0000000000246265
AUTHOR
Martina Delgado-pinar
Fiber Characterization Using Whispering Gallery Modes(Invited)
Fiber whispering gallery modes (WGMs) are surface waves that propagate azimuthally along the outer surface of the fiber cladding. Those waves that are in phase every turn give rise to narrow resonances defined by the resonant wavelength and a high Q factor. The actual values of the resonant wavelengths depend on the radius and the refractive index of the fiber cladding, enabling the development of several fiber characterization techniques. In addition, the typical high Q factor of these resonances (Q > 106) provides the characterization techniques with a low detection limit. Here, we report the development of a technique for measuring temperature profiles along the optical fiber, which enab…
Measurement of Pockels’ coefficients and demonstration of the anisotropy of the elasto-optic effect in optical fibers under axial strain
The elasto-optic effect in optical fibers under axial strain can be characterized by means of the whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonances of the fiber itself. This technique enables a direct measurement of the anisotropy, the determination of the individual Pockels' coefficients, and the study of the wavelength dependence. The method is based on a rigorous theoretical study of WGM resonances in cylindrical microresonators. The shift of the WGM resonances as a function of strain was measured for the TE and TM modes, showing a strong modal anisotropy. In particular, the shift rate for TE modes was 1.84 times the one for TM modes. From these measurements, experimental values for the Pockels' …
Single-mode Bragg gratings in tapered few-modes and multimode fibers
We propose the implementation of fiber Bragg gratings in tapered few-mode and multimode fibers to accomplish single-mode operation by reducing the core diameter, while preserving the core-cladding structure. The gratings present a single reflection band, and the device shows low insertion losses after the taper fabrication and the fiber Bragg gratings inscription. The excitation of high-order odd modes in the core of the fiber has been identified as the main loss mechanism; it can be prevented by means of symmetric illumination of the fibers. We also demonstrate the excitation of high-order cladding modes (cladding-air modes) along the taper transitions; these modes can be removed without a…
Fabrication of polarizing photonic crystal fibres and photonic crystal fibre tapers: Applications
We report the fabrication of an anisotropic photonic crystal fibre with polarization properties and photonic crystal fibre tapers for supercontinuum generation. The anisotropy of the fibre was created by enlarging four airholes next to the silica core. Different polarization regimes as a function of the geometric parameters, including polarizing behaviour at 1.55 mum, were obtained. In the second part of the paper, we report the fabrication of photonic crystal fibre tapers. We present experimental results on supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fibre tapers using quasi-continuous pump pulses of 7 ns duration at 532 nm and at 1064 nm.
In-Fiber Acousto-Optics for the Broadband Measurement of the UV-Induced Refractive Index Change in Photosensitive Fibers
In fiber acousto-optics has been demonstrated to be a versatile, highly sensitive technique that allows characterizing different parameters of singlemode or few-mode fibers, such as dispersion curves, radius or core refractive index, in a broadband wavelength range. The working principle of the technique relies in the fact that a variation in a parameter of the fiber leads to a shift in the optical wavelength that fulfills the acousto-optic phase matching condition. Thus, by measuring this wavelength shift it is possible to evaluate the change in the parameter under study. The technique shows a low detection limit: for example, it is as low as 10-8 for the core refractive index, in singlemo…
PhoXonic Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators: parametrical optomechanic oscillations and its applications
We report on the experimental analysis of parametrical optomechanical oscillations and photo-acoustical applications such as flow cytometers in hollow phoxonic whispering gallery mode resonators. Both phenomena can be enchanced or suppressed and showed chaotic behavior.
