Multimode Single-mode Fiber Research Articles

Spectral Characteristics and Displacement Sensing of U-Shaped Single-Mode-Multimode-Single-Mode Fiber Structure.

The U-shaped fiber configuration represents the elementary form of micro-displacement sensing, characterized by its exceptional freedom and flexibility. The study proposes the U-shaped bent single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) fiber structure that integrates the multimode interference (MMI) effect for enhanced mode dispersion and the Mach-Zönder interference (MZI) effect for spectral sensitivity improvement. The transmission spectral properties of the U-shaped SMS fiber structure with a bent radius over 1 cm are experimentally measured as the change in displacement varied within the range of 5 mm in this work. As the radius decreases, the spectrum shows redshift, which is related to the central wavelength of the peak or dips-a smaller wavelength results in a stronger redshift for the same displacement change. The average sensitivity of micro-displacement measurement within a range of 5 mm is 5.41 pm/μm, and the linearity is 99.62%. The maximum sensitivity of U-shaped SMS fiber structure is 34.46 pm/μm, with the minimum displacement change of approximately 5.804 nm. The transmission spectral properties of the U-shaped SMS fiber structure within the ranges of 50 μm, 500 μm, and 5 mm are experimentally measured in this work. This experiment observed a relatively uniform spectral drift pattern in a large range of micro-displacement sensing. The measurement range is limited by the limited spectral range of the light source and the discontinuous variation in the effective refractive index. This provides an experimental reference for further understanding the characteristics of U-shaped fiber structures and applying its application in micro-displacement sensing.

MSM Fiber Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Glucose Sensor Based on SnO2 Nanofibers/Au Structure

Glucose is an indispensable nutrient for metabolism in living organisms and is widely used in food, industry, and medical fields. Glucose is often added as a sweetener in food and often used in industry as a reducing agent for various products. In medical treatment, glucose is added to many drugs as a nutritional additive, and it is also an indicator that diabetics need to pay attention to at all time. Therefore, the market has a great demand for low-cost, high-sensitivity, fast, and convenient glucose sensors, and the industry has always attached great importance to the work of creating new glucose sensor devices. Therefore, we proposed a SnO2 nanofibers/Au structure multimode-single-mode-multimode (MSM) fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) glucose sensor. SnO2 nanofibers were fixed to a single-mode fiber core that had been plated with the Au film by electrospinning. When the glucose concentration increased at 5 vol% intervals, the corresponding resonance wavelengths had different degrees of redshifts. Comparing the two structures, as the glucose concentration range increased from 0 vol% to 60 vol%, the sensitivity increased from 228.7 nm/vol% in the Au structure to 337.3 nm/vol% in the SnO2 nanofiber/Au structure. At the same time, the linear correlation between the resonant wavelength and the refractive index of the two structures was greater than 0.98. Moreover, the SnO2 nanofibers/Au structure significantly improved the practical application performance of SPR sensors.

Sensitivity-enhanced strain sensor based on a shape-modulated multimode fiber.

In this Letter, we demonstrate a sensitivity-enhanced strain sensor based on a shape-modulated multimode fiber (MMF). In contrast to conventional single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) fiber structures, which typically contain a single cylindrical homogeneous MMF section, the shape of the MMF section in this investigation is modulated by lateral offset splicing of multiple MMF segments. Simulation results show that the designed shape-modulated MMF has a higher peak mechanical strain than that of a cylindrical MMF. Experimental results demonstrate that the strain sensitivity achieved by the shaped-modulated MMF-formed SMS fiber structure is as high as -55.63 pm/µε, which is 33 times higher than that for a cylindrical MMF-formed conventional SMS fiber structure at -1.65 pm/µε. This high sensitivity and low-fabrication cost SMS fiber sensor has the potential to be a promising candidate in precise strain measurement applications.

Highly Efficient Refractive Index Sensor Based on a Dual-Side Polished SMS Fiber Enabled by Femtosecond Laser Writing.

