Hollow-core Fiber Research Articles

Suppressing the dephasing of optically trapped atoms inside a hollow-core fiber.

We demonstrate the suppression of inhomogeneous dephasing of cold 87Rb atoms optically trapped inside a hollow-core fiber. The differential light shift (DLS) for the clock transition caused by the trapping beam is reduced by one order of magnitude through the use of a weak compensation laser beam that is spatially mode-matched to the trapping beam. The coherence of the DLS-compensated system is characterized by microwave Ramsey interferometry, which shows Ramsey fringes with a contrast of over 0.6 at a separation time of 10 ms. The dephasing time, measured by Ramsey spectroscopy at different separation times, reaches tens of milliseconds after DLS cancellation, limited by the residual DLS caused by mode mismatching between the two laser beams. This work paves the way for compact and portable fiber-guided atom interferometers.

Ultrasensitive SPR sensor using PDMS-filled side-polished hollow-core fiber

Ultrasensitive SPR sensor using PDMS-filled side-polished hollow-core fiber

Truncated Anti-Resonant Hollow-Core Fiber for Reduced Microstructure Diameter

Truncated Anti-Resonant Hollow-Core Fiber for Reduced Microstructure Diameter

Vibrational thermal pool multi-level theoretical model and design simulation of HBr-filled hollow-core fiber gas laser

The hollow-core fiber gas laser (HCFGL) has developed into a significant mid-infrared laser source, but the development of theoretical model still lags behind experimental progress. In this work, we propose a multi-level vibrational thermal pool (VTP) model of HBr-filled HCFs, which comprehensively considers the rovibrational relaxation effects on laser gain in reasonable approximations of transition coefficients, and studies the laser characteristics on multi-line lasing, bottleneck effect, line competition, etc. The VTP model shows more precise results of laser slope efficiency, and threshold than previous models while fitting the experimental data very well, and successfully predicts an output bottleneck at 1 W pump. The P-branch laser is relatively advantageous over the R-branch laser for its larger Einstein <inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}$A$\end{document}</tex-math><alternatives><graphic specific-use="online" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="15-20240428_M1.jpg"/><graphic specific-use="print" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="15-20240428_M1.png"/></alternatives></inline-formula> coefficient and emission cross section, and the seed injection can intensify the line competition and reach the highest P4 power proportion of 80%. The VTP model reveals that the output of various pump lines has a pattern similar to the Boltzmann distribution, suggesting that the distribution of ground rotational levels limits the laser gain of pump lines. Moreover, we discuss the photon leakage in high-energy pulsed pumping conditions. With the introduction of the leaking coefficient, this model shows relaxation oscillations and laser slope efficiencies close to experimental values and greater than the results in the CW condition, and solves the overpump problem in pulsed pump simulation. Finally, we confirm that the photon leakage is intensified at high repetition rate and the leaking coefficient should relate to the pulse repetition rate. This work develops a comprehensive modeling method for MIR laser simulation and this model is also applicable to various gas-filled HCFGLs.

Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Large Mode Area Inhibited-Coupling Guiding Hollow-Core Fibers

Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Large Mode Area Inhibited-Coupling Guiding Hollow-Core Fibers

Single hollow-core fiber for the guidance of IR (1030 nm) and visible (515 nm) ultrashort pulsed laser radiations

We present in this contribution a single large-mode area inhibited-coupling hollow-core fiber for guiding laser beam at a wavelength of 1030 nm and its second harmonic at 515 nm with confinement losses below 30 dB/km.

Nested multibar cladding elements in negative curvature fibers for CO laser guidance

A numerical study on the multi-bar nested cladding design of chalcogenide glass-based negative curvature hollow-core fiber was carried out to achieve a low-loss light guidance in the mid-infrared spectrum centered at 5.4 μm. Fiber design parameters were systematically optimized, and the effect of the nested bars on the confinement and total loss performance of a five-tubular cladding structure was investigated. An ultra-low transmission loss of 0.112 dB km−1 at 5.4 μm was achieved with As2Se3 triple-bar negative curvature fiber while maintaining low bending sensitivity. The design is also suitable for high transmission performance with alternative infrared glasses and can be potentially used for low-loss light guidance in a wide mid-infrared spectrum.

Full visible range two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy with high time resolution.

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) is a powerful method to study coherent and incoherent interactions and dynamics in complex quantum systems by correlating excitation and detection energies in a nonlinear spectroscopy experiment. Such dynamics can be probed with a time resolution limited only by the duration of the employed laser pulses and in a spectral range defined by the pulse spectrum. In the blue spectral range (<500 nm), the generation of sufficiently broadband ultrashort pulses with pulse durations of 10 fs or less has been challenging so far. Here, we present a 2DES setup based on a hollow-core fiber supercontinuum covering the full visible range (400-700 nm). Pulse compression via custom-made chirped mirrors yields a time resolution of <10 fs. The broad spectral coverage, in particular the extension of the pulse spectra into the blue spectral range, unlocks new possibilities for coherent investigations of blue-light absorbing and multichromophoric compounds, as demonstrated by a 2DES measurement of chlorophyll a.

Few-cycle optical vortices for strong-field physics

We report on the generation of optical vortices with few-cycle pulse durations, 500μJ per pulse, at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. To do so, a 25 fs laser beam at 800 nm is shaped with a helical phase and coupled into a hollow-core fiber filled with argon gas, in which it undergoes self-phase modulation. Then, 5.5 fs long pulses are measured at the output of the fiber using a dispersion-scan setup. To retrieve the spectrally resolved spatial profile and orbital angular momentum (OAM) content of the pulse, we introduce a method based on spatially resolved Fourier-transform spectroscopy. We find that the input OAM is transferred to all frequency components of the post-compressed pulse. The combination of these two information shows that we obtain few-cycle, high-intensity vortex beams with a well-defined OAM, and sufficient energy to drive strong-field processes.

Multi-layered cladding based ultra-low loss, single mode antiresonant hollow core fibers

In reality, an efficient platform for high-power laser delivery is highly important, which can be justified by readily available fiber lasers, and hollow-core fiber can be the best platform for guiding high optical power over long distances. The constraints include designing new cladding geometry, which may lead to a higher laser induced damage threshold in the fiber’s structure, having low losses along with a single mode nature. This article reports a new antiresonant fiber that has a hollow core and a triple-layered cladding configuration with only circular tube elements. The effects of multiple layers corresponding to the number of tube rings in the cladding geometry are well explored, which leads to understanding the physical insight of inter-layers. In comparison to double-layered cladding elements fiber, the proposed fiber significantly reduces loss by an order of two and reveals a minimum leakage loss of 5.82 × 10−5 dB/km at the chosen wavelength of 1.06 µm through the proper arrangement of cladding elements. We achieved a maximal higher order mode extinction ratio of about 104 (indicates the excellent single mode properties) and comparatively a little bending-induced loss of 9.00 × 10−4 dB/km, when the radius of bending is 14 cm. As a result, our studies on new multilayer fiber designs are not only useful for delivering high laser power but also serve as guidelines for the experimental realization of future multilayered cladding fibers.

High sensitivity temperature and gas pressure sensor based on PDMS sealed tapered hollow-core fiber

We use hollow core fiber (HCF) and single mode fiber (SMF) fusion splicing to form a sensor with a “SMF-HCF-SMF” structure. To improve the sensitivity of the sensor, the HCF is tapered and stretched to a waist diameter of 10 μm. Then, in order to further improve the sensitivity of the sensor to temperature and pressure, as well as the mechanical strength of the sensor, we coated a layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin film on the surface of the tapered HCF. When light propagates in the sensor, an anti-resonant reflection optical waveguide (ARROW) mechanism is formed. Due to the excellent thermal sensitivity and elasticity of PDMS, the transmission spectrum of the sensor will significantly drift due to changes in environmental temperature and gas pressure, achieving temperature and pressure measurement. The experimental results show that the maximum temperature and gas pressure sensitivity of the sensor reach −3.2321 nm/℃ and −22.80 nm/MPa, respectively. In addition, the sensor also has good repeatability and stability, as well as short response time. It has certain application prospects in the field of high sensitivity temperature and gas pressure sensing measurement.

Optical solitons in hollow-core fibres

I review the historical observation and subsequent research on optical soliton dynamics in gas-filled hollow-core optical fibres. I include both large-core hollow capillary fibres, and hollow-core photonic-crystal or microstructured fibres with smaller cores, in particular photonic bandgap and antiresonant guiding fibres. I discuss how the optical guidance properties of these different fibre structures influence the soliton dynamics that can be obtained. The dynamics I consider include: soliton propagation at peak power levels ranging from the megawatt to terawatt level, and pulse energies from sub-microjoule to millijoule range; pulse self-compression, leading to sub-cycle and sub-femtosecond pulse duration; soliton self-frequency shifting due to both the Raman effect, and the influence of photoionisation and plasma formation; and resonant dispersive wave emission, leading to the generation of tuneable few-femtosecond pulses across the vacuum and deep ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral regions.

Enhancing polarization maintenance and spectral filtering in negative curvature hollow-core fibers

A new design of polarization-maintaining and spectral filtering negative curvature hollow-core fiber tailored for the telecommunication bands in the near-infrared region is presented. The optical fiber, consisting of a six-tube silica structure, incorporates vertically nested tubes anchored radially by a pole structure. By contrast, standard nested tubes in the horizontal direction form the asymmetric fiber structure, which encounters birefringence. This unique fiber design not only preserves the polarization states of light but also exhibits frequency selective transmission exclusively in the vertical direction due to the pole structure. Through fiber design optimization, a transmission loss below 0.1 dB/km for spectrally filtered wavelengths is achieved, with birefringence on the order of 10−5 within the wavelength range of 1.45 µm to 1.60 µm. These results demonstrate significant improvements in terms of birefringence, distinct loss separation between horizontally and vertically polarized states, and a reduced number of spectrally filtered wavelengths compared to previously reported findings. The proposed fiber design holds untapped potential for applications requiring selective transmissions with specific polarization.

