Pair Of Optical Fibers Research Articles

Design and Control of a Trapezoidal Piezoelectric Bimorph Actuator for Optical Fiber Alignment.

To align a pair of optical fibers, it is required that the micro actuators used be small and have the characteristics of high accuracy and fast response time. A trapezoidal piezoelectric bimorph actuator was proposed for pushing and pulling an optical fiber. Based on a mathematical model and finite element model established in this paper, we analyzed the output displacement and output force of the proposed trapezoidal piezoelectric actuator under the influence of structural parameters. Since the piezoelectric bimorph actuator had a hysteresis effect, we applied particle swarm optimization to establish a Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) model for actuator and parameter identification. Then, two control methods, namely feedforward control considering hysteresis effects and fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control employing feedback, were proposed. Finally, a composite control model combining the two control methods with fewer tracking errors was designed. The results show that the output displacement of this actuator is larger than that of a rectangular one. Additionally, the fuzzy PID control has a lower response time (15 ms) and an overshoot (5%).

Robot-Assisted Optical Ultrasound Scanning

Optical ultrasound, where ultrasound is both generated and received using light, can be integrated in very small diameter instruments making it ideally suited to minimally invasive interventions. One-dimensional information can be obtained using a single pair of optical fibres comprising of a source and detector but this can be difficult to interpret clinically. In this paper, we present a robotic-assisted scanning solution where a concentric tube robot manipulates an optical ultrasound probe along a consistent trajectory. A torque coil is utilized as a buffer between the curved nitinol tube and the probe to prevent torsion on the probe and maintain the axial orientation of the probe while the tube is rotating. The design and control of the scanning mechanism are presented along with the integration of the mechanism with a fibre-based imaging probe. Trajectory repeatability is assessed using electromagnetic tracking and a technique to calibrate the transformation between imaging and robot coordinates using a known model is presented. Finally, we show example images of 3D printed phantoms generated by collecting multiple OpUS A-scans within the same 3D scene to illustrate how robot-assisted scanning can expand the field of view.

Detecting and Trapping of a Single C. elegans Worm in a Microfluidic Chip for Automated Microplate Dispensing.

Microfluidic devices offer new technical possibilities for a precise manipulation of Caenorhabditis elegans due to the comparable length scale. C. elegans is a small, free-living nematode worm that is a popular model system for genetic, genomic, and high-throughput experimental studies of animal development and neurobiology. In this paper, we demonstrate a microfluidic system in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for dispensing of a single C. elegans worm into a 96-well plate. It consists of two PDMS layers, a flow and a control layer. Using five microfluidic pneumatic valves in the control layer, a single worm is trapped upon optical detection with a pair of optical fibers integrated perpendicular to the constriction channel and then dispensed into a microplate well with a dispensing tip attached to a robotic handling system. Due to its simple design and facile fabrication, we expect that our microfluidic chip can be expanded to a multiplexed dispensation system of C. elegans worms for high-throughput drug screening.

Single and multichannel scintillating fiber dosimeter for radiotherapic beams with SiPM readout

The treatment of many neoplastic diseases requires the use of radiotherapy, which consists in the irradiation of the tumor, identified as the target volume, with ionizing radiations generated both by administered radiopharmaceuticals or by linear particle accelerators (LINACs). The radiotherapy beam delivered to the patient must be regularly checked to assure the best tumor control probability: this task is performed with dosimeters, i.e. devices able to provide a measurement of the dose deposited in their sensitive volume. This paper describes the development of two scintillator dosimeter prototypes for radiotherapic applications based on plastic scintillating fibers read out by high dynamic range Silicon PhotoMultipliers. The first dosimeter, consisting of a single-channel prototype with a pair of optical fibers, a scintillating and a white one, read out by two SiPMs, has been fully characterized and led to the development of a second multi-channel dosimeter based on an array of scintillating fibers: this device represents the first step towards the assembly of a “one-shot” device, capable to perform some of the daily quality controls in a few seconds. The dosimeters characterization was performed with a Varian Clinac iX linear accelerator at the Radiotherapy Department of the St. Anna Hospital in Como (IT).

Miniature standoff Raman probe for neurosurgical applications.