Enhanced Q-switched distributed feedback fiber laser based on acoustic pulses
An acoustically Q-switched distributed feedback fiber laser with enhanced performance is presented. It is based on an FBG written in an erbium doped fiber, in which a dynamic defect is introduced by means of a short acoustic pulse. The performance of the laser depends on the reflectivity of the grating. In this work, we present two different Q-switched distributed feedback fiber lasers realized with active gratings of different reflectivities. Both lasers are characterized at different pump powers and repetition rates. It is shown that the performance of the laser based on the weaker grating was significantly improved with respect to the laser based on the stronger grating. In terms of peak…
Waveguiding properties of a photonic crystal fiber with a solid core surrounded by four large air holes
The polarization-dependent guiding properties of a hexagonal-lattice photonic crystal fiber with a solid-core surrounded by four large air holes are investigated. The appearance of a polarization dependent cutoff frequency, together with several parameters as the birefringence, the modal effective area, the group velocity dispersion and the polarization dependent loss are analyzed. A collection of fibers with different structural parameters were fabricated and characterized. An effective anti-guide structure from at least 450 nm to 1750 nm, a polarizing fiber with a polarization dependent loss of 16 dB/m at 1550 nm, and an endlessly singlemode polarization-maintaining fiber with group biref…
Nonlinear optical effects and optomechanical oscillations in hollow Whispering Gallery Mode microresonators: coexistence, suppression, amplification and route to chaos
Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) hollow microcavities turn out to be the site of an extremely rich and complex phenomenological scenario when pumped with a continuous-wave laser source. The coexistence of numerous non-linear and optomechanical effects have been reviewed in this paper. In our previous works we have investigated and described non-linear emissions as the stimulated Brillouin and Raman scattering, the degenerated and non-degenerated Kerr effects, such as four wave mixing (FWM). These effects happened concomitantly to parametric optomechanical oscillations which are the consequence of the radiation pressure. We have confirmed the regenerative oscillation of acoustic eigenmodes of t…
BIO Bragg gratings on microfibers for label-free biosensing
[EN] Discovering nanoscale phenomena to sense biorecognition events introduces new perspectives to exploit nano science and nanotechnology for bioanalytical purposes. Here we present Bio Bragg Gratings (BBGs), a novel biosensing approach that consists of diffractive structures of protein bioreceptors patterned on the surface of optical waveguides, and tailored to transduce the magnitude of biorecognition assays into the intensity of single peaks in the reflection spectrum. This work addresses the design, fabrication, and optimization of this system by both theoretical and experimental studies to explore the fundamental physicochemical parameters involved. Functional biomolecular gratings ar…
Tunable and reconfigurable microwave filter by use of a Bragg-grating-based acousto-optic superlattice modulator
We present an all-optical novel configuration for implementing multitap transversal filters by use of a broadband source sliced by fiber Bragg grating arrays generated by propagating an acoustic wave along a strong uniform fiber Bragg grating. The tunability and reconfigurability of the microwave filter are demonstrated.
High-repetition rate acoustic-induced Q-switched all-fiber laser
We report a high repetition rate actively Q switched all fiber laser. The acousto optic interaction controls the cou pling between co propagating core and cladding modes and is used to modulate the optical losses of the cavity, which permits to perform active Q-switching. Using 1.4 m of 300 ppm Er-doped fiber and a maximum pump power of 120 mW, we have obtained up to 1 W peak power pulses, with a pulse repetition rate that can be continuously varied from 1 Hz to 120 kHz and a pulse width that changes from 70 ns to 2.2 μs.
Innovative Approaches for Organizing an Inclusive Optics and Photonics Conference in Virtual Format
The COVID pandemic is forcing the renewal of scientific conferences, offering opportunities to introduce technological and inclusive developments. Our analysis focuses on the implementation of inclusive practices for female and early-career researchers in a virtual scientific conference. This organization approach was applied in the XIII Spanish Optical Meeting (RNO2021), which was also characterized by avatars interacting in an online metaverse. The effectiveness of inclusive policies and novel technological tools was evaluated using the participation data and a post-conference survey. Our study reveals the high impact of inclusive actions and a strong interest in the scientific community …
Q-switched all-fibre laser using a fibre-optic resonant acousto-optic modulator
Abstract We report an actively Q-switched all-fibre laser using a fibre-optic resonant acousto-optic modulator as Q-switching element. The modulator consists of a short-length fibre Bragg grating modulated by a standing longitudinal elastic wave, being the grating length much shorter than the acoustic wavelength. Q-switch pulses were successfully obtained from an Er3+-doped fibre laser at repetition rates of 18 and 37 kHz.
