Modal interferometer based on hollow-core photonic crystal fiber for strain and temperature measurement.

In this work, sensitivity to strain and temperature of a sensor relying on modal interferometry in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers is studied. The sensing structure is simply a piece of hollow-core fiber connected in both ends to standard single mode fiber. An interference pattern that is associated to the interference of light that propagates in the hollow core fundamental mode with light that propagates in other modes is observed. The phase of this interference pattern changes with the measurand interaction, which is the basis for considering this structure for sensing. The phase recovery is performed using a white light interferometric technique. Resolutions of +/- 1.4 microepsilon and +/- 0.2 degrees C were achieved for strain and temperature, respectively. It was also found that the fiber structure is not sensitive to curvature.

Dual sensing of oxygen and temperature using quantum dots and a ruthenium complex.

A scheme for the simultaneous determination of oxygen and temperature using quantum dots and a ruthenium complex is demonstrated. The luminescent complex [Ru(II)-tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline)]2+ is immobilized in a non-hydrolytic sol-gel matrix and used as the oxygen sensor. The temperature information is provided by the luminescent emission of core-shell CdSe-ZnS semiconductor nanocrystals immobilized in the same material. Measurements of oxygen and temperature could be performed with associated errors of +/-2% of oxygen concentration and +/-1 degrees C, respectively. In addition, it is shown that while the dye luminescence intensity is quenched both by oxygen and temperature, the nanocrystals luminescent emission responds only to temperature. Results presented demonstrate that the combined luminescence response allows the simultaneous assessment of both parameters using a single optical fiber system. In particular, it was shown that a 10% error in the measured oxygen concentration, induced by a change in the sample temperature, could be compensated using the nanocrystals temperature information and a correction function.

All-fiber Mach-Zehnder curvature sensor based on multimode interference combined with a long-period grating.

A novel Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on a fiber multimode interference structure combined with a long-period fiber grating (LPG) is proposed. The multimode interference is achieved through the use of a MMF section spliced between two single-mode fibers, with a length adjusted to couple a fraction of light into the cladding modes. A LPG placed after the MMF couples light back into the fiber core, completing the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. This novel configuration was demonstrated as a bending sensor.

Demodulation of fiber bragg grating sensors based on dynamic tuning of a multimode laser diode.

Dither demodulation of fiber Bragg grating sensors illuminated with multimode light from laser diodes is theoretically and experimentally investigated. Quasi-static temperature and strain sensitivities of 0.09 degrees C/ radical Hz and 0.6 microepsilon/ radical Hz are obtained. We show that it is possible to measure small ac signals that lie outside the feedback loop bandwidth by using a synchronous detection referenced to twice the dither frequency. In this situation, dynamic strain sensitivity of 3.3 n(epsilon)/ radical Hz is achieved.

Demodulation scheme for fiber bragg grating sensors based on active control of the spectral response of a wavelength division multiplexer.

We present a closed-loop technique for measuring wavelength shifts associated with fiber Bragg gratings by using a fused biconical wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). The spectral response of the WDM is actively tuned by stretching of the coupling region to maintain a fixed coupling ratio at the reflected Bragg wavelength. The closed-loop operation allows sensitivities usually associated with a highly selective WDM to be obtained without compromising the measurement range. A simple theoretical model is presented together with experimental results for temperature and strain measurements.

Polarization-induced noise in a fiber-optic Michelson interferometer with Faraday rotator mirror elements.

Faraday rotator mirror elements have been used in a number of applications as compensators for induced birefringence in retracing paths. In interferometric systems, such as the fiber-optic Michelson interferometer, this approach proved to be useful in providing maximum fringe visibility and insensitivity to the polarization state of light injected into the interferometer. However, it is found that, when the characteristics of the fiber coupler depend on the polarization state of the input beam, the efficiency of the Faraday mirror elements is limited. Theoretical analysis and experimental results in support of this statement are presented.

High-speed fiber-optic temperature sensor.

The temporal response of a fiber-optic Fabry-Perot-type interferometer, formed by cleaving the ends of a length of highly birefringent (Hi-Bi) fiber, to high-frequency heat pulses is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The heat pulses are produced by amplitude modulating the output of an argon laser with a variable frequency Bragg cell. This beam is focused at one of the cleaved ends of the interferometer; the fastest temporal response occurs when the beam is focused onto the core of the fiber. A time response of ~2.5 micros is measured.

Reduction of semiconductor laser diode phase and amplitude noise in interferometric fiber optic sensors.

An optical configuration employing two conventional Michelson interferometers and a fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer connected in parallel is used to demonstrate the principle of common mode rejection of both the amplitude and frequency noise of a semiconductor laser. Common mode noise rejection is maximized when the outputs of the two interferometers with matched path imbalance, fringe visibility and amplitude are differentially combined. One interferometer is used as a reference, and the other as a sensing interferometer. The fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer is used as the sensing interferometer and is demonstrated as a miniature acoustic sensing element.