Removal of intrinsic brain tumors is a delicate process, where a high degree of specificity is required to remove all of the tumor tissue without damaging healthy brain. The accuracy of this process can be greatly enhanced by intraoperative guidance. Optical biopsies using Raman spectroscopy are a minimally invasive and lower-cost alternative to current guidance methods. A miniature Raman probe for performing optical biopsies of human brain tissue is presented. The probe allows sampling inside a conventional stereotactic brain biopsy system: a needle of length 200 mm and inner diameter of 1.8 mm. By employing a miniature stand-off Raman design, the probe removes the need for any additional components to be inserted into the brain. Additionally, the probe achieves a very low internal silica background while maintaining good collection of Raman signal. To illustrate this, the probe is compared with a Raman probe that uses a pair of optical fibers for collection. The miniature stand-off Raman probe is shown to collect a comparable number of Raman scattered photons, but the Raman signal to background ratio is improved by a factor of five at Raman shifts below ∼500 cm(−1). The probe’s suitability for use on tissue is demonstrated by discriminating between different types of healthy porcine brain tissue.

A Spectroscopic Technique for Local Temperature Measurement in a Micro-Optofluidic System

We present a spectroscopy technique to measure temperature locally in a polydimethylsiloxane micro-optofluidic chip with integrated optical fibers and minimal optical components. The device was fabricated in one step with fiber coupler grooves followed by the manual integration of the optical fibers. The experimental setup consists of a micro-optofluidic chip with a pair of optical fibers for excitation and fluorescence collection, a laser module, and a spectrometer. The laser module is coupled to one of the optical fibers to guide the light into the microchannel. The fluorescence signal is collected by a second integrated optical fiber placed orthogonally. A spectroscopy technique is used to measure the local temperature in a microchannel ( $500~\mu \text{m}$ wide and $125~\mu \text{m}$ in height) using Rhodamine B as a temperature indicator. It is shown that for a flow rate between 200 and $400~\mu \text{L}$ /min, the local temperature can be determined.

Fiber-optic vectorial magnetic-field gradiometry by a spatiotemporal differential optical detection of magnetic resonance in nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.

Highly sensitive room-temperature vectorial magnetic-field gradiometry is demonstrated using optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) in fiber-coupled nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. With a bulk NV-diamond magnetometer coupled to a pair of optical fibers integrated with a microwave transmission line, the differential ODMR measurements are implemented in both space and time, with magnetic-field gradient measurements supplemented with differential ODMR signal detection in the time domain, allowing efficient noise cancellation and providing a sensitivity of magnetogradiometry at the level of 10-7 nT/(nmHz1/2).

Coupled forward-adjoint Monte Carlo simulation of spatial-angular light fields to determine optical sensitivity in turbid media.

We present a coupled forward-adjoint Monte Carlo (cFAMC) method to determine the spatially resolved sensitivity distributions produced by optical interrogation of three-dimensional (3-D) tissue volumes. We develop a general computational framework that computes the spatial and angular distributions of the forward-adjoint light fields to provide accurate computations in mesoscopic tissue volumes. We provide full computational details of the cFAMC method and provide results for low- and high-scattering tissues probed using a single pair of optical fibers. We examine the effects of source-detector separation and orientation on the sensitivity distributions and consider how the degree of angular discretization used in the 3-D tissue model impacts the accuracy of the resulting absorption sensitivity profiles. We discuss the value of such computations for optical imaging and the design of optical measurements.

Paper microfluidic extraction and direct smartphone-based identification of pathogenic nucleic acids from field and clinical samples

A rapid, paper microfluidic- and smartphone-based protocol was developed for the extraction and direct fluorescent identification of the nucleic acids of Salmonella Typhimurium from field and clinical samples. Initially, liquid samples (10% diluted) from fresh poultry packaging were loaded on the paper chips and were lysed with Tris–EDTA (TE) buffer. Nucleic acids from the lysed samples were eluted through the paper channel with TE buffer and the paper channel was excised into three pieces for the further polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The extraction efficiency was determined by measuring fluorescence reflectance with either a benchtop optical detection system (consisting of an LED light source, a pair of optical fibers, and a miniature spectrophotometer, all built on micro-positioning stages) or a smartphone-based fluorescent microscope (in-house fabricated). The limit of detection of Salmonella Typhimurium in 10% poultry packaging liquid with cellulose paper was 103 CFU mL−1, while that extracted with nitrocellulose paper was 104 CFU mL−1 (as determined by both PCR and fluorescence reflectance). Cellulose channels proved more appropriate for measuring low and very high concentrations of pathogen DNA, while nitrocellulose proved better for analysing the mid-range concentrations. We observed that DNA migrated through nitrocellulose at a faster rate and further than through cellulose due to charge–charge repulsion between nitrocellulose and DNA (both negatively charged), thus contributing to consistent and efficient extraction. We tested the efficiency of Salmonella extraction from 10% poultry packaging liquid, 10% whole blood, and 10% fecal samples, and obtained comparable extraction efficiency, as confirmed by smartphone-based direct fluorescent detection. This protocol is suitable for the direct detection of total bacteria count in a dirty sample (when specificity is not necessary) as well as determining extraction efficiency. This protocol is compatible with PCR, to provide specific information about the type of pathogen present in sample.

An Optical Fiber-Based Gating Device for Prospective Mouse Cardiac MRI

Prospective synchronization of MRI acquisitions on living organisms involves the monitoring of respiratory and heart motions. The electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is conventionally used to measure the cardiac cycle. However, in some circumstances, obtaining an uncorrupted ECG signal recorded on small animals with radio frequency (RF) pulses and gradient switching is challenging. To monitor respiratory motion, an air cushion associated with a pressure sensor is commonly used but the system suffers from bulkiness. For many applications, the physiological gating information can also be derived from an MR navigated signal. However, a compact device that can simultaneously provide respiratory and cardiac information, for both prospective gating and physiological monitoring, is desirable. This is particularly valid since small volume coils or dedicated cardiac RF coil arrays placed directly against the chest wall are required to maximize measurement sensitivity. An optic-based device designed to synchronize MRI acquisitions on small animal's respiratory and heart motion was developed using a transmit-receive pair of optical fibers. The suitability of the developed device was assessed on mice ( n = 10) and was based on two sets of experiments with dual cardiac and respiratory synchronization. Images acquired with prospective triggering using the optical-based signal, ECG, and the pressure sensor during the same experiment were compared between themselves in the first set. The second set compared prospective technique using optical-based device and ECG to a retrospective technique. The optical signal that was correlated to both respiratory and heart motion was totally unaffected by radiofrequency pulses or currents induced by the magnetic field gradients used for imaging. Mice heart MR images depict low-visible motion artifacts with all sensors or techniques used. No significant SNR differences were found between each series of image. Full fiber-optic-based signal derived from heart and respiratory motion was suitable for prospective triggering of heart MR imaging. The fiber optic device performed similarly to the ECG and air pressure sensors, while providing an advantage for imaging with dedicated cardiac array coils by reducing bulk. It can be an attractive alternative for small animal MRI in difficult environments such as limited space and strong gradient switching.

A 400-kHz High-Accuracy Laser Telemeter for Distributed Measurements of 3-D Profiles

A distributed telemeter is herein presented, which has specifically been designed for the high-speed high-resolution monitoring of trains in railway portals but can be adapted to a number of industrial and environmental applications. The system uses a single transmitter/receiver unit to feed, using optical fiber pairs, a number of measuring stations. It makes use of an ultrashort fiber laser operating at 400 kHz or, alternatively, a fiber-coupled diode laser and presents in-house developed solutions to obtain a 40-dB dynamic range, thus allowing to monitor targets within large distance/angle/color intervals. The system has been developed, tested, and installed on a train-monitoring portal in the Roma-Napoli railway, in the framework of an effort to increase the safety of trains entering tunnels in the Italian railway system.

Development of a nine spatial point, multipulse Thomson scattering diagnostic

A Thomson scattering diagnostic has been developed for the C-2 field-reversed configuration device. Based on a multipulse ruby laser, the system measures the electron temperature at nine spatial points. These points are chosen from 22 selectable positions covering r≈1-41 cm. Twin collection lenses couple the scattered photons to nine optical fiber pairs. Extra fiber lengths delay the signals from different spatial points relative to each other, allowing up to three points to be analyzed by a single polychromator. The polychromator, using compact photomultipliers as detectors, has six spectral channels covering the range of 685-725 nm and is able to estimate electron temperatures of ≈10-200 eV. The photomultiplier output signals are recorded by digital storage oscilloscopes integrated with the main MDSplus database, with temperature and error estimates generated automatically at the conclusion of each plasma discharge.

An Opto-VLSI-based reconfigurable optical adddrop multiplexer employing an off-axis 4-f imaging system

A novel reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) structure is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The ROADM structure employs two arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs), an array of optical fiber pairs, an array of 4-f imaging microlenses that are offset in relation to the axis of symmetry of the fiber pairs, and a reconfigurable Opto-VLSI processor that switches various wavelength channels between the fiber pairs to achieve add or drop multiplexing. Experimental results are shown, which demonstrate the principle of add/drop multiplexing with crosstalk of less than -27dB and insertion loss of less than 8dB over the Cband for drop and through operation modes.

Effect of Inlet Geometry on Adiabatic Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow in a Microchannel

An optical measurement system and video camera were used to investigate gas-liquid two-phase flow characteristics in a circular microchannel of 100 μm diameter. By cross-correlating the signals from two pairs of optical fibers and infrared photodiodes, void fraction and the lengths and velocities of gas slugs and liquid slugs were measured. The data were obtained using a T-junction with the same internal diameter as the microchannel, but the lengths of the gas and liquid injection lines between the T-junction and flow control valves were quite different. The presence of a large compressible gas volume upstream of the T-junction had a significant effect on the two-phase flow characteristics in the microchannel, typified by the void fraction data. The two-phase flow characteristics in the absence of a compressible gas volume were analyzed to obtain the liquid slug length and velocity data. The liquid slug velocity was found to be dependent on the slug length, as longer slugs experienced greater friction effects and moved with much slower velocities than the shorter liquid slugs.

Optically induced flow cytometry for continuous microparticle counting and sorting

This paper reports a new microfluidic device capable of performing optically induced flow cytometry (OIFC). This enables it to continuously count and to sort microparticles based on optically induced dielectrophoretic (ODEP) forces. Gravity was used to drive the particles instead of using syringe pumps. The particles were then focused inside a sample channel by the ODEP forces and then passed through a detection region. A pair of optical fibers were embedded into fiber channels to count the number of particles and analyze the particle size in real time. Using 20.9 and 9.7 μm polystyrene microparticles, the average light intensity were about 63.67 and 8.80 units, with a coefficient-of-variation (CV) of 7.46 and 25.57%, respectively. This demonstrated that these two particle sizes could be successfully distinguished. After detecting the number and size of the microparticles, an optically induced dynamic switch (ODS) was used to sort microparticles to downstream fluidic outlets. The ODS used ODEP forces generated by different illumination intensities or optical line widths. The ODS was composed of two virtual electrodes which controlled particle movement in two dimensions. The ODS can successfully sort microparticles with different sizes continuously. The development of the OIFC device is a major advancement in the design of microparticle counting and sorting devices. Applications in future biomedical applications for cell counting and manipulation are envisioned.

Surface properties of tellurite and fluorotellurite glasses

The surface properties of some freshly cleaved, or polished, quaternary tellurite glasses (TeO2-ZnO-Na2O-Yb2O3and TeO2-ZnO-Na2O-GeO2) and a proposed ternary fluorotellurite core/clad optical fiber pair (TeO2-N a2O-ZnF2) were investigated by means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and chemical durability. Semiquantitative chemical analysis of the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra of cleaved tungsten-tellurite and fluorotellurite glasses showed good agreement with the batched at.% values when taking into account the effects of processing (e.g., melt fluorine volatilization), and the samples seemed to exhibit negligible hydrolysis. However, spectra of polished surfaces did not yield useful data because of masking of the glass “signal” from organic contamination at the sample surface. The chemical durability of these glasses were studied; specifically, the glass resistance to the attack and the etchability of various acids (aqueous HF, H2SO4, and HCl), alkali (aqueous NaOH), and water at 15, 21, and 60 °C were obtained by simple mass loss experiments and optical microscopy. Based on the appearance of the glass surfaces after immersion in these solutions, aqueous HF was found to be the most promising etchant, however, infrared spectra showed that significant OH was introduced into the glass. Attack of the fluorotellurite glasses was found to proceed at a higher rate in water at 60 °C compared with room temperature, and at both temperatures was shown to be diffusion controlled, with an Arrhenian activation energy estimated as 57 kJ mol−1.