BIO-Bragg gratings: structured molecular networks for on-fiber bioanalysis
The research on photonic biosensors is a scientific hot topic at the moment, with a significant potential impact on industry and medicine. Label-free, miniaturized, inexpensive and low-loss biosensors are developed based on optical fiber technology. Our approach is based on a Bio-Bragg-Grating (BBG) patterned on the surface of a microfiber. We present the design, fabrication and proof of concept of our device, as well as its multiplexing and tunability perspectives [1] .
Fabrication of long period fiber gratings of subnanometric bandwidth.
This paper reports on the fabrication of long period fiber gratings having subnanometric bandwidth in the 1500 nm spectral region. Large gratings have been photo-inscribed in a high NA fiber, the grating pitch and the order of the HE cladding mode are optimized to produce gratings with a large number of periods and preventing the coupling to TE, TM or EH modes. Resonances with a FWHM of 0.83 nm and 0.68 nm have been achieved for gratings 15 and 20 cm long respectively, the free spectral range between transmission notches is 125 nm. The polarization effects and the sensitivity of the gratings to temperature and to strain variations are presented as well. © 2015 Optical Society of America Thi…
Measurement of the strain-optic coefficients of PMMA from 800 to 2000 nm
The strain-optic coefficients of PMMA are measured in a broad wavelength range from 800 to 2000 nm. The sensitivity of the azimuthal whispering gallery mode resonances to the strain is exploited to measure the strain-optic coefficients of PMMA micro-rods. The technique is based on measuring the wavelength shift of the resonances of both polarizations states, the TE and TM, when an axial strain is applied to the polymer rods. This method enables the determination of the strain-optic coefficients of the material in a broad wavelength range. In particular, in the near-infrared range, the PMMA exhibits negligible dispersion and anisotropy, and the strain-optic coefficients show constant values …
Q-switching of an all-fiber laser by acousto-optic modulation of a fiber Bragg grating.
We report active Q-switching of an all-fiber laser using a Bragg grating based acousto-optic modulator. Q-switching is performed by modulating a fiber Bragg grating with an extensional acoustic wave. The acoustic wave modulates periodically the effective index profile of the FBG and changes its reflection features. This allows controlling the Q-factor of the cavity. Using 1 m of 300 ppm erbium-doped fiber and a maximum pump power of 180 mW, Q-switch pulses of 10 W of peak power and 82 ns wide were generated. The pulse repetition rate of the laser can be continuously varied from few Hz up to 62.5 kHz.
Anisotropic Elasto-optic Effect in Optical Fibers under Axial Strain: Experimental Observation by means of Whispering Gallery Modes Resonances
Experimental characterization of the refractive index anisotropy generated by the elasto optic effect in a conventional optical fiber under axial strain by using WGMs resonances and their tunability with strain.
Actively Q-switched all-fiber lasers
Q-switching of fiber lasers using bulk elements has important drawbacks as reduced mechanical stability and high insertion losses. The development of efficient all-fiber modulation techniques is the key to obtain robust, compact and efficient Q-switched all-fiber lasers. Certainly, the development of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) has been crucial to make progress on fiber lasers. FBGs permit a simple way to assemble all-fiber laser cavities and can be written in the active fiber itself. The Q-factor of this type of cavities is determined by the reflectivity of the FBGs and the losses of the fiber. Here, we focus on the use of magnetostrictive materials and the acousto-optic interaction to deve…
Denaturing for Nanoarchitectonics: Local and Periodic UV-Laser Photodeactivation of Protein Biolayers to Create Functional Patterns for Biosensing
[EN] The nanostructuration of biolayers has become a paradigm for exploiting nanoscopic light-matter phenomena for biosensing, among other biomedical purposes. In this work, we present a photopatterning method to create periodic structures of biomacromolecules based on a local and periodic mild denaturation of protein biolayers mediated by UV-laser irradiation. These nanostructures are constituted by a periodic modulation of the protein activity, so they are free of topographic and compositional changes along the pattern. Herein, we introduce the approach, explore the patterning parameters, characterize the resulting structures, and assess their overall homogeneity. This UV-based patterning…
Measurement of UV-induced absorption and scattering losses in photosensitive fibers
UV-assisted fabrication of gratings using photosensitive fibers is a well-established technique, based on the UV-induced permanent modification of the refractive index of the fiber material. As a result, the absorption coefficient is also changed. Here, we exploit the thermal sensitivity of whispering gallery mode resonances of the fiber itself to measure the profile of the heating along an irradiated fiber versus the input power and for different UV radiation intensities. Our technique allows discriminating between the absorption and scattering contributions to the overall losses, by comparing the results obtained with our technique with direct transmission measurements. Different photosen…
Microbubble PhoXonic resonators: Chaos transition and transfer
We report the activation of optomechanical chaotic oscillations in microbubble resonators (MBRs) through a blue-side excitation of its optical resonances. We confirm the sequence of quasi-periodical oscillation, spectral continuum and aperiodic motion; as well as the transition to chaos without external feedback or modulation of the laser source. In particular, quasi periodic transitions and a spectral continuum are reported for MBRs with diameters up to 600 μm, whereas only an abrupt transition into a spectral con- tinuum is observed for larger microbubbles.
