Stress-induced birefringence and fabrication of in-fiber polarization devices by controlled femtosecond laser irradiations.

Optical birefringence was created in a single-mode fiber by introducing a series of symmetric cuboid stress rods on both sides of the fiber core along the fiber axis using a femtosecond laser. The stress-induced birefringence was estimated to be 2.4 × 10(-4) at the wavelength of 1550 nm. By adding the desired numbers of stressed rods, an in-fiber quarter waveplate was fabricated with a insertion loss of 0.19 dB. The stress-induced birefringence was further explored to fabricate in-fiber polarizers based on the polarization-dependent long-period fiber grating (LPFG) structure. A polarization extinction ratio of more than 20 dB was observed at the resonant wavelength of 1523.9 nm. The in-fiber polarization devices may be useful in optical communications and fiber optic sensing applications.

Fiber-Optic-Based Micro-Probe Using Hexagonal 1-in-6 Fiber Configuration for Intracellular Single-Cell pH Measurement.

Single-cell research is essential for understanding cell heterogeneity, cell differentiation, and carcinogenesis, among other important cellular processes. New techniques for intracellular pH monitoring are urgently needed to gain new insights into single-cell responses to external stimuli. In this study, fiber-optic reflection-based pH micro (µ)-probes (tip diameter: 500-3000 nm) were designed and fabricated using a novel hexagonal 1-in-6 fiber configuration. An organic-modified silicate (OrMoSils) sol-gel doped with a pH-sensitive dye, 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF), were coated onto the probe sensing tip for pH detection. These probes enabled neutral pH monitoring and quasi-real-time data acquisition (response time: 20 ± 5 s). The fluorescence signals of the newly developed probes were found to correlate linearly with pH (R(2) = 0.9869 when coupling laser power was at 8.2 mW) within a biologically relevant pH range (6.18-7.80). The pH resolution was 0.038 pH unit. The miniaturized probes were validated in single human lung cancer A549 cells to demonstrate applicability in single-cell experiments. In summary, novel pH µ-probes with excellent resolution and response times within a biologically relevant pH range were developed, and they can be used for measuring pH changes in single cells.

Integrated Chemical Vapor Sensor Based on Thin Wall Capillary Coupled Porous Glass Microsphere Optical Resonator.

A miniaturized chemical vapor sensor probe was developed using a porous glass microsphere (PGM) as the alignment-free optical microresonator. The porous microsphere was placed inside a thin wall silica capillary tube that was fusion-spliced to an optical fiber. The whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of the microsphere were excited by the evanescent field of the light propagating inside the capillary thin wall. Adsorption of chemical vapor molecules into the pores led to a refractive index change of the PGM and thus the resonance wavelength shift of the WGMs. To facilitate the in-taking of chemical vapor molecules into the PGM, a micro window was opened at the backend of the capillary tube using femtosecond laser micromachining. Ethanol vapor was used to demonstrate the probe for chemical vapor sensing. With a miniaturized size, integrated structure and reflection mode of operation, the proposed probe may find useful in many practical applications such as environmental monitoring and biomedical sensing.

Reflection-mode micro-spherical fiber-optic probes for in vitro real-time and single-cell level pH sensing.

pH sensing at the single-cell level without negatively affecting living cells is very important but still a remaining issue in the biomedical studies. A 70 µm reflection-mode fiber-optic micro-pH sensor was designed and fabricated by dip-coating thin layer of organically modified aerogel onto a tapered spherical probe head. A pH sensitive fluorescent dye 2', 7'-Bis (2-carbonylethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) was employed and covalently bonded within the aerogel networks. By tuning the alkoxide mixing ratio and adjusting hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) priming procedure, the sensor can be optimized to have high stability and pH sensing ability. The in vitro real-time sensing capability was then demonstrated in a simple spectroscopic way, and showed linear measurement responses with a pH resolution up to an average of 0.049 pH unit within a narrow, but biological meaningful pH range of 6.12-7.81. Its novel characterizations of high spatial resolution, reflection mode operation, fast response and high stability, great linear response within biological meaningful pH range and high pH resolutions, make this novel pH probe a very cost-effective tool for chemical/biological sensing, especially within the single cell level research field.

Microwave interrogated large core fused silica fiber Michelson interferometer for strain sensing.

A Michelson-type large core optical fiber sensor has been developed, which is designed based on the optical carrier-based microwave interferometry technique, and fabricated by using two pieces of 200-µm diameter fused silica core fiber as two arms of the Michelson interferometer. The interference fringe pattern caused by the optical path difference of the two arms is interrogated in the microwave domain, where the fringe visibility of 40 dB has easily been obtained. The strain sensing at both room temperature and high temperatures has been demonstrated by using such a sensor. Experimental results show that this sensor has a linear response to the applied strain, and also has relatively low temperature-strain cross talk. The dopant-free quality of the fused silica fiber provides high possibility for the sensor to have promising strain sensing performance in a high temperature environment.

