Core-offset hollow core photonic bandgap fiber-based intermodal interferometer for strain and temperature measurements

A novel core-offset hollow core photonic bandgap fiber (HCPBF) based intermodal interferometer is presented. It is fabricated by splicing a section of HCPBF between two single mode fibers with a slight core offset at one splice joint. The fabrication process only involves splicing and cleaving. Its applications for strain and temperature measurements are also demonstrated. Its strain and temperature sensitivities are -1.17 pm/με and 6.66 pm/°C, respectively.     

Recording of In-plane Surface Displacement by Double-exposure Speckle Photography

Local displacements in the plane of an object surface illuminated by coherent light may be measured by recording double-exposure photographs of it. When the surface is illuminated symmetrically by two oblique beams, ‘speckle correlation fringes’ appear in the doubly exposed negative, due to the non-linear nature of the photographic recording. Factors affecting the visibility of these fringes and the range of displacement which can be measured are discussed. The fringe visibility falls to zero for displacements larger than a speckle width, but measurements can then be performed upon the optical transform of the negative image. With uni-directional object illumination, the in-plane displacement can be measured on a point-by-point basis in magnitude and in direction from Young's fringes observed. With two symmetrical oblique illuminating beams the effect of a small surface strain is displayed, even if large lateral displacement has occurred, by using spatial filtering when viewing the photographic image.     

Discrimination between strain and temperature by cascading single-mode thin-core diameter fibers

A simple fiber-optic sensor capable of discrimination between temperature and strain is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor head is formed by cascading two sections of single-mode thin-core diameter fibers (TCFs) that act as two different inter-modal interferometers (IMIs). Due to the different sensitivity responses of the two IMIs to strain and temperature, it is possible to discriminate temperature and strain by monitoring the resonant wavelength shifts. The experimental results indicate that the measured strain and temperature resolutions are 37.41 με and 0.732 °C within a strain range of 0-1333.3 με and a temperature range from 26.9 °C to 61.7 °C. The sensing sensitivities of strain and temperature are -1.03 pm/με and 30.74 pm/°C, respectively. The proposed sensor features the advantages of easy fabrication, low cost and high sensitivity, and it exhibits great potential in dual-parameter measurement.     

Measurement of the spatial coherence of light influenced by turbulence

To evaluate the Earth's surface with a sensor on a satellite, it is important for one to use a correction factor such as atmospheric turbulence. The spatial coherence of light influenced by turbulence was measured in the laboratory by use of a simulator equipped with a multiple reflection system. The turbulence was generated by changing the ambient temperatures from 32 to 48 degrees C. It was found that the spatial coherence of light that passed through the turbulent region decreased when the temperature increased. Double-slit interference fringes were analyzed by a photographic method. The visibility of the interference fringes is the degree of coherence.     

Simultaneous measurement of multiparameters using a Sagnac interferometer with polarization maintaining side-hole fiber

A Sagnac interferometer with a section of a polarization maintaining side-hole fiber for multiparameter measurement is proposed. The sensor was experimentally demonstrated to be sensitive to torsion, temperature, and longitudinal strain, simultaneously. The birefringence in the investigated side-hole fiber is induced simultaneously by the elliptical shape of a germanium-doped core and by field overlap with the air holes surrounding the core. The latter effect is purely geometrical and causes high chromatic dispersion of the group birefringence in the long wavelength range, which results in a different period of spectral interference fringes. A different wavelength response is obtained for each interference fringe peak when the fiber is subjected to torsion, temperature, or longitudinal strain. A matrix equation for simultaneous measurement of the three parameters--torsion, temperature, and longitudinal strain--is also proposed.     

Superstructured fiber-optic contact force sensor with minimal cosensitivity to temperature and axial strain

In this work a new superstructured, in-fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based, contact force sensor is presented that is based on birefringent D-shape optical fiber. The sensor superstructure comprises a polyimide sheath, a stress-concentrating feature, and an alignment feature that repeatably orients the sensor with respect to contact forces. A combination of plane elasticity and strain-optic models is used to predict sensor performance in terms of sensitivity to contact force and axial strain. Model predictions are validated through experimental calibration and indicate contact force, axial strain, and temperature sensitivities of 169.6 pm/(N/mm), 0.01 pm/με, and -1.12 pm/°C in terms of spectral separation. The sensor addresses challenges associated with contact force sensors that are based on FBGs in birefringent fiber, FBGs in conventional optical fiber, and tilted FBGs. Relative to other birefringent fiber sensors, the sensor has contact force sensitivity comparable to the highest sensitivity of commercially available birefringent fibers and, unlike other birefringent fiber sensors, is self-aligning with respect to contact forces. Unlike sensors based on Bragg gratings in conventional fiber and tilted Bragg gratings, the sensor has minimal cosensitivity to both axial strain and changes in temperature.     

基于光纤干涉仪的振动测量技术

本文介绍了基于光纤Mach-Zchndcr干涉仪的振动测量系统,用线阵CCD测量条纹动态位移,实现了光纤干涉条纹图像的连续采集.针对干涉条纹图像噪声的特点完成了低通滤波器的设计、图像的平滑处理,消除了干涉条纹中心的定位误差.文章绘制了干涉条纹位移曲线并对其进行了离散傅里叶变换,给出了所测振动的频谱特性.最后讨论了测量系统的灵敏度以及影响测量精度的因素,为了能够辨别条纹的移动方向,指出了条纹最大允许的移动速度限制,给出了实验结果.     

Measuring a spectral bandpass of a fibre-optic spectrometer using time-domain and spectral-domain two-beam interference

Abstract

Spectral bandpasses of a miniature spectrometer with three read fibres of different core diameters are obtained using the visibility functions for both spatial and spectral fringes resolved in the interference of two light beams from a laser diode operated below the threshold. From a width of the central peak of the visibility function for the spatial interference fringes measured in the Michelson interferometer configuration with a broadband detector, the source spectral width is evaluated. From widths of the visibility functions for the spectral interference fringes measured in the Michelson interferometer configuration by the spectrometer with the different read fibres, the overall spectral bandpasses are evaluated. Subtracting the effect of the source spectral width, the spectral bandpasses of the fibre-optic spectrometer are determined. These are compared with the directly measured bandpasses using the delta-function spectrum of the same laser diode operated far above the threshold.     

测量薄膜折射率的光栅衍射干涉方法

根据光的干涉理论,讨论了条纹周期数对测量薄膜折射率不确定性的影响,推导出干涉条纹错位量与薄膜折射率和厚度的关系式。由此提出采用光栅衍射干涉测量薄膜折射率的方法和实验方案。实验表明:该方法的干涉条纹测量精度达λ/10~λ/20,薄膜折射率测量精度可达 0.01 以上。     

Microbubble based fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interferometer formed by fusion splicing single-mode fibers for strain measurement

We demonstrate an all-fiber optical Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) strain sensor whose cavity is a microscopic air bubble. The bubble is formed by fusion splicing together two sections of single-mode fibers (SMFs) with cleaved flat tip and arc fusion induced hemispherical tip, respectively. The fabricated interferometers are with bubble diameters of typically ~100 μm. Strain and temperature sensitivities of fabricated interferometers are studied experimentally; a strain sensitivity of over 4 Pm/με and a thermal sensitivity of less than 0.9 Pm/°C is obtained.     

Measurement of air turbulence for on-machine interferometry

There is increasing demand for in situ shape measurements performed on ultraprecision processing machines. One major source of error during interferometric measurements performed on machines is fringe displacement due to external disturbances. We have developed an interferometer equipped with an electro-optic phase modulator that measures the phase of interference fringes before they are displaced by air turbulence. The frequency characteristics of air turbulence induced by a heat source are derived from successive measurements of a test surface. Experimental results show that the phase of the interference fringes can be accurately measured in the presence of air turbulence when the intensity of the fringes is sampled at a speed of several hundred hertz.     