Fiber Sensitivity Characterization near the Turning Point of the Acousto-Optic Interaction
In-fiber acoustic gratings exhibit a turning point in which the sensitivity of the coupling resonances to environment changes is extremely high. The frequency of the acoustic wave enables easy matching of the turning point.
Mode locking of an all-fiber laser by acousto-optic superlattice modulation
Active mode locking of an erbium-doped all-fiber laser with a Bragg-grating-based acousto-optic modulator is demonstrated. The fiber Bragg grating was acoustically modulated by a standing longitudinal elastic wave, which periodically modulates the sidebands at twice the acoustic frequency. The laser has a Fabry-Perot configuration in which cavity loss modulation is achieved by tuning the output fiber Bragg grating to one of the acoustically induced sidebands. Optical pulses at 9 MHz repetition rate, 120 mW peak power, and 780 ps temporal width were obtained. The output results to be stable and has a timing jitter below 40 ps. The measured linewidth, 2.8 pm, demonstrates that these pulses ar…
Measurement of UV-induced losses and thermal effects in photosensitive fibers using whispering gallery modes
When a photosensitive (PS) fiber is exposed to UV-irradiation, a permanent refractive index change is induced in the core. As a result, according to Kramers-Kronig relations, the absorption coefficient (α) is also increased. This increment of the absorption can lead to a significant heating of the fiber when it is illuminated by a moderate optical power. Thermal effects may produce spectral changes in some fiber devices, as for example Long Period Gratings (LPGs) or Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) [1].
Application of WGM Resonances to the Measurement of the Temperature Increment of Ho and Ho-Yb Doped Optical Fibers Pumped at 1125 and 975 nm
Optical fiber characterization using whispering gallery mode resonances of the fiber itself has been demonstrated to be a powerful technique. In this work, we exploit the thermal sensitivity of whispering gallery mode resonances to characterize the pump-induced temperature increment in holmium doped and holmium-ytterbium codoped optical fibers. The technique relies on the measurement of the resonances’ wavelength shift due to temperature variation as a function of the pump power. Holmium doped fibers were pumped to the second excited level 5I6 of the Ho3+ ion using a laser diode at 1125 nm and ytterbium-holmium codoped fibers to the 2F5/2 level of the Yb3+ ion by a laser diode at 975 nm. Ou…
Linearly polarized all-fiber laser using a short section of highly polarizing microstructured fiber
A linearly polarized all-fiber erbium laser is presented in this work. The polarization selective element consists on a piece of a single-mode, polarizing microstructured fiber, which is placed within the laser cavity. The microstructured fiber shows a regular lattice of air-holes, in which four holes next to the core were enlarged. This fiber shows a polarization dependent loss of 16 dB/m around 1550 nm. The laser cavity presents different losses for each polarization and, as a consequence, a highly polarized emission is obtained. The polarization ratio of the emitted power was in excess of 20 dB.
