Optical Fiber Torsion Sensor with Mechanically Induced Long Period Fiber Gratings in Rare-Earth Doped Fibers

In this work wavelength sensitivity in mechanically induced long period fiber gratings (MLPFG) is analyzed. This analysis is first carried out both in standard single-mode fiber SMF-28 and in Er-doped fibers. The mechanical analysis for both types of fibers under different torsion conditions is presented. In order to apply the torsion one of the fiber ends is fixed while torsion is applied on the other end. A MLPFG whose period is 503 μm is used to press the fiber after torsion is applied. This allows for micro curvatures to be formed on the fiber, which in turn generates a periodical index perturbation on it. Here, it was noted that the sensitive wavelength shift of the rejection bands is bigger for Er-doped fibers. For a torsion of 6 turns applied to 10 cm of doped fiber the wavelength peaks can be moved up to 25 nm, which is longer to what was detected on standard fibers. Therefore, by using Er-doped fibers to monitor torsion on structures will give more sensitive and accurate results than using standard fibers. These results can be employed for sensing applications, especially for small to medium size structures, which can be mechanical, civil or aeronautics.

Small but mighty:Empowering sodium/potassium-ion battery performance with S-doped SnO_(2) quantum dots embedded in N,S codoped carbon fiber network

SnO_(2) has been extensively investigated as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)and potassium-ion batteries(PIBs)due to its high Na/K storage capacity,high abundance,and low toxicity.However,the sluggish reaction kinetics,low electronic conductivity,and large volume changes during charge and discharge hinder the practical applications of SnO_(2)-based electrodes for SIBs and PIBs.Engineering rational structures with fast charge/ion transfer and robust stability is important to overcoming these challenges.Herein,S-doped SnO_(2)(S-SnO_(2))quantum dots(QDs)(≈3 nm)encapsulated in an N,S codoped carbon fiber networks(S-SnO_(2)-CFN)are rationally fabricated using a sequential freeze-drying,calcination,and S-doping strategy.Experimental analysis and density functional theory calculations reveal that the integration of S-SnO_(2) QDs with N,S codoped carbon fiber network remarkably decreases the adsorption energies of Na/K atoms in the interlayer of SnO_(2)-CFN,and the S doping can increase the conductivity of SnO_(2),thereby enhancing the ion transfer kinetics.The synergistic interaction between S-SnO_(2) QDs and N,S codoped carbon fiber network results in a composite with fast Na+/K+storage and extraordinary long-term cyclability.Specifically,the S-SnO_(2)-CFN delivers high rate capacities of 141.0 mAh g^(−1) at 20 A g^(−1) in SIBs and 102.8 mAh g^(−1) at 10 A g^(−1) in PIBs.Impressively,it delivers ultra-stable sodium storage up to 10,000 cycles at 5 A g^(−1) and potassium storage up to 5000 cycles at 2 A g^(−1).This study provides insights into constructing metal oxide-based carbon fiber network structures for high-performance electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices.

Rare Earth Doped Optical Fibers for Temperature Sensing Utilizing Ratio-Based Technology

A new and practical fluorescence temperature detecting system based on fluorescence intensity ratio was proposed . The background theory of fluorescence intensity-ratio method was presented simply. And the characters of rare earth doped samples were detailed. The erbium-doped fiber was chosen as the sensing element. The energy levels of 2H11/2 and 4S3/2 are responsible for the emission of radiation at approximately 530 and 555 nm. The erbium-doped (960 ppm) fiber of length 20 cm and core diameter 3.2μm was used as the sensing part. A silica photodiode transfers the fluorescence signal to electric signal, then the ratio of the average of the two different signals was calculated by the computer and the temperature was obtained. The ratio R of the intensity resulting from the transition between the two levels varies proportionly with temperature interval from 293 K to 373 K. The sensitivity of the sensor is approximately 0.05 K-1.

Structural Performance and Characterization of Polyimide Doped Activated Carbon Fibers for Mercury Adsorption

Structure characteristics about activated carbon fibers (ACF) and polyimide (P84) doped ACF modified by HNO3 solution were studied to apply in mercury removal in coal-fired flue gases. The P84, which was always used in the non-woven fabric for bag filter, was intermingled with polyacrylonitrile-based ACF (PAN-ACF) in the weight ratio of 1∶1 in order to make the doped ACF with P84 (doped-ACF-P84). Then the doped-ACF-P84 fibers were modified by HNO3 solution. The structure and morphology of doped-ACF-P84 were characterized and compared with those of ACF and doped-ACF-P84 modified by HNO3solution. The results show that the modified doped-ACF-P84 fibers have almost the same pore structure and specific surface area comparing with the original one. However, contrasted with the original PAN-ACF, the doped-ACF-P84 fibers modified by HNO3 solution have more oxygen-containing groups used for mercury removal. In particular, they have more lactone and carboxyl groups.

