Self-monitored and optically powered fiber-optic device for localized hyperthermia and controlled cell death in vitro.

Localized hyperthermia therapy involves heating a small volume of tissue in order to kill cancerous cells selectively and with limited damage to healthy cells and surrounding tissue. However, these features are only achievable through real-time control of the tissue temperature and heated volume, both of which are difficult to obtain with current heating systems and techniques. This work introduces an optical fiber-based active heater that acts both as a miniature heat source and as a thermometer. The heat-induced damage in the tissue is caused by the conductive heat transfer from the surface of the device, while the heat is generated in an absorptive coating on the fiber by near-infrared light redirected from the fiber core to the surface by a tilted fiber Bragg grating inscribed in the fiber core. Simultaneous monitoring of the reflection spectrum of the grating provides a measure of the local temperature. Localized temperature increases between 0°C and 100°C in 10 mm-long/5 mm-diameter cylindrical volumes are obtained with continuous-wave pump power levels up to 1.8 W. Computational and experimental results further indicate that the temperature rise and dimensions of the heated volume can be maintained at a nearly stable level determined by the input optical power.

Sample orientation in corona-poled multilayer silica structures.

The impact of sample orientation on the poling of single-sided multilayer silica structures is studied. The results show that the presence of a multilayer stack near the cathode creates a nonlinear region where it otherwise would not have formed. It is shown that field orientation impacts the location and magnitude of the induced nonlinearity. A nonlinearity is always present in the stack independent of whether the stack is on the anode or cathode side of the sample unlike the nonlinearity in bulk silica, which is always located on the anode side.

High-temperature multiparameter sensor based on sapphire fiber Bragg gratings.

We present, for the first time to our knowledge, a dual strain/temperature sapphire fiber Bragg grating sensor. Temperature and strain coefficients of the grating are evaluated. By recording the blackbody radiation level above 650 degrees C, wavelength shifts due to temperature can be decoupled from those due to strain.

Characterization of Fourier components in type I infrared ultrafast laser induced fiber Bragg gratings.

Type I infrared ultrafast laser induced fiber Bragg gratings have been shown to exhibit higher-order resonances related to the Fourier components possessed by their nonsinusoidal index change profile. Using successive higher-order phase masks, we determine the Fourier components of type I-IR gratings in both hydrogen-loaded and unloaded fiber. Knowledge of the relative dc and ac components of a fiber Bragg grating is required for tailoring its spectral response.

Hydrogen loading for fiber grating writing with a femtosecond laser and a phase mask.

The threshold for the fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings with ultrafast 800-nm radiation and a phase mask was studied in SMF-28 and all-silica core fiber by use of 125-fs pulses. High-pressure molecular hydrogen loading (H2 loading) was observed to significantly lower the grating writing threshold in standard Ge-doped telecommunication fiber. No reduction was observed with all-silica core fiber. The index change appeared to be confined to the Ge-doped core region of the fiber. Gratings in H2-loaded SMF-28 had thermal annealing behavior similar to UV-induced gratings. Unlike UV-induced H2-loaded gratings, no absorption associated with Ge-OH defect formation was observed.

Multiple-beam interference patterns in optical fiber generated with ultrafast pulses and a phase mask.

We compare the cladding patterns present in grating structures fabricated with an ultrafast laser and a phase mask with a cw beam interference model. We find that the observed patterns agree well with the model results for picosecond pulses; however, for femtosecond pulses, we show that the full bandwidth and the pulsed nature of the sources must be considered because the pattern can be affected by group-velocity walk-off. An interesting consequence of order walk-off is the possibility of pure two-beam interference generation with a phase mask in the femtosecond pulse regime.

Fiber bragg gratings made with a phase mask and 800-nm femtosecond radiation.

High-quality retroreflecting fiber Bragg gratings were written in standard Ge-doped telecom fiber (Corning SMF-28) after a few minutes exposure with pulsed 800-nm, 120-fs laser radiation by use of a deep-etch silica zero-order nulled phase mask optimized for 800 nm. Induced index modulations of 1.9 x 10(-3) were achieved with peak power intensities of 1.2 x 10(13) W/cm2 without any fiber sensitization. The fiber gratings are stable and did not erase after 2 weeks at 300 degrees C. The primary mechanism of induced index change results from a structural modification to the fiber core.