Fiber-optic refractive index (RI) sensors based on wavelength-shift-based interrogation continue to present a challenge in achieving high sensitivity for a wide detection range. In this paper, we propose a sensor for determining the RI of liquids based on femtosecond laser (fs-laser) writing of a dual-side polished singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber. The proposed sensor can determine the RI value of a surrounding liquid by detecting the dip wavelength in the transmission spectrum of the light propagating through the sensing area. The high RI sensitivity is attributed to the increased interaction area established by the fs-laser, which creates hydrophilic surfaces and maintains the wide detection range of the SMS structure. The results of the wavelength-shift-based interrogation reveal that the fabricated device exhibited a high sensitivity of 161.40 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) over a wide RI detection range of 0.062 RIU. The proposed device has high processing accuracy and a simple manufacturing process. Hence, it has the potential to be used as a lab-on-fiber sensing platform in chemical and biotechnological applications.

Characterization of single-mode multimode single-mode fiber optic sensors for steel rebar corrosion monitoring in NaCl and simulated concrete pore solutions

Single-mode multimode single-mode (SMS) fiber optic sensors are characterized for corrosion monitoring of steel rebars in NaCl and simulated concrete pore solutions. Three diameters of the multimode fiber (MMF) are considered including 125 µm, 90 µm, and 60 µm. Steel rebar specimens were first cast in epoxy resin and then polished to expose a rectangular section. The SMS fiber optic sensors are directly attached on the polished surface of the steel rebar and then immersed in solutions for corrosion monitoring. Two types of solution are prepared, including 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution and simulated concrete pore solutions. During the immersion tests, the corrosion evolution of the steel rebar was measured with open circuit potential and linear polarization resistance. The change of the transmission spectrum of the SMS fiber optic sensors is recorded with an optical spectra analyzer. The change of the characteristic wavelength is correlated with the corrosion-induced mass loss of the steel rebars. Results show that linear relationships are present between the corrosion-induced mass loss of the steel rebars and the shift of the characteristic wavelength of the SMS fiber optic sensors. The corrosion monitoring sensitivity of SMS fiber optic sensors increases with a decrease of the diameter of the MMF.

Improvement of Temperature Performance of Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Fiber Structure.

A theoretical model for studying the temperature properties of singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber structure fabricated by absorptive multimode fiber (MMF) cladding is established. Moreover, an SMS-based temperature sensor is fabricated and experimentally demonstrated. Experimental results show that the dip wavelength of the transmission spectrum changes linearly with temperature, which is in good agreement with the simulated results obtained by using the model. Further, a comprehensive study of temperature characteristics affected by the thermo-optic effect, thermal expansion effect, and thermal effect of absorption characteristics is performed for SMS fiber optic structures with different refractive indexes, thermo-optic coefficients, and absorption properties of MMF cladding, MMF core diameters, and thermal expansion coefficients of packaging shell. According to the obtained rules, investigations are carried out into the thermal response of an SMS fiber structure resulting from combined thermal effects for temperature performance optimization. Excellent temperature stability with a temperature sensitivity of 0 pm/°C or good temperature sensitivity of -441.58 pm/°C is achieved accordingly.

Fe-C-Coated Single-Mode–Multimode–Single- Mode Optical Fiber Sensor for Steel Corrosion Monitoring

Fe-C-coated single-mode–multimode–single-mode (SMS) optical fiber sensor is fabricated and characterized for steel corrosion monitoring in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. The multimode fiber (MMF) is a none core fiber and has a length of 30 mm. A 100-nm-thick layer of the gold film is first sputter deposited on the surface of the SMS fiber and then the Fe-C layer is electroplated with a thickness of around 20 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . The microstructure of both the inner gold film and the outer Fe-C layer is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The corrosion evolution of the Fe-C layer over time in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution is measured with open circuit potential (OCP), linear polarization resistance (LPR), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). In the meantime, the change in the transmission spectrum is recorded with an optical spectra analyzer during the corrosion test. The shift in the characteristic wavelength of the Fe-C-coated SMS fiber sensor is extracted and correlated with the corrosion-induced mass loss of the Fe-C layer. Regression analysis demonstrates that the corrosion-induced mass loss of the Fe-C layer exponentially increases with an increase in the characteristic wavelength of the Fe-C-coated SMS optical fiber sensor.

Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Optical Fiber Sensor for Accurate Blood Pressure Monitoring

A dual-channel single-mode-multi-mode-single-mode (SMS) fiber optic sensor encapsulated by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was proposed for the first time, for the simultaneous monitoring of the brachial and radial arteries for accurate blood pressure prediction. With the help of the machine learning algorithm Support Vector Regression (SVR), the SMS fiber sensor can continuously and accurately monitor the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Commercial sphygmomanometers are used to calibrate the accuracy of blood pressure measurement. Compared with the single-channel system, this system can extract more pulse wave features for blood pressure prediction, such as radial artery transit time (RPTT), brachial artery transit time (BPTT), and the transit time difference between the radial artery and the brachial artery (DBRPTT). The results show that the performance of dual-channel blood pressure monitoring is more accurate than that of single-channel blood pressure monitoring in terms of the absolute value of the correlation coefficient (R) and the average value of the difference between SBP and DBP. In addition, both the single-channel and dual-channel blood pressure monitoring are in line with the Association for the Advancement of Medical Devices (AAMI), but the average deviation (DM, 0.06 mmHg) and standard deviation (SD, 1.54 mmHg) of dual-channel blood pressure monitoring are more accurate. The blood pressure monitoring system has the characteristics of low cost, high sensitivity, non-invasive and capability for remote real time monitoring, which can provide effective solution for intelligent health monitoring in the era of artificial intelligence in the future.

The effect of immersion time on singlemode-tapered multimode-singlemode (STMS) fabrication using a chemical etching method

Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode (SMS) is one of the fiber optic sensor structures that is widely applied for many sensing applications. High sensitivity is the preferred characteristic of SMS fiber structure. In this paper, a tapered structure is introduced to the SMS fiber structure to increase its performance. The tapered structure is made by the etching method by immersing the SMS multimode fiber in hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution. The immersion time was varied 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes. The diameter of the multimode fiber decreases with the longer immersion time, while the length does not change. The STMS transmission spectrum was measured to investigate its performance. The chemical etching method using HF solution for tapering the SMS fibers has great potential as a simple method to achieve a smaller radius without lengthening multimode fibers.

Yb-ASE Suppression in Single-Frequency Hybrid Double Cladding Erbium–Ytterbium Co-Doped Fiber Amplifier with SMS Structure

A hybrid double cladding erbium–ytterbium co-doped fiber (EYDF) amplifier with a single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) active fiber is demonstrated in this study. The hybrid gain fiber with an SMS structure is composed of two kinds of EYDFs with 6 and 12 μm core diameters. The transmission spectra of the SMS fiber structure were theoretically analyzed and the simulation results indicated that the maximum loss in the 1~1.1 μm band where the Yb-band amplified spontaneous emission (Yb-ASE) located, was much larger than that of the 1.5-μm band because of the wavelength difference. The power performance and spectra properties of the hybrid fiber amplifier were theoretically and experimentally analyzed and compared with a typical uniform fiber amplifier under the same conditions. The experimental results demonstrated that this hybrid fiber amplifier can suppress the Yb-ASE by over 12 dB and increase the slope efficiency by more than 2%, but the ASE in the 1.5-μm band increases by 2~3 dB. This work provides a possible method to enable EYDF amplifiers to suppress the Yb-ASE and overcome the pump bottleneck effect.

Switchable and tunable thulium-doped fiber laser based on mode interference filter

A cladding pumped thulium-doped fiber laser with tunable and switchable output was demonstrated. The single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) fiber filters with different lengths of multimode fiber were fabricated and the tunability of the laser by axial strain with a sensitivity of ∼ 2.4 pm/με was demonstrated experimentally. Single-wavelength output with an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of up to 70 dB and a small tuning range of 2.76 nm was obtained. The fluctuations of the center wavelength and output power within 60 min were less than 0.04 nm and 0.27 dB, respectively, and the tuning sensitivity was ∼ 2.3 pm/με. When the laser was operated in the dual-wavelength output mode, the OSNR reached 60 dB and the fluctuation of the output power was less than 1.53 dB within an observation time of 60 min. Furthermore, the output power was scaled up to 308 mW by changing the output coupling ratio and the different samples of SMS fiber filter were also applied in the fiber laser cavity to obtain different lasing channels. The proposed fiber laser is suitable for applications in sensing and communication systems.

