Low-finesse Fabry-Perot Cavity Research Articles

Optical pH Sensor Based on a Long-Period Fiber Grating Coated with a Polymeric Layer-by-Layer Electrostatic Self-Assembled Nanofilm.

An optical fiber pH sensor based on a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) is reported. Two oppositely charged polymers, polyethylenimine (PEI) and polyacrylic acid (PAA), were alternately deposited on the sensing structure through a layer-by-layer (LbL) electrostatic self-assembly technique. Since the polymers are pH sensitive, their refractive index (RI) varies when the pH of the solution changes due to swelling/deswelling phenomena. The fabricated multilayer coating retained a similar property, enabling its use in pH-sensing applications. The pH of the PAA dipping solution was tuned so that a coated LPFG achieved a pH sensitivity of (6.3 ± 0.2) nm/pH in the 5.92-9.23 pH range. Only two bilayers of PEI/PAA were used as an overlay, which reduces the fabrication time and increases the reproducibility of the sensor, and its reversibility and repeatability were demonstrated by tracking the resonance band position throughout multiple cycles between different pH solutions. With simulation work and experimental results from a low-finesse Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity on a fiber tip, the coating properties were estimated. When saturated at low pH, it has a thickness of 200 nm and 1.53 ± 0.01 RI, expanding up to 310 nm with a 1.35 ± 0.01 RI at higher pH values, mostly due to the structural changes in the PAA.

Sputtering Deposition of TiO2 Thin Film Coatings for Fiber Optic Sensors

Thin films of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and titanium (Ti) were deposited onto glass and optical fiber supports through DC magnetron sputtering, and their transmission was characterized with regard to their use in optical fiber-based sensors. Deposition parameters such as oxygen partial pressure, working pressure, and sputtering power were optimized to attain films with a high reflectance. The films deposited on glass supports were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Regarding the deposition parameters, all three parameters were tested simultaneously, changing the working pressure, the sputtering power, and the oxygen percentage. It was possible to conclude that a lower working pressure and higher applied power lead to films with a higher reflectance. Through the analysis of the as-sputtered thin films using X-ray diffraction, the deposition of both Ti and TiO2 films was confirmed. To study the applicability of TiO2 and Ti in fiber sensing, several thin films were deposited in single mode fibers (SMFs) using the sputtering conditions that revealed the most promising results in the glass supports. The sputtered TiO2 and Ti thin films were used as mirrors to increase the visibility of a low-finesse Fabry–Perot cavity and the possible sensing applications were studied.

A Demodulation Model of Dynamic Low-Finesse Fabry-Perot Cavity Based on the Instantaneous Frequency

If the measurand changes during the spectrum acquisition process, it easily leads to the failure of the classic demodulation algorithms of low-finesse optical fiber Fabry-Perot (FP) sensors. To address this problem, a novel demodulation model is proposed based on the definition of the instantaneous frequency. The proposed model establishes the relationship between the optical path length (OPL) of the FP cavity and the instantaneous frequency distribution of the FP interference spectrum. The link between the classic FFT algorithm and this model is discussed, and it is found that this model can be viewed as a generalized form of the FFT algorithm. Based on this model, the Doppler-induced demodulation error is analyzed. The analysis uncovers that the average frequency of the FP interference spectrum should be used for the evaluation of the error, and the error is proportional to the variation of OPL during the spectrum acquisition period. Further, numerical simulation and an experiment were carried out to verify the proposed model, and results show that the proposed model is effective for the dynamic low-finesse FP cavity. It is the first time that the idea of instantaneous frequency is introduced for the FP demodulation, and this model provides us a new way to cope with the FP sensing signal.

Straightforward retrieval of dispersion in a dense atomic vapor helped by buffer gas-assisted radiation channeling

Strong enhancement of group refractive index in a dense buffered atomic vapor is recorded using a technique of reflection from a low-finesse Fabry–Perot cavity filled with dense atomic vapor allowing the retrieval of a dispersion curve for the hyperfine structure of Rb D2 line buffered by a high-density Cs vapor. Oscillations of the recorded signal resulting from interference of beams reflected from the front and rear windows of the cell appearing with the laser frequency scanning across the resonance allow easy reconstruction of the dispersion curve. Contribution from concomitant interconnected processes, in particular, the determinative role of radiation channeling in enhancement of the resonator Q-factor, is analyzed.

Fiber-based distance sensing interferometry.