Single-frequency active Q-switched Distributed Fiber Laser Using Acoustic Waves
This letter presents a single mode, actively Q-switched distributed feedback fiber laser. Acoustic pulses are launched into an erbium-doped fiber Bragg grating, resulting in the introduction of a traveling defect. Thus, a transmission peak appears in the reflection band while the pulse travels along the grating. This effect allows the laser to operate in a Q-switched regime, providing optical pulses which repetition rate was continuously tuned up to 10 kHz. Pulses of 168 mW of peak power and 73 ns of temporal width were obtained at low repetition rate.
Mode cleaning in graphene oxide-doped polymeric whispering gallery mode microresonators
The strategy to incorporate graphene oxide (GO) in a composite material offers significant opportunities to realize compact photonic devices, such as saturable absorbers and polarization selective devices. However, the processing of GO-based composites by direct laser writing, which would afford vast patterning and material flexibility in a single step process, has been little addressed. In this work, we investigated the mechanisms underlying a mode cleaning effect in polymeric whispering gallery mode microresonators containing GO, aiming at the development of on-chip integrable photonic devices. We fabricated the microresonators (cavity loaded Q-factor of 20 000 at 1550 nm) in a single ste…
Oligonucleotide-Hybridization Fiber-Optic Biosensor using a Narrow Bandwidth Long Period Grating
Nanometric narrowband Long Period Gratings (LPG) are investigated for the implementation of improved fiber optic biosensors. The reduction of more than one order of magnitude in the linewidth of the LPG with respect standard LPG at 1500 nm, leads to the improvement of the resolution of the sensor. By selecting the proper fabrication parameters (high numerical aperture, relatively high order mode and large length), LPGs with a 3-dB bandwidth of 1.5 nm were fabricated. The sensitivity of the LPG as a refractometer was calculated, and experimentally characterized in detail. In particular, the LP0,17 and LP0,18 resonances were investigated, in order to select the most suitable one for the bioex…
Measurement of temperature profile induced by the optical signal in fiber Bragg gratings using whispering-gallery modes.
The temperature sensitivity of whispering-gallery mode resonances of an optical fiber is exploited to measure thermal effects induced by an optical signal of moderate power along a fiber Bragg gating (FBG). The UV inscription technique used for the fabrication of FBG introduces a permanent change in the absorption coefficient of the fiber; thus, thermal effects are expected. The resonance wavelength shift of whispering-gallery modes provides information about the temperature change in the fiber, point to point. We present the experimental characterization of the thermal effects in FBG as a function of the wavelength and the power of the launched optical signal through the grating.
Fabrication of Optical Fiber Devices
In this paper we present the main research activities of the Laboratorio de Fibras Opticas del Instituto de Ciencia de los Materiales de la Universidad de Valencia. We show some of the main results obtained for devices based on tapered fibers, fiber Bragg gratings, acousto-optic effects and photonic crystal fibers.
Parametrical Optomechanical Oscillations in PhoXonic Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators
AbstractWe report on the experimental and theoretical analysis of parametrical optomechanical oscillations in hollow spherical phoxonic whispering gallery mode resonators due to radiation pressure. The optically excited acoustic eigenmodes of the phoxonic cavity oscillate regeneratively leading to parametric oscillation instabilities.
Optomechanical oscillations in microbubble resonators: Enhancement, suppression and chaotic behaviour
We report on the experimental and theoretical analysis of parametrical optomechanical oscillations in hollow spherical PhoXonic whispering gallery mode resonators due to radiation pressure. The optically excited acoustic eigenmodes of the PhoXonic cavity oscillate regeneratively leading to parametric oscillation instabilities.
Temperature independence of birefringence and group velocity dispersion in photonic crystal fibres
Experimental results are presented for the dependence of the dispersion and the birefringence of a highly birefringent photonic crystal fibre with temperature. It is shown that, unlike conventional optical fibres, where temperature induces stress regions between the different materials present in their structure, photonic crystal fibres exhibit no dependence with temperature of these optical properties owing to the single material nature of their structures.
Anisotropic elasto-optic effect in optical fibers under axial strain: a perturbative approach
We present a perturbative approximation to calculate the relative shift of the WGM resonances in a conventional optical fibers when an axial strain is applied. We consider the anisotropic character of the elasto-optic effect.