Tunable Q-switched Tm/Ho-codoped fiber laser based on a thermo-optically controlled multimode interference fiber structure

We present all-fiber tunable Q-switched lasers incorporating a thin-film GaAs saturable absorber and a single-mode–multimode–single-mode (SMS) fiber structure with a liquid cladding in a Tm/Ho-codoped fiber ring resonator. The fiber laser generates a pulse train with a peak pulse power of 535 mW, a repetition rate of 37.4 kHz and a pulse width of 680 ns under a pump power of 221 mW. The oscillation wavelength is tunable over a 111 nm range from 1858 to 1969 nm by controlling the temperature of the SMS fiber structure. We expect that all-fiber tuning and Q-switching techniques without mechanical elements will provide compact and efficient laser systems for environmental sensing, eye-safe measurement, and medical applications.

Performance of Etched Silica FBG for Simultaneous Strain Temperature Measurement

In this paper, we have proposed an etched silica Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) based interrogation technique using an optical spectrum analyser (OSA). The efficiency of the proposed system has extensively been investigated for measuring the temperature and strain simultaneously with higher sensitivity and accuracy covering a larger measurement range. A Single mode-Multi mode-Single mode fiber (SMS) which acts as a bandpass filter is employed in the circuitry for an efficient and fast interrogation technique. We recorded a remarkable enhancement in sensitivity of 20.30 pm/°C and 2.89 pm/μɛ over the temperature and strain range of 25–225 °C and 50–2050 μɛ, respectively. These data were recorded with the strain resolution of ±10 μɛ whereas the resolution for the temperature is ±0.50 °C. The experimental results show the capability of the sensor for measuring the strain and temperature simultaneously with higher intrinsic sensitivity and resolution. The performance of the proposed sensor has been compared with various reported techniques.

Generation of coherent multicolor noise-like pulse complex in Yb-doped fiber laser mode-locked by GIMF-SA

We have demonstrated the generation of multicolor noise-like pulse complex in a passively Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser based on a single mode-graded index multimode-single mode fiber (SMF-GIMF-SMF) device as the saturable absorber (SA). The stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effect leads to the cascaded generation of the main noise-like pulse (NLP) at 1028.8 nm together with the noise like Raman pulse (RP) at 1076.1 nm. The generated dual wavelength pulses demonstrate the unique properties of mutually synchronization and coherence. The autocorrelation traces show that each of the synchronously mode-locked pulses exhibits a double-scale structure with a narrow peak which consists of a train of quasi-periodic beat pulses with a 35.7 fs pulse width and a pulse separation of about 77.2 fs. The total output power reaches 102.5 mW with 34% of it belonging to the RP. And furthermore, by separating the two pulses with spectral filters, the modulation fringes cannot be observed anymore. These results indicate that the Raman component participates in the mode-locking operation as a 'signal' instead of 'noise'. Such a coherent Raman pulse source provides a novel platform for numerous applications, such as frequency comb spectroscopy and so on.

Tunable and dual-wavelength mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser based on graded-index multimode fiber device

We have implemented wavelength-tunable and dual-wavelength in an ytterbium-doped passively mode-locked fiber laser using a single mode-graded index multimode-single mode fiber (SMF-GIMF-SMF) device as the saturable absorber (SA) without additional components. Such an all-fiber SA device exhibits fantastic properties with a large modulation depth of 22.9%, a small saturation fluence of 8.3 μJ/cm2, and the transmission curve with a capacity of gain-flattening, which are suitable for the tunable mode-locking generation. Benefiting from the intracavity birefringence-induced filtering effect of the laser cavity, tuning and dual-wavelength operations are obtained. For the tuning operation, the central wavelength of the dissipative solitons (DSs) can be tuned from 1028.5 to 1074.4 nm, with the pulse duration of tens of picoseconds. For the dual-wavelength mode-locking operation, the central wavelengths of dual-wavelength can be switched from 1032.3/1054.1 nm to 1049.3/1072.6 nm. Our results indicate that the SMF-GIMF-SMF device provides a novel platform for wavelength-tunable and dual-wavelength mode-locking in Yb-doped fiber lasers.

Pipeline Monitoring Using Highly Sensitive Vibration Sensor Based on Fiber Ring Cavity Laser

A vibration fiber sensor based on a fiber ring cavity laser and an interferometer based single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) fiber structure is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The SMS fiber sensor is positioned within the laser cavity, where the ring laser lasing wavelength can be swept to an optimized wavelength using a simple fiber loop design. To obtain a better signal-to-noise ratio, the ring laser lasing wavelength is tuned to the maximum gain region biasing point of the SMS transmission spectrum. A wide range of vibration frequencies from 10 Hz to 400 kHz are experimentally demonstrated. In addition, the proposed highly sensitive vibration sensor system was deployed in a field-test scenario for pipeline acoustic emission monitoring. An SMS fiber sensor is mounted on an 18” diameter pipeline, and vibrations were induced at different locations using a piezoelectric transducer. The proposed method was shown to be capable of real-time pipeline vibration monitoring.