We present an interferometric displacement sensor based on a folded low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity. The fiber-optic sensor uses a quadrature detection scheme based on the wavelength modulation of a DFB laser. This enables measuring position changes over a range of 1 m for velocities up to 2 m/s. The sensor is well suited to work in extreme environments such as ultrahigh vacuum, cryogenic temperatures, or high magnetic fields and supports multichannel applications. The interferometer achieves a repeatability of 0.44 nm(3σ) at a working distance of 20 mm, a resolution of 1 pm, and an accuracy of 1 nm.

High-resolution fiber optic temperature sensors using nonlinear spectral curve fitting technique

A generic new data processing method is developed to accurately calculate the absolute optical path difference of a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity from its broadband interference fringes. The method combines Fast Fourier Transformation with nonlinear curve fitting of the entire spectrum. Modular functions of LabVIEW are employed for fast implementation of the data processing algorithm. The advantages of this technique are demonstrated through high performance fiber optic temperature sensors consisting of an infrared superluminescent diode and an infrared spectrometer. A high resolution of 0.01 °C is achieved over a large dynamic range from room temperature to 800 °C, limited only by the silica fiber used for the sensor.

Miniature In Vivo Chitosan Diaphragm-Based Fiber-Optic Ultrasound Sensor

A fiber-optic Fabry-Perot interferometric chitosan membrane hydrophone for in vivo ultrasound measurements is proposed. The hydrophone is based on a thin chitosan film acting as a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity that is formed at the tip of hollow core fiber. Chitosan membrane provides maximum acoustic impedance matching for in vivo ultrasound measurement and optimizes the matched-loading condition due to its permeable property. The transduction mechanism is based on acoustically induced mechanical deformation of the chitosan sensing interferometer, which exhibits a voltage sensitivity of 0.5 mV/MPa or -306 dB re 1 V/μPa without the use of filtering and external preamplifiers. The sensor shows frequency response from 1 to 20 MHz in the presence of acoustic amplitude level up to 4 MPa with a minimum detectable pressure of 40 kPa. The wideband sensitive response, biocompatibility, and easy functionalization of chitosan membrane suggest the possibility for accurate and reliable measurements of exposure levels encountered in in vivo ultrasound measurements and may find applications as an alternative to piezoelectric hydrophone for ultrasound characterizations.

Fiber-coupled, Littrow-grating cavity displacement sensor

We have demonstrated a compact, optical-fiber-fed, optical displacement sensor utilizing a Littrow-mounted diffraction grating to form a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity. Length changes of the cavity are read out via the Pound-Drever-Hall rf modulation technique at 925 MHz. The sensor has a nominal working distance of 2 cm and a total dynamic range of 160 nm. The displacement noise floor was less than 3x10(-10) m/sqrt[Hz] above 10(-2) Hz, limited by the frequency drift of the reference laser. A frequency-stabilized laser would reduce the noise floor to below 10(-12) m/sqrt[Hz]. The use of a 925 MHz modulation frequency demonstrates high-precision readout of a low-finesse compact resonant cavity.

Fabry–Pérot filter cavities for wide-spaced frequency combs with large spectral bandwidth

We use low-finesse Fabry–Perot cavities in series to generate frequency combs with a large mode spacing in a way that allows its application to a large optical bandwidth. The attenuation of laser modes closest to the pass bands of the cavity exceeds 70 dB for a filter ratio of m=20 relative to the resonant modes centered within the pass bands. We also identify the best cavity geometry to suppress spurious transmission of higher order transversal modes. Such a thinned out frequency comb can be used to calibrate traditional spectrographs for precision astronomy. In the time domain mode filtering generates a pulse train with a multiplied repetition rate. High-fidelity filtering, as described here, implies small variations of the pulse energies.

Passive interrogation of low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities using fiber Bragg gratings

An investigation on the application of fiber Bragg gratings for the interrogation of interferometric low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities is reported. The proposed scheme is based on the generation of two quadrature phase-shifted signals that allows the recovering of the change in the cavity length. Besides being totally passive, this technique offers a high degree of flexibility and has the potential to be used in the interrogation of very short cavities.

Interrogation of low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities based on modulation of the transfer function of a wavelength division multiplexer

A theoretical and experimental investigation is reported on a novel all-fiber technique for interrogation of interferometric low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities. It is based on the modulation of the spectral transfer function of a wavelength-division multiplexer. Results are given when both serrodyne and sinusoidal modulation formats are considered.