用散斑干涉光谱分布检测瞬态温度

为了提高对瞬态温度检测的灵敏度,提出了基于散斑干涉条纹光谱分析的瞬态温度反演算法.系统利用散斑干涉形成干涉条纹,由于瞬态温度的变化会使材料应变,从而使散斑干涉条纹改变.被测表面形变前后获得的干涉条纹由面阵 CCD 采集,其对应的光谱密度分布函数也会发生相应的改变,即由散斑干涉条纹反演得到的中心波长振幅发生改变.通过对两次中心波长幅值的比值的检测和计算,即可获得被测的瞬态温度.在分析计算了瞬态温度变化与材料应变、材料应变与干涉条纹变化的函数关系的基础上,推导了瞬态温度变化与干涉条纹振幅及相位函数关系.实验采用660 nm 半导体激光器,SI6600型面阵 CCD 探测器,从获得的光谱分布函数中提取中心波长处幅值比值,通过计算和标定,最终温度检测精度可达到±2℃.相比传统的直接检测干涉条纹的变化量,由被测面形变量推导温度的方法精度提高了近一个数量级,其精度更高、检测均匀性更好、稳定性更好.     

Sensitivity-enhanced high-temperature sensing using all-solid photonic bandgap fiber modal interference

A wavelength-encoded interferometric high-temperature sensor based on an all-solid photonic bandgap fiber (AS-PBF) is reported. It consists of a small piece of AS-PBF spliced core offset with standard single-mode fibers. Two core modes LP(01) and LP(11) are conveniently utilized as optical arms to form Mach-Zehnder-type interference at both the first and the second photonic bandgaps, and the maximum extinction ratio exceeds 25?dB. Experimental and theoretical investigation of its response to temperature confirms that high temperatures up to 700?°C can be effectively sensed using such an AS-PBF interferometer, and benefiting from a large effective thermo-optic coefficient of fiber structure, the sensitivity can be significantly enhanced (71.5?pm/°C at 600?°C).     

Differential Rayleigh scattering method for measurement of polarization and intermodal beat length in optical waveguides and fibers

We propose a modification of the Rayleigh scattering method, which allows for measurement of polarization and intermodal beat length in single-mode and few-mode channel waveguides and optical fibers. A significant sensitivity increase is achieved by taking two high-resolution photographs in oblique scattered light of π-shifted intensity distributions produced by interference of polarization or spatial modes and applying Fourier analysis to the differential image. In the case of polarization beat length measurements, the π-phase shift is obtained by switching the polarization state at the fiber input, while in intermodal measurements, the π-phase shifting is realized by changing the excitation conditions. The usefulness of the method for characterization of channel waveguides and optical fibers is demonstrated in several examples. Moreover, we show that the combination of the spectral interferometry method with the proposed method allows for broadband measurements of differential phase and group effective indices.     

Ultrahigh-sensitivity temperature fiber sensor based on multimode interference

The proposed sensing device relies on the self-imaging effect that occurs in a pure silica multimode fiber (coreless MMF) section of a single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS)-based fiber structure. The influence of the coreless-MMF diameter on the external refractive index (RI) variation permitted the sensing head with the lowest MMF diameter (i.e., 55 μm) to exhibit the maximum sensitivity (2800 nm/RIU). This approach also implied an ultrahigh sensitivity of this fiber device to temperature variations in the liquid RI of 1.43: a maximum sensitivity of -1880 pm/°C was indeed attained. Therefore, the results produced were over 100-fold those of the typical value of approximately 13 pm/°C achieved in air using a similar device. Numerical analysis of an evanescent wave absorption sensor was performed, in order to extend the range of liquids with a detectable RI to above 1.43. The suggested model is an SMS fiber device where a polymer coating, with an RI as low as 1.3, is deposited over the coreless MMF; numerical results are presented pertaining to several polymer thicknesses in terms of external RI variation.     