Spatially continuous distributed fiber optic sensing using optical carrier based microwave interferometry.

This paper reports a spatially continuous distributed fiber optic sensing technique using optical carrier based microwave interferometry (OCMI), in which many optical interferometers with the same or different optical path differences are interrogated in the microwave domain and their locations can be unambiguously determined. The concept is demonstrated using cascaded weak optical reflectors along a single optical fiber, where any two arbitrary reflectors are paired to define a low-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometer. While spatially continuous (i.e., no dark zone), fully distributed strain measurement was used as an example to demonstrate the capability, the proposed concept may also be implemented on other types of waveguide or free-space interferometers and used for distributed measurement of various physical, chemical and biological quantities.

All-in-fiber optofluidic sensor fabricated by femtosecond laser assisted chemical etching.

An all-in-fiber prototype optofluidic device was fabricated by femtosecond laser irradiation and subsequent selective chemical wet etching. Horizontal and vertical microchannels can be flexibly created into an optical fiber to form a fluidic cavity with inlets/outlets. The fluidic cavity also functions as an optical Fabry-Perot cavity in which the filled liquid can be probed. The assembly-free microdevice exhibited a fringe visibility of 20 dB and was demonstrated for measurement of the refractive index of the filling liquids. The proposed all-in-fiber optofluidic micro device is attractive for chemical and biomedical sensing because it is flexible in design, simple to fabricate, mechanically robust, and miniaturized in size.

Reflection based Extraordinary Optical Transmission Fiber Optic Probe for Refractive Index Sensing.

Fiber optic probes for chemical sensing based on the extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) phenomenon are designed and fabricated by perforating subwavelength hole arrays on the gold film coated optical fiber endface. The device exhibits a red shift in response to the surrounding refractive index increases with high sensitivity, enabling a reflection-based refractive index sensor with a compact and simple configuration. By choosing the period of hole arrays, the sensor can be designed to operate in the near infrared telecommunication wavelength range, where the abundant source and detectors are available for easy instrumentation. The new sensor probe is demonstrated for refractive index measurement using refractive index matching fluids. The sensitivity reaches 573 nm/RIU in the 1.333~1.430 refractive index range.

Microwave assisted reconstruction of optical interferograms for distributed fiber optic sensing.

This paper reports a distributed fiber optic sensing technique through microwave assisted separation and reconstruction of optical interferograms in spectrum domain. The approach involves sending a microwave-modulated optical signal through cascaded fiber optic interferometers. The microwave signal was used to resolve the position and reflectivity of each sensor along the optical fiber. By sweeping the optical wavelength and detecting the modulation signal, the optical spectrum of each sensor can be reconstructed. Three cascaded fiber optic extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric sensors were used to prove the concept. Their microwave-reconstructed interferogram matched well with those recorded individually using an optical spectrum analyzer. The application in distributed strain measurement has also been demonstrated.

Fiber pigtailed thin wall capillary coupler for excitation of microsphere WGM resonator.

In this paper, we demonstrate a fiber pigtailed thin wall capillary coupler for excitation of Whispering Gallery Modes (WGMs) of microsphere resonators. The coupler is made by fusion-splicing an optical fiber with a capillary tube and consequently etching the capillary wall to a thickness of a few microns. Light is coupled through the peripheral contact between inserted microsphere and the etched capillary wall. The coupling efficiency as a function of the wall thickness was studied experimentally. WGM resonance with a Q-factor of 1.14 × 10(4) was observed using a borosilicate glass microsphere with a diameter of 71 µm. The coupler operates in the reflection mode and provides a robust mechanical support to the microsphere resonator. It is expected that the new coupler may find broad applications in sensors, optical filters and lasers.

Optical fiber magnetic field sensor based on single-mode-multimode-single-mode structure and magnetic fluid.

An optical fiber magnetic field sensor based on the single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) structure and magnetic fluid (MF) is proposed and demonstrated. By using a piece of no-core fiber as the multimode waveguide in the SMS structure and MF sealed in a capillary tube as the magnetic sensitive media, which totally immersing the no-core fiber, an all-fiber magnetic sensor was fabricated. Interrogation of the magnetic field strength can be achieved either by measuring the dip wavelength shift of the transmission spectrum or by detecting the transmission loss at a specific wavelength. A demonstration sensor with sensitivities up to 905 pm/mT and 0.748 dB/mT was fabricated and investigated. A theoretical model for the design of the proposed device was developed and numerical simulations were performed.

High-temperature fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interferometric pressure sensor fabricated by femtosecond laser.

In this Letter, we report on a fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interferometric pressure sensor with its external diaphragm surface thinned and roughened by a femtosecond laser. The laser-roughened surface helps to eliminate outer reflections from the external diaphragm surface and makes the sensor immune to variations in the ambient refractive index. The sensor is demonstrated to measure pressure in a high-temperature environment with low-temperature dependence.

