High quantum efficiency of near-infrared emission in bismuth doped AlGeP-silica fiber.

A self-calibrating method is described for measuring the radiative quantum efficiency (QE) in doped optical fibers. The method uses an integrating sphere to collect the fluorescence from the fiber, with pump light transmitted through the fiber end serving as a reference. QE measurements for a 780 or 808 nm pump were made on bismuth-doped AlGeP-silica fibers prepared by aerosol deposition. For both wavelengths, a value of QE=1.0+/-0.05 was obtained. Fluorescence was observed in two bands centered around 800 and 1300 nm, and the relative strength of these bands was found to vary with the pump wavelength.

Intra-cavity fiber laser technique for high accuracy birefringence measurement.

When a device under test (DUT) with birefringence is placed within a laser cavity two distinct sets of orthogonally polarized longitudinal modes will result. If the output of the laser is sent through a 45(o) linear polarizer, polarization mode beating (PMB) between these two sets of longitudinal modes can be detected. We demonstrate the relation between PMB and the birefringence of the DUT and show that by tracking the PMB it provides a sensitive measurement of the birefringence of the device. We first examined the birefringence of a Newport PM fiber and then measured the birefringence of a 3M (Austin, TX) Chirped grating 1.0 m in length. For comparison, birefringence measurements were performed using a Hewlett-Packard Polarization Analyzer (HP 8509B).

Segmental nerve conduction velocity in vibration-exposed shipyard workers.

OBJECTIVES: Segmental sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) was measured from the wrists to the hands and digits of a population of vibration-exposed shipyard workers. This study was designed to investigate whether SNCV was selectively slowed in the fingers and whether a laboratory approach could be adapted for robust field use. METHODS: Wrist-palm, palm-proximal digit, and digital segments were determined from stimulation at the wrist with recording electrodes placed distally and adjusted to individual anatomy. The cohort was selected on the basis of current use of vibratory tools. RESULTS: Wrist-palm and digital segments were slower than palm-proximal digit segments for dominant and non-dominant hands and for both ulnar and median nerves. In the dominant-hand median nerve of participants with current exposure, the SNCV was 41.4 m/s (SD 8.0) for the wrist-palm segment, 50.8 (SD 9.5) for the palm segment, and 42.1 m/s (SD 9.3) for the digital segment. Temperature had an important effect on nerve conduction velocity but not equally across segments. Other explanatory variables had modest effect on SNCV. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced SNCV in the digits may be a consequence of industrial exposure to vibration. Each sensory nerve segment appeared to have a different characteristic velocity and different pattern of association with skin temperature. There are differences between median and ulnar nerve segments, with potentially important consequences when standard distances are used to assess wrist-digit velocity.

Broadband amplified spontaneous emission from an Er(3+)-Tm(3+)-codoped silica fiber.

A new type of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) based on an Er-Tm-codoped silica fiber is reported. When the fiber was pumped at 980 nm, the emission yielded a 3-dB bandwidth over 90 nm (1460-1550 nm) without any external filters, which is twice larger than that produced by conventional Er-doped fiber ASE sources. We believe that the superposition of two ASE bands, one from Er ions near 1530 nm and the other from Tm ions near 1450 nm, results in the broad bandwidth. Temperature-dependent ASE powers and fiber-length-dependent spectra strongly suggest that photon-assisted energy transfer between the sensitizing ion, Er, and the acceptor ion, Tm, plays an important role in changes in the bandwidth's size.

Polarization effects in a high-birefringence elliptical fiber laser with a Bragg grating in a low-birefringence fiber.

The polarization characteristics of a fiber laser cavity that combines a high-birefringence Er(3+)-doped elliptical core fiber with a Bragg grating fabricated in a low-birefringence (Low-Bi) fiber are studied. It is shown that, by use of an adequate length of Low-Bi fiber and an intracavity polarization controller, the dependence of the fiber laser's state of polarization on the pump's state of polarization can be altered. This fiber laser cavity design allows for the realization of a double-frequency, orthogonally polarized single-mode fiber laser source insensitive to the polarization parameters of the pump source.

All-fiber coherent beam combining of fiber lasers.

One half of a 2x2 fused taper single-mode fiber coupler is used for the all-fiber spatial and spectral beam combining of two fiber lasers.

Demonstration of a rapidly strain tuned Er3+-doped fiber laser for sensitive gas detection.

We describe a novel combination of a diode-pumped, wavelength-modulated Er(3+)-doped fiber laser light source with a sensitive noise cancellation circuit for detection of acetylene and ammonia. The laser tuning element, a fiber Bragg grating, was mounted in such a way that it could be strained controllably and rapidly, allowing noise cancellation techniques to be applied to the wavelength-modulated output of the fiber laser. The experimental setup is relatively simple and can be extended to other fiber laser wavelengths for which semiconductor lasers are not readily available by selection of a different fiber Bragg grating and gain medium.

The economic and social consequences of work-related musculoskeletal disorders: the Connecticut Upper-Extremity Surveillance Project (CUSP).