Spatial and temporal coherence of filtered thermal light

When a filter is placed in front of a double slit illuminated by a primary source of finite extent, the theory of partial coherence predicts that in general the interference fringes do not acquire unit visibility even as the passband of the filter is made arbitrarily narrow. The effect of reducing the filter bandwidth is that the visibility of the fringes tends to the modulus of the spectral degree of coherence and that more interference fringes become visible. A systematic experimental verification of these theoretical predictions is lacking so far and is provided here from the use of a highly sensitive CCD camera.     

Vibration: history and measurement with an extrinsic Fabry-Perot sensor with solid-state laser interferometry

We have studied the history of vibration and demonstrate a laser-based noncontact interferometric vibration sensor. The sensor promises the measurement of microdisplacement by using a Fabry-Perot cavity formed between a partially coated gradient-index lens and a movable reflector. Displacement is determined by the detection of interference fringes caused by phase modulation within the cavity. The sensor was tested in conjunction with both multimode and single-mode fiber transmission. Calibration with multimode fiber produced a fringe-contrast function that decreased monotonically with displacement. This calibration allowed at least 30 fringes to be discriminated, giving a displacement resolution of 0.034 mum across a range of 10.2 mum. Dynamic tests demonstrated a working range of at least 3.74 mum at frequencies as high as 2 kHz. Similar tests in which single-mode fiber was used indicated a dynamic working range of at least 4.29 mum.     

Investigations on AlN/sapphire piezoelectric bilayer structure for high-temperature SAW applications

This paper explores the possibility of using AlN/sapphire piezoelectric bilayer structures for high-temperature SAW applications. To determine the temperature stability of AlN, homemade AlN/sapphire samples are annealed in air atmosphere for 2 to 20 h at temperatures from 700 to 1000°C. Ex situ X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the microstructure of the thin film is not affected by temperatures below 1000°C. Ellipsometry and secondary ion mass spectroscopy investigations attest that AlN/sapphire is reliable up to 700°C. Beyond this temperature, both methods indicate ongoing surface oxidation of AlN. Additionally, Pt/Ta and Al interdigital transducers are patterned on the surface of the AlN film. The resulting SAW devices are characterized up to 500°C and 300°C, respectively, showing reliable frequency response and a large, quasi-constant temperature sensitivity, with a first-order temperature coefficient of frequency around -75 ppm/°C. Between room temperature and 300°C, both electromechanical coupling coefficient K(2) and propagation losses increase, so the evolution of delay lines' insertion losses with temperature strongly depends on the length of the propagation path.     

Optical fiber accelerometer based on a silicon micromachined cantilever

An intensity-modulated fiber-optic accelerometer based on backreflection effects has been manufactured and tested. It uses a multimode fiber placed at a spherical mirror center, and the beam intensity is modulated by a micromachined silicon cantilever. This device has applications as an accelerometer and vibrometer for rotating machines. It exhibits an amplitude linearity of ±1.2% in the range of 0.1-22 m s(-2), a frequency linearity of ±1% in the range of 0-100 Hz, and a temperature sensitivity of less than 0.03%/°C. The sensor is devoted to a wavelength-division multiplexing network.     

Strain and temperature sensors using multimode optical fiber Bragg gratings and correlation signal processing

Multimode fiber optic Bragg grating sensors for strain and temperature measurements using correlation signal processing methods have been developed. Two multimode Bragg grating sensors were fabricated in 62/125 /spl mu/m graded-index silica multimode fiber; the first sensor was produced by the holographic method and the second sensor by the phase mask technique. The sensors have signal reflectivity of approximately 35% at peak wavelengths of 835 nm and 859 nm, respectively. Strain testing of both sensors has been done from 0 to 1000 /spl mu//spl epsiv/ and the temperature testing from -40 to 80/spl deg/C. Strain and temperature sensitivity values are 0.55 pm//spl mu//spl epsi/ and 6 pm//spl deg/C, respectively. The sensors are being applied in a power-by-light hydraulic valve monitoring system.