Optical fiber sensor based on a radio frequency Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

This Letter proposes an optical fiber radio frequency (RF) Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) for sensing applications. An RF modulated laser source is injected into an optical fiber RF-MZI and collected by a photodiode. The interference pattern is observed in the RF domain by sweeping the frequency using a network analyzer. The proposed sensor has a linear response to applied temperature change. In addition, the sensitivity, observation frequency range, and the length of the sensing arm are discussed.

Polymer optical fiber for large strain measurement based on multimode interference.

This Letter reports a polymer optical fiber (POF) based large strain sensor based on the multimode interference (MMI) theory for the application of structural health monitoring. A section of POFs is sandwiched between two silica single mode fibers to construct a single-mode-multimode-single-mode structure that produces a MMI spectrum. The strain sensing mechanism of the device was investigated and experimentally verified. A large dynamic range of 2×10(4) µÎµ (2%) and a detection limit of 33 µÎµ have been demonstrated.

Optical microresonator based on hollow sphere with porous wall for chemical sensing.

A porous-wall hollow glass microsphere (PW-HGM) was investigated as an optical resonator for chemical vapor sensing. A single mode optical fiber taper was used to interrogate the microresonator. Adsorption of chemical molecules into the nanosized pores induced a refractive index change of the thin wall and thus a shift in its resonance spectrum. The PW-HGM resonator had shown higher vapor detection sensitivity in comparison with a solid microsphere under similar test conditions.

Radio frequency interrogated actively mode-locked fiber ring laser for sensing application.

This paper proposes an actively mode-locked fiber ring laser for sensing applications. Mode-locking of the laser is achieved by driving an electro-optic amplitude modulator at an RF corresponding to the fundamental beat frequency between the longitudinal modes. The change of the cavity length produces a frequency comb around the beat frequencies. The frequency separation of the comb is found to be linearly proportional to the cavity length change. The sensing mechanism of the device is shown. Temperature measurement is demonstrated using the proposed actively mode-locked fiber ring laser.

Perovskite-type oxide thin film integrated fiber optic sensor for high-temperature hydrogen measurement.

Small size fiber optic devices integrated with chemically sensitive photonic materials are emerging as a new class of high-performance optical chemical sensor that have the potential to meet many analytical challenges in future clean energy systems and environmental management. Here, we report the integration of a proton conducting perovskite oxide thin film with a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) device for high-temperature in situ measurement of bulk hydrogen in fossil- and biomass-derived syngas. The perovskite-type Sr(Ce(0.8)Zr(0.1))Y(0.1)O(2.95) (SCZY) nanocrystalline thin film is coated on the 125 microm diameter LPFG by a facile polymeric precursor route. This fiber optic sensor (FOS) operates by monitoring the LPFG resonant wavelength (lambda(R)), which is a function of the refractive index of the perovskite oxide overcoat. At high temperature, the types and population of the ionic and electronic defects in the SCZY structure depend on the surrounding hydrogen partial pressure. Thus, varying the H(2) concentration changes the SCZY film refractive index and light absorbing characteristics that in turn shifts the lambda(R) of the LPFG. The SCZY-coated LPFG sensor has been demonstrated for bulk hydrogen measurement at 500 degrees C for its sensitivity, stability/reversibility, and H(2)-selectivity over other relevant small gases including CO, CH(4), CO(2), H(2)O, and H(2)S, etc.

Measurement of CO2-laser-irradiation-induced refractive index modulation in single-mode fiber toward long-period fiber grating design and fabrication.

We report a new method to measure the CO(2)-laser-irradiation-induced refractive index modulation in the core of a single-mode optical fiber for the purpose of design and fabrication of long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) without applying tension. Using an optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer, the laser-induced axial refractive index perturbation was measured. We found that the CO(2)-laser-irradiation-induced refractive index change in the fiber core had a negative value and that the magnitude was a sensitive function of the laser exposure time following almost a linear relation. Under the assumption of a Gaussian-shaped refractive index modulation profile and based on the first two terms of Fourier series approximation, the measured refractive index perturbations were used to simulate the LPFG transmission spectra. LPFGs with the same laser exposure parameters were fabricated without applying tension, and their spectra were compared with those obtained by simulations.

Surface-enhanced Raman-scattering fiber probe fabricated by femtosecond laser.

We report what we believe to be a new method to fabricate surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) fiber probe by direct femtosecond laser micromachining. Direct femtosecond laser ablations resulted in nanostructures on the cleaved endface of a multimode optical fiber with a 105/125 microm core/cladding diameter. The laser-ablated fiber endface was SERS activated by silver chemical plating. High-quality SERS signal was detected using Rhodamine 6G molecules (10(-8)-10(-6) M solutions) via back excitation with the fiber length of up to 1 m. The fiber SERS probe was compared with a planar fused silica substrate at a front excitation. The long lead-in fiber length and the backexcitation/collection setup make the SERS probe promising for remote sensing applications.