Adaptable Optical Fiber Displacement-Curvature Sensor Based on a Modal Michelson Interferometer with a Tapered Single Mode Fiber.

A compact, highly sensitive optical fiber displacement and curvature radius sensor is presented. The device consists of an adiabatic bi-conical fused fiber taper spliced to a single-mode fiber (SMF) segment with a flat face end. The bi-conical taper structure acts as a modal coupling device between core and cladding modes for the SMF segment. When the bi-conical taper is bent by an axial displacement, the symmetrical bi-conical shape of the tapered structure is stressed, causing a change in the refractive index profile which becomes asymmetric. As a result, the taper adiabaticity is lost, and interference between modes appears. As the bending increases, a small change in the fringe visibility and a wavelength shift on the periodical reflection spectrum of the in-fiber interferometer is produced. The displacement sensitivity and the spectral periodicity of the device can be adjusted by the proper selection of the SMF length. Sensitivities from around 1.93 to 3.4 nm/mm were obtained for SMF length between 7.5 and 12.5 cm. Both sensor interrogations, wavelength shift and visibility contrast, can be used to measure displacement and curvature radius magnitudes.

Theoretical and experimental analysis of tunable Sagnac high-birefringence loop filter for dual-wavelength laser application.

We present detailed investigations of the spectral dependencies of the transmission of a fiber optical loop mirror (FOLM) consisting of a coupler with output ports spliced at arbitrary angles to a high-birefringence (Hi-Bi) fiber. The application for dual-wavelength lasers is discussed. For this aim, the spectral dependence of the reflection is tuned by the temperature of the Hi-Bi fiber that allows a fine adjustment of the cavity loss for generated wavelengths. The ratio between maximum and minimum reflection can be adjusted by the twist angle of the fiber at the splices, which also provides useful possibilities for the adjustment of cavity losses. We used the twist and temperature variation of the Hi-Bi fiber to change the operation from single wavelength to stable dual-wavelength generation with either equal or unequal powers of wavelengths.

Initial development of supercontinuum in fibers with anomalous dispersion pumped by nanosecond-long pulses.

We propose and compare with experimental data a two-stage model of supercontinuum formation in a fiber for nanosecond-long pulse with intensities in 10 W range. As a result of the first stage, the sea of solitons is formed. The second stage is spectrum modification because of Raman interaction.