Active wavelength demodulation of Bragg fibre-optic strain sensorusing acousto-optic tunable filter

An acousto-optic tunable based active wavelength demodulation system for intracore Bragg grating fibre-optic sensors has been demonstrated. The system uses an intensity self-referenced edge-locking technique to track the reflected signal of the Bragg sensor. A strain resolution of 2.2 με was achieved with a Bragg fibre-optic strain sensor operating at ~1324 nm. Corresponding to a wavelength resolution of 2.6 pm. The potential for high resolution measurements over wide wavelength ranges is particularly attractive for wavelength multiplexing of Bragg grating sensors     

Fabrication and characterization of high-quality uniform and apodized Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ waveguide gratings using laser interference lithography

A method is presented for fabricating high-quality ridge waveguide gratings by combining conventional mask lithography with laser interference lithography. The method, which allows for apodization functions modulating both amplitude and phase of the grating is demonstrated by fabricating a grating that is chirped by width-variation of the grated ridge waveguide. The structure was optically characterized using both an end-fire and an infrared camera setup to measure the transmission and to map and quantify the power scattered out of the grating, respectively. For a uniform grating, we found a Q value of /spl sim/8000 for the resonance peak near the lower wavelength band edge, which was almost completely suppressed after apodization.     

Use of highly overcoupled couplers to detect shifts in Braggwavelength [strain sensors]

The authors present a technique for detecting Bragg wavelength shifts using highly overcoupled couplers (HOCC). An HOCC of 60%/nm was fabricated with 626 cycles. With our HOCC, a 5 μW LED and a 95% reflective Bragg grating we were able to detect 10 μstrain (Δλ=0.01 nm)     

Temperature-independent strain sensor using a chirped Bragg gratingin a tapered optical fibre

A novel, temperature-independent strain sensor is demonstrated using a chirped fibre grating in a tapered optical fibre. The effective bandwidth of the grating is uniquely dependent on strain and is essentially temperature-independent. The interrogation simply involves monitoring the back-reflected intensity from the grating. A strain resolution of 0.1% over a strain measurement range of 4066 μϵ has been experimentally achieved     

Simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature using single tilted fibre Bragg grating

Tilted fibre Bragg grating (TFBG) with grating planes tilted at an angle of 3deg corresponding to the fibre axis shows core mode and a large number of cladding-mode resonances in its transmission. Discriminating temperature and strain simultaneously using a single tilted fibre Bragg grating is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The wavelength shifts of the TFBG in response to temperature and strain are investigated. The results show that the cladding modes and core mode have different strain sensitivities while the temperature sensitivities are equal. So, it is possible to monitor the core-mode resonance and the cladding-mode resonances of the TFBG spectrum, allowing the separation of the temperature and strain induced wavelength shifts.     

Frequency-modulated multimode laser diode for fiber Bragg gratingsensors

A demodulation scheme for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors is presented. It is based on the generation of an electrical carrier by using a modulated multimode laser diode to illuminate the fiber grating. The change in Bragg wavelength is measured by tracking the phase of the carrier at the detector output in either an open- or a closed-loop scheme. A theoretical analysis of the interrogation technique in terms of linearity and dynamic range is presented. Experimental data were obtained for both strain and temperature measurements. Sensitivities of 0.7 μϵ/√Hz and 0.05°C/√Hz were obtained over a dynamic range of ≈60 dB. The application of this demodulation scheme to a multiplexed sensing system is also demonstrated     

Single mode multiple-element laser array with grating filter

A 1.5-μm wavelength grating filter laser array (GFA) structure which consists of a positive-index-guided multiple-element array region and a laterally unguided grating filter region is proposed and theoretically analyzed for realizing in-phase supermode and simultaneous single-longitudinal-mode operation. A five-element GaInAsP/InP GFA with a lasing wavelength of ~1.5 μm was fabricated and its single-longitudinal-mode/in-phase supermode operation was demonstrated up to four times the threshold current     

Distributed grating sensors using low-coherence reflectometry

Distributed grating sensors have recently been interrogated with low-coherence reflectometry. Initial results have been enhanced using two new and versatile configurations. The first system tracks the wavelength using a closed-loop scheme, while the second system scans the distance using an open-loop approach. Arbitrary strain and temperature profiles along gratings have been examined with 300 μm spatial resolution and 5.4 μϵ/√Hz accuracy. A theoretical model of the interrogation technique is derived and the predicted performance limits are examined experimentally     

External-cavity semiconductor laser with focusing grating mirror

A novel external-cavity semiconductor laser with a focusing grating mirror (FGM), which enables a single-mode oscillation at a specified wavelength, is proposed. The optical properties of the FGM, which is a computer-generated holographic grating with chirp and bend structure, are numerically analyzed. An optimally designed FGM for realizing laser oscillation at a specific wavelength of 1.30 μm is fabricated by using a computer-controlled electron-beam writing system. The fabricated FGM with grating area of 1×1 mm² is combined as an external feedback mirror with an InGaAsP-InP semiconductor laser of 1.3 μm wavelength range, and the lasing characteristics are experimentally measured. Stable and single-mode oscillations with spectral line width less than 10 MHz are observed     

Optical properties of an InGaAs-InP interdiffused quantum well

A comprehensive model is developed for the calculation of polarization-dependent absorption coefficients and refractive index of the InGaAs-InP interdiffused multiple-quantum-well at room temperature for wavelengths ranging from 1.1 to 2.4 μm. Groups III and V types of interdiffusion are considered separately. The as-grown structure is a latticed-matched In_0.53Ga_0.47As-InP structure with a well width of 60 Å. The optical transitions consist of a full quantum-well calculation together with Γ,X, and L valleys contributions and through the Kramers-Kronig transformation to link the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric functions. The results show that group-III-only interdiffusion produces compressive strain and results in a band-edge red shift and refractive index enlargement, while the tensile strain induced by group-V-only interdiffusion results in a vice verse effect. This provides a left and right tunable band edge and positive and negative index steps dependent on the interdiffusion process. A small and constant birefringence of 0.005 at around 1.55 μm can also be obtained over a 50-nm wavelength range by using group-V-only interdiffusion. These properties have strong implications in realizing a tunable and high-performance device as well as for photonic integrations     

Tuning Bragg wavelength by writing gratings on prestrained fibers

Bragg gratings at a specific wavelength are made using an excimer KrF laser and a phase mask. The wavelength can be varied for fine tuning and multiplexing applications by straining the optical fiber during UV illumination. When the strain is removed, the grating formed is at a smaller wavelength than that dictated by the phase mask for the unstrained fiber. This technique was demonstrated by writing two gratings located at the same point in the optical fiber. The transmission from the first grating was used as a means for in situ absolute wavelength tuning. The second grating made with approximately 0.2% axial strain was at 1534.54 nm. Once the grating was made, the strain was removed from the fiber leaving the second grating tuned to 1532.04 nm, a wavelength shift of 2.5 nm     

Repeated wavelength conversion of 10 Gbit/s signal usingwavelength-tunable semiconductor lasers

Repeated wavelength conversion of 10 Gbit/s pseudorandom non-return-to-zero signals is demonstrated using superstructure grating distributed Bragg reflector lasers operating in the 1.55-μm wavelength region. Error-free and very low-power-penalty wavelength conversion can be achieved in both first and second wavelength conversion for a fixed converted wavelength over a broad wavelength range from 1.486 to 1.573 μm (about 90-nm wide). The power penalty of the transmitted signal light through the first wavelength conversion device increases when the converted wavelength is switched from 1.544 to 1.573 μm periodically at a repetition frequency of 40 MHz. The increase in power penalty, however, is less than 6 dB even when the bit error rate is 10^-12     

Optically transparent digitally tunable wavelength filter

A new digital architecture combining a spatial light modulator written dynamic hologram and a fixed diffractive grating has been demonstrated to produce a tunable wavelength filter with a tuning resolution of 2.5 nm over a 160 nm range. Three modes of a broadband 1.45 μm laser diode have been isolated using the filter and selectively coupled into singlemode communications fibre     

Fabrication of 7×6 multimode optical fiber gratingdemultiplexer-star coupler using a single GRIN-rod lens