Fiber optic light collection system for scanning-tunneling-microscope-induced light emission

We report a compact light collection scheme suitable for retrofitting a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) for STM-induced light emission experiments. The approach uses a pair of optical fibers with large core diameters and high numerical apertures to maximize light collection efficiency and to moderate the mechanical precision required for alignment. Bench tests indicate that efficiency reduction is almost entirely due to reflective losses at the fiber ends, while losses due to fiber misalignment have virtually been eliminated. Photon-map imaging with nanometer features is demonstrated on a stepped Au(111) surface with signal rates exceeding 10(4) counts/s.

Micro Flow Cytometer Chip Integrated with Micro-Pumps/Micro-Valves for Multi-Wavelength Cell Counting and Sorting

Flow cytometry is a popular technique for counting and sorting of individual cells. This study presents a new chip-based flow cytometer capable of cell injection, counting and switching in an automatic format. The new microfluidic system is also capable of multi-wavelength detection of fluorescence-labeled cells by integrating multiple buried optical fibers within the chip. Instead of using large-scale syringe pumps, this study integrates micro-pumps and micro-valves to automate the entire cell injection and sorting process. By using pneumatic serpentine-shape (S-shape) micro-pumps to drive sample and sheath flows, the developed chip can generate hydrodynamic focusing to allow cells to pass detection regions in sequence. Two pairs of optical fibers are buried and aligned with the microchannels, which can transmit laser light sources with different wavelengths and can collect induced fluorescence signals. The cells labeled with different fluorescent dyes can be excited by the corresponding light source at different wavelengths. The fluorescence signals are then collected by avalanche photodiode (APD) sensors. Finally, a flow switching device composed of three pneumatic micro-valves is used for cell sorting function. Experimental data show that the developed flow cytometer can distinguish specific cells with different dye-labeling from mixed cell samples in one single process. The target cell samples can be also switched into appropriate outlet channels utilizing the proposed microvalve device. The developed microfluidic system is promising for miniature cell-based biomedical applications.

A Simple Multifunctional Fiber Optic Level/Moisture/Vapor Sensor Using Large-Core Quartz Polymer Fiber Pairs

A simple to manufacture fiber optic transducer that is capable of detecting liquid level, moisture, and vapors based on large-core quartz-polymer optical fiber pairs was realized and tested. The response of the sensor for different transducer form ratios and for a variety of liquids is investigated. It is shown that this simple fiber pair tip can successfully be used to sense vapors of water, acetone, and ethanol. The fiber tip can also be used to monitor the presence of moisture in liquid impregnated materials. Various applications are suggested

Reconfigurable Information-Sharing Network System Based on a Cyclic-Frequency AWG and Wavelength-Tunable Lasers

We propose an information-sharing network system, capable of forming and dynamically reconfiguring multiple information-sharing groups on the same network platform by using wavelength routing and distributed shared memory technologies. The network system comprises information-sharing terminal nodes equipped with a shared memory and a wavelength-tunable transmitter, network management terminal and an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG). The information-sharing terminal nodes are connected to an AWG by a pair of optical fibers, forming a star-shaped topology. Information is shared among the information-sharing terminal nodes through the establishment of a logical information-sharing ring. This is accomplished by adjusting the output of the wavelength-tunable transmitter at each terminal node to an appropriate wavelength according to the wavelength-routing characteristics of the AWG wavelength router. We developed a prototype information-sharing network system, in which, as preliminary experiments, HDTV and SDTV videos were used for real-time information sharing. The dynamic reconfiguration of information-sharing groups and a simple automatic restoration technique have been successfully demonstrated. The system is applicable to distributed computer processing systems and high-capacity information-sharing applications such as high-quality videoconferences.