A host-guest approach to fabricate metallic cobalt nanoparticles embedded in silk-derived N-doped carbon fibers for efficient hydrogen evolution

Hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) plays a key role in generating clean and renewable energy. As the most effective HER electrocatalysts, Pt group catalysts suffer from severe problems such as high price and scarcity. It is highly desirable to design and synthesize sustainable HER electrocatalysts to replace the Pt group catalysts. Due to their low cost, high abundance and high activities, cobalt-incorporated N-doped nanocarbon hybrids are promising candidate electrocatalysts for HER. In this report, we demonstrated a robust and eco-friendly host-guest approach to fabricate metallic cobalt nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon fibers derived from natural silk fibers. Benefiting from the onedimensional nanostructure, the well-dispersed metallic cobalt nanoparticles and the N-doped thin graphitized carbon layer coating, the best Cobased electrocatalyst manifests low overpotential(61 mV@10 mA/cm^2) HER activity that is comparable with commercial 20% Pt/C, and good stability in acid. Our findings provide a novel and unique route to explore high-performance noble-metal-free HER electrocatalysts.

Recent Advances in New Band Rare-earth Doped Fiber Amplifiers

Broadband,high bit rate,long hauls and system intelligence are current trends in developing fiber optic communication systems.The ever-increasing traffic demands have made it urgent to develop new band optical fiber amplifier.Laser characteristics of various rare-earth ion including Er3+,Tm3+,Pr3+,Dy3+,Ho3+,and Nd3+ doped fiber are reviewed.Recent advances of rare-earth doped fiber amplifiers with wide-band and flat gain are also introduced.

Electron-Irradiation and Photo-Excitation Darkening and Bleaching of Yb Doped Silica Fibers: Comparison

We report a comparative experimental study of the attenuation spectra transformations for a series of Yb doped alumino-germano silicate fibers with different contents of Yb3+ dopants, which arise as the result of irradiation either by a beam of high-energy electrons or by resonant (into the 977-nm absorption peak of YbYb3+ ions) optical pumping. The experimental data obtained reveal that in the two circumstances, substantial and complex but different in appearance changes occur within the resonant absorption band of YbYb3+ ions and in the off-resonance background loss of the fibers. Possible mechanisms responsible for these spectral changes are discussed.

Research on Infrared Emissivity and Laser Reflectivity of Sn_(1−x)Er_(x)O_(2)Micro/Nanofibers Based on First-Principles

Sn_(1−x)Er_(x)O_(2)(x=0%,8%,16%,24%)micro/nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning combined with heat treatment using erbium nitrate,stannous chloride and polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)as raw materials.The target products were characterized by thermogravimetric analyzer,X-ray diffrotometer,fourier transform infrared spectrometer,scanning electron microscope,spectrophotometer and infrared emissivity tester,and the effects of Er^(3+)doping on its infrared and laser emissivity were studied.At the same time,the Sn_(1−x)Er_(x)O_(2)(x=0%,16%)doping models were constructed based on the first principles of density functional theory,and the related optoelectronic properties such as their energy band structure,density of states,reflectivity and dielectric constant were analyzed,and further explained the mechanism of Er^(3+)doping on SnO_(2)infrared emissivity and laser absorption from the point of electronic structure.The results showed that after calcination at 600℃,single rutile type SnO_(2)was formed,and the crystal structure was not changed by doping Er^(3+).The calcined products showed good fiber morphology,and the average fiber diameter was 402 nm.The infrared emissivity and resistivity of the samples both decreased first and then increased with the increase of Er^(3+)doping amount.When x=16%,the infrared emis-sivity of the sample was at least 0.71;and Er^(3+)doping can effectively reduce the reflectivity of SnO_(2)at 1.06μm and 1.55μm,when x=16%,its reflectivity at 1.06μm and 1.55μm are 50.5%and 40%,respectively,when x=24%,the reflectivity at 1.06μm and 1.55μm wavelengths are 47.3%and 42.1%,respectively.At the same time,the change of carrier concentration and electron transition before and after Er^(3+)doping were described by first-principle calculation,and the regulation mechanism of infrared emissivity and laser reflectivity was explained.This study provides a certain experimental and theoretical basis for the development of a single-type,light-weight and easily prepared infrared and laser compatible-stealth material.

