Femtosecond laser micromachining of compound parabolic concentrator fiber tipped glucose sensors.

We report on highly accurate femtosecond (fs) laser micromachining of a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) fiber tip on a polymer optical fiber (POF). The accuracy is reflected in an unprecedented correspondence between the numerically predicted and experimentally found improvement in fluorescence pickup efficiency of a Förster resonance energy transfer-based POF glucose sensor. A Zemax model of the CPC-tipped sensor predicts an optimal improvement of a factor of 3.96 compared to the sensor with a plane-cut fiber tip. The fs laser micromachined CPC tip showed an increase of a factor of 3.5, which is only 11.6% from the predicted value. Earlier state-of-the-art fabrication of the CPC-shaped tip by fiber tapering was of so poor quality that the actual improvement was 43% lower than the predicted improvement of the ideal CPC shape.

All-optical switching for 10-Gb/s packet data by using an ultralow-power optical bistability of photonic-crystal nanocavities.

An all-optical packet switching using bistable photonic crystal nanocavity memories was demonstrated for the first time. Nanocavity-waveguide coupling systems were configured for 1 × 1, 1 × 2, and 1 × 3 switches for 10-Gb/s optical packet, and they were all operated with an optical bias power of only a few µW. The power is several magnitudes lower than that of previously reported all-optical packet switches incorporating all-optical memories. A theoretical investigation indicated the optimum design for reducing the power consumption even further, and for realizing a higher data-rate capability and higher extinction. A small footprint and integrability are also features of our switches, which make them attractive for constructing an all-optical packet switching subsystem with a view to realizing optical routing on a chip.