Analysis of a low-finesse Fabry–Perot sensing interferometer illuminated by a multimode optical fiber

A model of the reflected fringe system for an ideal plane-parallel, low-finesse Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity illuminated by a multimode optical fiber has been developed and experimentally validated. This showed that the phase dispersion within the cavity arising from the divergent nature of the incident illumination significantly degrades the visibility of the reflected fringes. Departures from the ideal FP cavity are also examined. The effect on fringe visibility when the plane of the FP cavity is tilted with respect to the fiber axis and when the cavity surfaces are no longer perfectly parallel to each other has been explored. The analysis described is relevant to the design and the optimization of multimode optical-fiber sensors that use FP sensing cavities.

Extrinsic optical-fiber ultrasound sensor using a thin polymer film as a low-finesse Fabry–Perot interferometer

Theoretical and experimental aspects of an extrinsic optical-fiber ultrasound sensor are described. The sensor is based on a thin transparent polymer film acting as a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity that is mounted at the end of a multimode optical fiber. Performance was found to be comparable with that of a piezoelectric polyvinylidene dinuoride-membrane (PVDP) hydrophone with a sensitivity of 61 mV/MPa, an acoustic noise floor of 2.3 KPa over a 25-MHz bandwidth, and a frequency response to 25 MHz. The wideband-sensitive response and design flexibility of the concept suggests that it may find application as an alternative to piezoelectric devices for the detection and measurement of ultrasound.

Sapphire optical fiber-based interferometer for high temperature environmental applications

Describes the development and testing of an extrinsic sapphire fiber-based sensor design intended for use in high-temperature environments, including the processing environments of advanced high-temperature materials and the in-situ operational environments of high-temperature adaptive materials and structures. In this sensor, a length of uncoated, unclad, single-crystal optical-quality multimode sapphire fiber is fusion-spliced to a single-mode silica fiber. Another sapphire fiber is placed end-to-end with the first sapphire fiber, so that the two adjacent end-faces of the sapphire fibers form a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity. This sensor is demonstrated to be useful for both strain and temperature measurement, with a 10-microstrain resolution over a range of 0-1150 microstrain, and a 3.5 degrees C temperature resolution over a range from 150 to 650 degrees C.

Optical fiber sensing with a low-finesse Fabry–Perot cavity

A detailed comparison between a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity and a typical two-beam interferometer is developed and checked experimentally. The consequences of approximating the true Fabry-Perot function by the two-beam function are evaluated for commonly used signal-processing schemes in order to quantify the final error introduced in various fiber sensing schemes employing this configuration.

Stabilized extrinsic fiber-optic Fizeau sensor for surface acoustic wave detection

A surface acoustic wave sensor based on an in-line extrinsic Fizeau interferometer is described. A single-mode fiber, used as the input/output fiber, and a multimode fiber, used solely as a reflector, form an air-gap that acts as a low-finesse Fabry-Perot or Fizeau cavity. The Fresnel reference reflection from the glass/air interface at the front of the air-gap interferes with the sensing reflection from the air/glass interface at the far end of the air-gap. Strains in the thin-walled silica tube housing the two fibers change the length of the air-gap, thereby altering the phase difference between the reference and sensing reflections. A theoretical analysis of the interaction between the strain induced by elastic stress wave fields and the fiber sensor housing is presented.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Optics of Floquet-Bloch waves in dielectric gratings

The behavior of light in dielectric gratings is discussed in terms of the optical Floquet-Bloch waves (or modes). The emphasis is on the development of a good physical understanding of the nature of these waves, using the wavevector diagram to summarize their spatial dispersion and spectra. It is shown that Floquet-Bloch theory offers some advantages conceptually over the commonly used coupled-wave theory, because the rays of the Floquet-Bloch waves (given by their group velocities) play the same role in a periodic medium as do those of plane waves in isotropic or graded-index media. The effect on power conservation of truncating the Floquet expansions for the Floquet-Bloch waves is considered in detail. Using the greater intuitive power of Floquet-Bloch theory, it is shown (in contrast to recent claims to the contrary) how rigorous coupled-wave theory can be applied to symmetrical reflection gratings, and secondly how the light in these gratings can be viewed in terms of the multiple-beam interference of Floquet-Bloch waves, leading to behavior reminiscent of a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity.