Optical micro/nanofiber enabled tactile sensors and soft actuators:A review

As a combination of fiber optics and nanotechnology,optical micro/nanofiber(MNF)is considered as an important multifunctional building block for fabricating various miniaturized photonic devices.With the rapid progress in flexible optoelectronics,MNF has been emerging as a promising candidate for assembling tactile sensors and soft actuators owing to its unique optical and mechanical properties.This review discusses the advances in MNF enabled tactile sensors and soft actuators,specifically,focusing on the latest research results over the past 5 years and the applications in health monitoring,human-machine interfaces,and robotics.Future prospects and challenges in developing flexible MNF devices are also presented.

Highly sensitive and fast response strain sensor based on evanescently coupled micro/nanofibers

Flexible strain sensors play an important role in electronic skins,wearable medical devices,and advanced robots.Herein,a highly sensitive and fast response optical strain sensor with two evanescently coupled optical micro/nanofibers(MNFs)embedded in a polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)film is proposed.The strain sensor exhibits a gauge factor as high as 64.5 for strain≤0.5%and a strain resolution of 0.0012%which corresponds to elongation of 120 nm on a 1 cm long device.As a proof-of-concept,highly sensitive fingertip pulse measurement is realized.The properties of fast temporal frequency response up to 30 kHz and a pressure sensitivity of 102 kPa^(−1) enable the sensor for sound detection.Such versatile sensor could be of great use in physiological signal monitoring,voice recognition and micro-displacement detection.

Modeling and Simulation of MOEMS Gyroscope Based on TE-TM Mode Converter

A novel structure design of micro optic electro mechanical system（MOEMS）gyroscope is presented in this paper.The structure combining surface acoustic wave（SAW）sensor,optical waveguide diffractive component,electro-optical modulator etc.is integrated on a LiNbO3 substrate as the gyroscope for sensing rotating angular velocity,and an optical readout device is added on the traditional SAW typed TE-TM mode converter as the detecting device.The principles of the MOEMS are discussed in the paper,and simulation result shows that there would be apparent advantages of higher precision and stronger anti-vibration capacity.

Optimization of the resonant frequency servo loop technique in the resonator micro optic gyro

Proportional integrator (PI) is always adopted in the resonant frequency servo loop in a resonator micro optic gyro (RMOG). The oscillation phenomenon is observed when adjusting the loop gain surpassing a threshold. This phenomenon limits system performance on step response speed and residual error. Based on the experiment system, a simulation model was set up. Further analysis shows that the threshold gain is related to the system loop filter setting and the loop delay. The traditional PI frequency servo loop technique in the RMOG system cannot keep up with the environment's disturbance quickly enough, which leads to a large residual error. A compensating method is proposed to optimize the tracking performance, solve the oscillation problem, and speed up the system response. Simulation and experiment results show that the compensated system is superior in performance. It has less residual error in the stable state and is 10 times quicker than the uncompensated system on the step response.

A Multifunctional Airfow Sensor Enabled by Optical Micro/nanofber

Fiber-optic anemometers have attracted an increasing attention over the past decade owing to their high sensitivity,wide dynamic range,low power consumption,and immunity to electromagnetic interference.However,expensive instruments may limit their practical applications.Herein,a new type of airfow sensor based on optical micro/nanofber(MNF)is proposed and realized.The sensing element is a fexible polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)cantilever embedded with a U-shaped MNF.Upon exposure to airfow,the induced defection of the cantilever results in a bending-dependent transmittance variation of the embedded MNF.The performance of the sensor can be engineered by tuning the cantilever thickness and/or the MNF diameter.When four cantilevers are arranged in two orthogonal directions,the transmittance of each cantilever will be dependent on both fow speed and direction.By analysing the output signals of the four cantilevers,omnidirectional airfow with fow speed within 15 m/s were experimentally measured.In addition,a variety of voice and respiratory signals can be monitored and distinguished in real-time using an optimized cantilever with a resolution of 0.012 m/s,presenting great potential for health monitoring applications.

Waveguide-type optical passive ring resonator gyro using frequency modulation spectroscopy technique

This paper reports the experimental results of silica on a silicon ring resonator in a resonator micro optic gyroscope based on the frequency modulation spectroscopy technique by our research group. The ring resonator is composed of a 4 cm diameter silica waveguide. By testing at D1550 nm, the FSR, FWHM and the depth of resonance are 3122 MHz, 103.07 MHz and 0.8 respectively. By using a polarization controller, the resonance curve under the TM mode can be inhibited. The depth of resonance increased from 0.8 to 0.8913, namely the finesse increase from 30.33 to 33.05. In the experiments, there is an acoustic-optical frequency shifter（AOFS） in each light loop. We lock the lasing frequency at the resonance frequency of the silica waveguide ring resonator for the counterclockwise lightwave; the frequency difference between the driving frequencies of the two AOFS is equivalent to the Sagnac frequency difference caused by gyro rotation. Thus, the gyro output is observed. The slope of the linear fit is about 0.330 m V/（°/s） based on the 900 to 900 k Hz equivalent frequency and the gyro dynamic range is ±2.0×10^3rad/s.

Vessel density and En-face segmentation of optical coherence tomography angiography to analyse corneal vascularisation in an animal model

Background:Optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)is a novel non-invasive angiography technology that has recently been extensively studied for its utility in anterior segment imaging.In this study,we compared a split-spectrum amplitude decorrelation angiography(SSADA)OCTA and an optical micro-angiography(OMAG SD)OCTA system to current angiographic technique,indocyanine green angiography(ICGA),to assess corneal vascularisation in an animal model.Methods:We imaged 16 rabbits,(one eye per animal)with corneal vascularisation using SSADA OCTA(AngioVue;Optovue Inc.,USA),OMAG OCTA(Angioscan;RS-3000 Nidek Co.Ltd.,Japan)and ICGA in the same region of interest of the cornea at successive time-points.We then analysed all scanned images for vessel density measurements and used paired t-tests and Bland-Altman plots to examine for significant differences.The en-face segmentation images from each of the OCTA scans were also extracted and were matched at every 50μm segmentation to be compared for vessel density at the respective depths.Results:Bland-Altman plots revealed a good agreement between all three imaging techniques(P>0.05)for all vessel density measurements computed,and the ranges of 95%limit of agreement were acceptable from a clinical perspective.No significant difference was reported,with ICGA(μ=16.52±8.94%)being more comparable to the OMAG OCTA(μ=16.23±9.51%;p=0.50)than the SSADA OCTA(μ=17.09±7.34%;p=0.33)system.Also,a good correlation value(r>0.9)was obtained when comparing the vessel density measurements of the en-face segmentations between the OCTA systems.Conclusions:Comparable vessel density quantification between the two OCTA systems,and with ICGA was obtained.Segmentation analysis of the vasculature at different depths showed varied performance in the two OCTA systems relative to each other.The implications of the study may help to aid in the development of better OCTA algorithms for the anterior segment and its use in clinical translational research.