A Single-Frequency Linearly Polarized Fiber Laser Using a Newly Developed Heavily Tm3+-Doped Germanate Glass Fiber at 1.95 μm

A compact linearly polarized, low-noise, narrow-linewidth, single-frequency fiber laser at 1950nm is demonstrated. This compact fiber laser is based on a 21-mm-long homemade Tm3＋-doped germanate glass fiber. Over 100-mW stable continuous-wave single transverse and longitudinal mode lasing at 195Ohm are achieved. The measured relative intensity noise is less than -135dB/Hz at frequencies over 5 MHz. The signal-to-noise ratio of the laser is larger than 72dB, and the laser linewidth is less than 6kHz, while the obtained linear polarization extinction ratio is higher than 22 dB.

Experimental and numerical investigation of mid-infrared laser in Pr^(3+)-doped chalcogenide fiber

We report on a chalcogenide glass fiber doped with Pr^(3+) that can be used for commercialized 1.5-μm and 2-μm laser excitations by emitting broadband 3 μm–5.5 μm fluorescence, which is extruded into a preform and then drawn into a step-index fiber. The spectroscopic properties of the fiber and glass are reported, and the mid-infrared fiber lasers are also numerically investigated. Cascade lasing is employed to increase the inversion population of the upper laser level. The particle swarm approach is applied to optimize the fiber laser parameters. The output power can reach 1.28 W at 4.89-μm wavelength, with a pump power of 5 W, excitation wavelength at 2.04 μm, Pr^(3+) ion concentration at 4.22 × 10^(25) ions/m^3,fiber length at 0.94 m, and fiber background loss at 3 dB/m.

Construction of Hierarchical Nanostructured N-doped TiO2 Immobilized Activated Carbon Fiber Porous Composites for Toluene Removal

The hierarchical nanostructured N-doped TiO2 immobilized activated carbon fiber(N-TiO2/ACF)porous composites are fabricated to removal dynamic toluene gas.The results show that nitrogen ions doping and ACF modification can decrease the band gap of TiO2,leading to red shift toward visible light region.Interestingly,N-TiO2/ACF exhibits strongly synergistic effect owing to high surface area,good crystallinity,enhanced bandgap structure and light harvesting.The toluene removal rate of N-TiO2/ACF composites is 2.29 times higher than that of TiO2.The N-TiO2/ACF for toluene degradation followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model,and the rate constant is enhanced 8 times compared with TiO2.The possible photodegradation pathway and mechanisms are proposed.

1.3 μm Emission from Nd^(3+)-doped Tellurite Glass Fiber

1 wt pct Nd2O3-doped tellurite bulk glass and fiber with the same composition of 75TeO2-15ZnO-5Na2O-5Li2O4(mol fraction, %) were fabricated. Judd-Ofelt analysis was carried out for the bulk. The emission from the 4F3/2→4I13/2 transition in fiber is at 1.33 μm wavelength with a spectral bandwidth of 55 nm, which is similar to that in bulk. In the case of the fiber, the lifetime of 4F3/2 Ievel is 164 μs, and the quantum efficiency is -100%. The figure-of-merit for gain (<δpTo) for Nd3+-doped tellurite glass is about 2.8×10-24 cm2·S, which is quite comparable vvith that in Nd3+-doped fluoroaluminate glasses, and is an order of magnitude larger than Pr3+-doped fluoride glasses.

Performance Enhancement of Praseodymium Doped Fiber Amplifiers

In this paper,we report a simulation study on the performance enhancement of Praseodymium doped silica fiber amplifiers(PDFAs)in O-band(1270-1350 nm)in terms of small signal gain,power conversion efficiency(PCE),and output optical power by employing bidirectional pumping.The PDFA performance is examined by optimizing the length of Praseodymium doped silica fiber(PDF),its mode-field diameter(MFD)and the concentration of Pr^(3+).A small-signal peak gain of 56.4 dB,power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 47%,and output optical power of around 1.6 W(32 dBm)is observed at optimized parameters for input signal wavelength of 1310 nm.Minimum noise figure(NF)of 4.1 dB is observed at input signal wavelength of 1310 nm.Moreover,the effect of varying the pump wavelength and pump power on output optical power of the amplifier and amplified spontaneous emission(ASE)noise is also investigated,respectively.Finally,the impact of ion-ion interaction(up-conversion effect)on small-signal gain of the amplifier is also studied by considering different values of up-conversion coefficient.

227-W output all-fiberized Tm-doped fiber laser at 1908 nm

In this paper, we report that a diode-pumped thulium-doped double clad silica fiber laser can provide powers of up to 227 W at 1908 nm, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 54.3%, and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 51.2%. The output power, to the best of our knowledge, is the highest output at 1908 nm. The beam quality M2 factor is about 1.56. Also discussed in this paper is the dependence of the laser performance on fiber length.

