwidth dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator （MZM） and two 10 GHz bandwidth MZMs. The basic principle of this scheme is filtering out two optical sidebands after the optical carrier suppression （OCS） modulation and combining two sidebands modulated by the input radio frequency （RF） signal. This structure can realize simultaneous multi-band frequency conversion with only one frequency-fixed microwave source and prevent generating harmful interference sidebands by using two corresponding optical filters after optical modulation. In the simulation, one C-band signal of 6 GHz carrier can be successfully converted to 12 GHz （Ku-band）, 28 GHz, 34 GHz, 40 GHz, 46 GHz （Ka-band） and 52 GHz （V-band）, which can be an attractive method to realize multi-band microwave photonic satellite repeater. Alternatively, the scheme can be configured to generate multi-band local oscillators （LOs） for widely satellite onboard clock distribution when the input RF signal is replaced by the internal clock source.