Pump–probe-alternating photothermal interferometry for two-component gas sensing

We demonstrate a high-sensitivity acetylene/methane gas sensor based on hollow-core fiber photothermal interferometry (PTI) with a pump–probe-alternating technique. This technique utilizes two distributed-feedback lasers as pump and probe beams alternatively for two gas components to facilitate photothermal phase modulation and detection through time-division multiplexing. With a 2.5-cm-long hollow-core conjoint-tube fiber, noise-equivalent concentrations of 370 ppb and 130 ppb are demonstrated for methane and acetylene, respectively. Noise characteristics of the PTI system are analyzed and experimentally tested. The proposed technique eliminates the need for an additional laser in the traditional PTI setup, enabling the construction of a sensitive yet more cost-effective multi-gas component detection system.

High refractive index sensing highly sensitive and low loss SPR sensor based on hollow-core D-shaped optical fiber

A hollow-core D-shaped optical fiber-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor for low-loss and highly sensitive liquid analytes detection is theoretically investigated. The gold (Au) metal nanolayer is coated on the cladding etched D-shaped flat surface to develop the plasmonic effect. The nanolayer coating on the outer flat surface is very easy compared to the inside hollow-core, so our hollow-core sensor manufacturing is too easy compared to other hollow-core refractive indices (RIs) detection sensors. The resonance effect between analytes filled fundamental guided core mode and surface plasmon polariton mode of the D-shaped hollow-core optical fiber sensor is used to obtain the detections of analytes RIs variations. We have found good linear results ([Formula: see text]) in analytes RIs versus resonance wavelength for gold layers thicknesses for the analytes RIs range of 1.45–1.52. This hollow-core D-shaped optical fiber sensor achieves the maximum wavelength sensitivity of 23500[Formula: see text]nm RIU[Formula: see text] and a corresponding resolution of [Formula: see text] RIU. We have obtained the maximum figure of merit (FOM) of 228 1/RIU. The proposed sensor may be highly active in detecting the biological and chemical liquid analytes.

High-integration optical fiber sensor with Vernier effect based on spatial beam splitting

A highly integrated optical fiber sensor is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated, which can realize optical Vernier effect by spatial beam splitting structure. The split parallel beams could be generated by spliced non-equal-diameter hollow-core fibers (NED-HCFs). By optimizing mode-field distribution and self-imaging effect, the fringe visibility (FV) of the Vernier envelope can be enhanced to 5.11 dB. Experimental results show that the central air-waveguide has a high-pressure sensitivity of 43.42 nm/MPa, while the cladding-waveguide presents the immunity of wavelength to external pressure. The measured temperature sensitivity coefficients are −108.2 pm/℃ for Vernier envelope, 11.5 pm/℃ for cladding-waveguide. Therefore, the simultaneous measurement of pressure and temperature can be realized by using the proposed structure based on dual-parameter sensitivity matrix. Meanwhile, the sensor has a fast pressure response of 0.021 s due to the open-cavity microchannel. The proposed sensor provides a new idea for the design of optical fiber structures based on Vernier effect.

A controllable humidity sensitivity measurement solution based on a pure FPI fiber tip and the harmonic Vernier effect

Hygroscopic films used to enhance the humidity sensitivity of fiber-optic sensors often experience material aging and nonlinear response issues. To address this issue, this study proposes a controllable humidity sensitivity measurement solution that offers a simple and cost-effective fabrication process without requiring humidity-sensitive material sensitization. The solution is based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) fiber tip and the harmonic Vernier effect. By employing a cascade structure of single-mode fiber (SMF)-hollow core fiber (HCF)-no core fiber (NCF) with fiber grinding techniques, the FPI-based fiber sensing probe constructed a resonance cavity to detect small variations in air refractive index (RI) induced by humidity. A reference spectrum, which can flexibly control parameters, such as free spectral range (FSR), contrast, phase, and intensity, is superimposed onto the sensing spectrum acquired by the FPI fiber sensing tip. By extracting features from the internal envelope generated by the harmonic Vernier effect, the mapping relationship between the center wavelength of the inner envelope and the humidity is determined. The harmonic Vernier effect amplifies the humidity sensitivity of the fiber-optic FPI sensing tip, with the magnification factor determined by the optical path length (OPL) detuning of the created reference and sensing spectra. For the harmonic order j = 4, a humidity sensitivity of approximately 76.01 pm/% RH@ 24 ℃ was achieved without using hygroscopic material sensitization. The proposed solution offers numerous advantages and enables high-precision and high environmental reliability humidity monitoring.

Optical fiber ultrasonic sensor based on partial filling PDMS in hollow-core fiber

Optical fiber ultrasonic sensor based on partial filling PDMS in hollow-core fiber

Coherent Mid-IR Supercontinuum in a Hollow Core Fiber Filled with a Mixture of Deuterium and Nitrogen

Coherent Mid-IR Supercontinuum in a Hollow Core Fiber Filled with a Mixture of Deuterium and Nitrogen

Properties of a Microwave Discharge in a Hollow-Core Fiber of a Gas-Discharge Fiber Laser

Properties of a Microwave Discharge in a Hollow-Core Fiber of a Gas-Discharge Fiber Laser