980-nm all-fiber mode-locked Yb-doped phosphate fiber oscillator based on semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and its amplifier

A 980-nm semiconductor saturable absorber mirror（SESAM） mode-locked Yb-doped phosphate fiber laser is demonstrated by using an all-fiber linear cavity configuration. Two different kinds of cavity lengths are introduced into the oscillator to obtain a robust and stable mode-locked seed source. When the cavity length is chosen to be 6 m, the oscillator generates an average output power of 3.5 m W and a pulse width of 76.27 ps with a repetition rate of 17.08 MHz. As the cavity length is optimized to short, 4.4-m W maximum output power and 61.15-ps pulse width are produced at a repetition rate of 20.96 MHz. The output spectrum is centered at 980 nm with a narrow spectral bandwidth of 0.13 nm. In the experiment, no undesired amplified spontaneous emission（ASE） nor harmful oscillation around 1030 nm is observed. Moreover,through a two-stage all-fiber-integrated amplifier, an output power of 740 m W is generated with a pulse width of 200 ps.

Generation and evolution of multiple operation states in passively mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser by using a graphene-covered-microfiber

Using graphene-covered-microfiber （GCM） as a saturable absorber, the generation and evolution of multiple operation states are proposed and demonstrated in passively mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser. The microfiber was fabricated using the flame brushing method to an interaction length of - 1.2 cm with a waist diameter of -10 μm. Graphene layers were grown on copper foils by chemical vapor deposition and transferred onto the polydimethylsiloxane （PDMS） to form a PDMS/graphene film, which allowed light-graphene interaction via evanescent field. With the increase of the pump power from 1.25 W to 2.15 W, five different lasing regimes, including continuous-wave, conventional soliton mode-locking, multi- soliton mode-locking, a period of transition, and noise-like mode-locking, were achieved in a fiber ring cavity. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report of the generation and evolution of multiple operation states by covering graphene on the microfiber in the 2-μ.m region. The results demonstrate that GCM can be a promising method for fabricating all fiber SA, and the switchable operation states can provide more portability in complex application domain.

A theoretical and experimental investigation of an in-band pumped gain-switched thulium-doped fiber laser

In this paper, the theoretical rate equation model of an in-band pumped gain-switched thulium-doped fiber （TDF） laser is investigated. The analytical formulations of pump energy threshold, peak power extraction efficiency, and pulse extraction efficiency are derived through analyzing the interaction process between the pump pulse and the laser pulse. They are useful for understanding, designing, and optimizing the in-band pumped TDF lasers in a 1.9 μm-2.1 μm wavelength region. The experiment with an all-fiber gain-switched TDF laser pumped by a 1.558-μm pulse amplifier is conducted, and our experimental results show good agreement with theoretical analysis.

A theoretical and experimental study on all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped mode-locked fiber lasers

We report on a theoretical and experimental study of an all-normal-dispersion （ANDi） Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser, in which nonlinear polarization rotation （NPR） is used to realize mode-locking without any dispersion compensation. Based on the coupled nonlinear Schr6dinger （CNLS） equation, a model simulating the mode-locked process of an all-normal-dispersion ring fiber laser is developed, which shows that the achievement of stable mode-locking depends on the alignment of the polarization controller （PC） along the fast-polarization axis of the fiber, the birefringence intensity, and the net cavity dispersion. According to the theoretical analysis, stable mode-locked pulses with pulse duration 300 ps and average output power 33.9 mW at repetition rate 36 MHz are obtained.

Dispersive Nonlinearity in Er-Doped Optical Fiber

Optical dispersive nonlinearities in Er-doped optical fiber are discussed and measured at the third window wavelength 1.55 μm for optical communications firstly. The experimental method, which is developed by us, is based on dynamic scanning for fixed-point-interference (DSFPI) of two fiber beams. The real part and complex value of the third-order susceptibility at the wavelength are also obtained from the measured Kerr coefficient and nonlinear-absorption coefficient reported elsewhere.

Stable single longitudinal mode erbium-doped silica fiber laser based on an asymmetric linear three-cavity structure

We present a stable linear-cavity single longitudinal mode （SLM） erbium-doped silica fiber laser. It consists of four fiber Bragg gratings （FBGs） directly written in a section of photosensitive erbium-doped fiber （EDF） to form an asymmetric three-cavity structure. The stable SLM operation at a wavelength of 1545.112 nm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 0.012 nm and an optical signal-to-noise ratio （OSNR） of about 60 dB is verified experimentally. Under laboratory conditions, the performance of a power fluctuation of less than 0.05 dB observed from the power meter for 6 h and a wavelength variation of less than 0.01 nm obtained from the optical spectrum analyzer （OSA） for about 1.5 h are demonstrated. The gain fiber length is no longer limited to only several centimeters for SLM operation because of the excellent mode-selecting ability of the asymmetric three-cavity structure. The proposed scheme provides a simple and cost-effective approach to realizing a stable SLM fiber laser.