A multimode optical fiber grating demultiplexer-star coupler having seven demultiplexing channels and six fan-out channels is demonstrated. This device consists of an input-output fiber array, in which 42 output fibers are aligned radially around an input fiber, a single gradient-index (GRIN)-rod lens and a multifacet blazed reflection grating. In this device, the incident light beam is split into six beams, each of which is diffracted at the multifacet grating and couples to the output fibers. The device has a working band from 0.62 to 0.88 μm, channel separation from 36 to 45 nm and 3 dB bandwidth from 13 to 24 nm. We also evaluate the unevenness in the center wavelength and the minimum excess loss among the fan-out channels and discuss the relationship between the unevenness and the fabrication accuracy of the optical components in detail     

Temperature-independent fiber Bragg grating strain sensor using bimetal cantilever

A new packaged fiber Bragg grating using bimetal cantilever beam as the strain agent is presented. The grating is two-point attached on one specific surface of the bimetal beam which consists of two metallic material with different thermal-expansion coefficient. Thereby the grating can be compressed or stretched along with the cantilever beam while temperature varies and temperature compensation can be realized. At the same time, grating chirping can be avoided for the particular attaching method. Experiment results demonstrated that the device is able to automatically compensate temperature induced wavelength shift. The temperature dependence of Bragg wavelength reduced to −0.4 pm/°C over the temperature range from −20 to 60 °C. This fiber grating package technique is cost effective and can be used in strain sensing.     

1.5 μm wavelength distributed reflector lasers with verticalgrating

A 1.5 μm wavelength distributed reflector laser, consisting of a distributed Bragg reflector rear facet and a distributed feedback region, was realised using deep-etching technology. A low threshold current of I_th=12.4 mA and a high differential quantum efficiency of η_d=42% from the front facet was achieved with a submode suppression ratio of 33 dB (I=2.4 I_th) for a fifth-order grating, 220 μm long and 6 μm wide device at room temperature     

Compensation of fibre chromatic dispersion in optical heterodynedetection

Compensation of fibre chromatic dispersion in coherent optical fibre transmission is demonstrated. The chromatic dispersion of a 70 km single-mode fibre with 1.3 μm zero dispersion wavelength is compensated for using a microstrip line equaliser in the intermediate frequency band. Amplitude distortion due to fibre chromatic dispersion at 1.55 μm wave-length is reduced to below 2.5 % with the equaliser     

Carrier-dependent nonlinearities and modulation in an InGaAs SQWwaveguide

The authors report measurements of optically induced carrier-dependent refractive index changes and their saturation in an InGaAs single quantum well centered within a linear multiple quantum well guided-wave Fabry-Perot resonator using diode laser sources. A low-excitation nonlinear refractive cross-section, σ_n=-1×10^-19 cm³, was deduced for probe wavelengths near the TM (transverse magnetic) absorption edge, falling only to σ_n=-3.1×10^-20 cm³, at over 0.16 μm from the band edge. For an incident irradiance of 18 kW/cm ², refractive index changes in the InGaAs quantum well as large as -0.16 were deduced near the absorption edge, while the index change at a wavelength 0.16 μm from the absorption edge was -0.055. This large off-resonant index change is attributed to an enhanced free-carrier contribution within a 2D system     

Compensation of dispersion in optical fibers for the 1.3-1.6 μmregion with a grating and telescope

The transmission of ultrashort optical pulses over long distances in optical fibers is limited by pulse broadening due to group velocity dispersion. A grating and telescope dispersion compensator with group velocity dispersion of equal magnitude and opposite sign can compensate for the fiber dispersion. The possible benefits of such dispersion compensation in the 1.3-1.6-μm wavelength region are investigated. The results show that compensation of first-order dispersion at 1.55 μm in a fiber with zero dispersion near 1.3 μm is primarily limited by the second-order dispersion of the grating and the telescope compensator. For a wavelength slightly greater than the zero dispersion wavelength, both the first- and second-order group velocity dispersion can be canceled by the grating and telescope dispersion compensator, allowing transmission exceeding 100 Gb/s over 100 km     

Guided-wave optical equalizer with α-power chirped grating

A theoretical investigation of a guided-wave optical equalizer with an α-power chirped grating is presented. A group delay dispersion of 3700 ps/nm can be obtained at λ=1.55 μm by a chirped grating with α=0.3. It is shown that the chromatic dispersion of 200 km of a fiber whose zero-dispersion wavelength is located at 1.3 μm can be compensated at 1.55 μm to achieve up to 10 GHz signal bandwidth