A population-based telephone survey was conducted in Connecticut to determine the social and economic impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). Only 10.6% of cases had filed for workers' compensation. Respondents had spent an average of $489 annually out-of-pocket. Only 21% of individuals who had had medical visits or procedures reported having them paid for by workers' compensation. The WRMSD cases reported much higher levels of difficulty in daily tasks rated by the activities of daily living (ADL) scale, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 8.2 (child care) to 35.2 (bathing). The cases were significantly more likely to have moved for financial reasons (OR = 2.41), including having lost a home (OR = 3.44). The cases were also significantly more likely to have lost a car due to finances (OR = 2.45), more likely to have been divorced (OR = 1.91), and less likely to have been promoted (OR = 0.45). The study supports significant externalization of costs for WRMSD out of the workers' compensation system and a substantial social and economic impact on workers.

Technique for continuous tuning of optical fiber lasers.

For the first time to the authors' knowledge, we have demonstrated how thermally controlled overcoupled fused fiber couplers and fiber loop mirrors based on these couplers can be used as broadband tuning elements in a fiber laser cavity. No bulk optical elements play any role in this technique. Temperature tuning the coupler results in a shift in the coupling ratio or in the effective output coupler transmission. For a fixed pump source, and for a given laser cavity, this shift causes the lasing wavelength to shift. We have continuously tuned an Er silica fiber laser in this manner over the range of 1527-1570 nm in a ring configuration, and, using a fiber loop mirror with these couplers in a linear Tm silica fiber laser cavity, we have achieved more than 50-nm broadband tuning over the range of 1850-1910 nm. The tuning range and the sensitivity to temperature depend on the degree of overcoupling of the loop mirror coupler.

Photoinduced refractive-index change in Sm(+2)/Sm(+3) codoped aluminosilicate fiber by irradiation of an Ar-ion laser.

A Sm(+2)/Sm(+3) codoped aluminosilicate glass optical fiber was fabricated by use of modified chemical-vapor deposition in conjunction with an aerosol-delivery technique. A permanent index change of 7.6 x 10(-5) was induced in the fiber by irradiation of 1 W of multiline output from an Ar-ion laser. Bleaching of a broad absorption band of Sm(+2) in the visible range was also observed, and it is believed that photoionization of Sm(+2)? Sm(+3)+e plays an important role in the induced photorefractivity.

Linearly and nonlinearly chirped Bragg gratings fabricated on curved fibers.

We can introduce chirping, or a variation in the periodicity of a Bragg grating, into an optical fiber by writing gratings on curved optical fibers. By precisely specifying the curvature, we can obtain linear, quadratic, and square-root chirped gratings. Experimental and numerical verifications of the relationships between curvature and grating characteristics are presented.

Continuous-wave oscillation of thulium-sensitized holmium-doped silica fiber laser.

We have observed oscillation in a Tm(3+) and Ho(3+) codoped silica fiber from the (5)I(7) ? (5)I(8) transition of Ho(3+) in the 2-microm region, by pumping the fiber laser into a Tm(3+) absorption between 800 and 830 nm. By a change in the cavity length, the laser was tunable between 2.037 and 2.096 microm. When the laser was pumped with a Ti:sapphire laser at 820 nm, an absorbed threshold power extracted power of 214mW, a slope efficiency of 4.2%,and maximum extracted power of 12.5 mW were measured.

Broadband superfluorescent emission of the (3)H(4) ? (3)H(6) transition in a Tm-doped multicomponent silicate fiber.

We report the observation of amplified spontaneous emission in the (3)H(4) ? (3)H(6) transition of Tm(+3) in a Ta(2)O(5)-doped multicomponent silicate fiber. The evolutions of the spectral shape, output power, and center wavelength were measured as a function of fiber length and pump power in the previously unstudied high-power range, where saturation effects dominate. An output power of 1 mW has been achieved at 1.91 microm with a bandwidth of 77 nm.

Simple prism-based scheme for fabricating Bragg gratings in optical fibers.

A modified prism-based method for fabricating Bragg gratings in optical fibers is introduced. We have made an optical fiber Bragg grating at 799.67 nm by using a 45 degrees right-angle prism and a frequency-doubled argon-ion laser at 244 nm. The advantage of this method is ease of alignment.

Ultraviolet-light photosensitivity in Er(3+)-Ge-doped optical fiber.

Light-induced refractive-index change in Er(3+)-Ge-doped optical fiber is reported for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Evidence of the change is observed when UV light (lambda = 249 nm) irradiates one arm of an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer made from Er(3+)-Ge-doped fiber. From a measurement of the change in the spectral response of the interferometer with UV exposure, the change in fiber core index as a function of wavelength is determined. The equilibrium change in core index is found to vary between 2.3 x 10(-5) and 3.7 x 10(-5) over the measured wavelength region of 800 to 1700 nm. Also for the first time to our knowledge, fused couplers made of Er(3+)-doped fiber are reported. These identical fiber couplers are used in a novel all-fiber unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

Increased inversion efficiency in optically pumped two-level molecular systems.

It is shown how, under certain circumstances, optically pumping an R-branch transition at high J number in a molecular gas may result in a situation in which over half of the particles are in the excited vibrational manifold. This can lead to increased gain in transitions to intermediate-lying states and increased fluorescence signal in laser-induced- fluorescence experiments. In addition, gain can also be obtained on pumping in band transitions that have frequencies smaller than the pump-laser frequency. Such an arrangement can be employed to obtain a wavelength shift.