Stable, precisely controlled, and switchable thulium-doped fiber laser based on cascaded mode interference filters.

This research experimentally demonstrates a switchable, single-wavelength, thulium-doped fiber laser based on the cascading of a multimode-single-mode-multimode (MSM) fiber filter and a two-mode fiber (TMF) filter. When the MSM fiber filter suffers from bending, the blue-shift of the output spectrum can be obtained. A switchable lasing wavelength output is realized by bending the MSM fiber filter to cover different channels of the TMF filter. The output wavelength can be switched from 1982.54 to 1938.81 nm with an optical signal-to-noise ratio of higher than 40 dB. The wavelength interval of the switchable output is an integral multiple of the wavelength interval of the TMF filter. The stability of the output wavelength was tested within 60 min, and the wavelength shift and output power fluctuation were found to be less than 0.01 nm and 0.31 dB, respectively, which demonstrates a stable output performance.

Highly sensitive temperature sensor based on multimode‐interference fiber structure with gel cladding

AbstractWe present a temperature‐sensitive, single‐mode–multimode–single‐mode (SMS) fiber structure with an index‐matching gel as a cladding material in a multimode segment. A silica core with the surrounding gel is supported straight by a thin glass tube to produce a bandpass transmission response. The passband wavelength shifts by 96 nm from 1624.5 to 1528.5 nm as the temperature increased from 40 to 200°C. The maximum sensitivity obtained is 2 nm/°C in the temperature range 40–70°C, whereas the minimum sensitivity is 0.13 nm/°C in the temperature range 125–200°C. The SMS fiber structure, including the gel cladding, allows high operating temperatures and high thermal sensitivities.

Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Fiber Structures for Sensing Applications—A Review

A singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber structure consists of a short section of multimode fiber fusion- spliced between two SMS fibers. The mechanism underpinning the operation of an SMS fiber structure is multimode interference and associated self-imaging. SMS structures can be used in a variety of optical fiber systems but are most commonly used as sensors for a variety of parameters, ranging from macro-world measurands such as temperature, strain, vibration, flow rate, RI and humidity to the micro-world with measurands such as proteins, pathogens, DNA and specific molecules. While traditional SMS structures employ a short section of standard multimode fiber, a large number of structures have been investigated and demonstrated over the last decade involving the replacement of the multimode fiber section with alternatives such as a hollow core fiber or a tapered fiber. The objective of replacing the multimode fiber has most often been to allow sensing of different measurands or to improve sensitivity. In this paper, several different categories of SMS fiber structures, including traditional SMS, modified SMS and tapered SMS fiber structures are discussed with some theoretical underpinning and reviews of a wide variety of sensing examples and recent advances. The paper then summarizes and compares the performances of a variety of sensors which have been published under a number of headings. The paper concludes by considering the challenges faced by SMS based sensing schemes in terms of their deployment in real world applications and discusses possible future developments of SMS fiber sensors.

Wearable Optical Fiber Sensor Based on a Bend Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Fiber Structure for Respiration Monitoring

Respiration rate (RR) is an important information related to human physiological health. A wearable optical fiber sensor for respiration monitoring based on a bend singlemode-multimode-singlemode (SMS) fiber structure, which is highly sensitive to bend, is firstly proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor fastened by an elastic belt on the abdomen of a person will acquire the respiration signal when the person breaths, which will introduce front and back movement of the abdomen, and thus bend of SMS fiber structure. Short-time Fourier transform (STFT) method is employed for signal processing to extract characteristic information of both the time and frequency domain of the measured waveform, which provides accurate RR measurement. Six different SMS fiber sensors have been tested by six individuals and the experimental results demonstrated that the RR signals can be effectively monitored among different individuals, where an average Pearson Correlation Coefficient of 0.88 of the respiration signal has been achieved, which agrees very well with that of commercial belt respiration sensor. The proposed technique can provide a new wearable and portable solution for monitoring of respiratory with advantage of easy fabrication and robust to environment.