Dennis J. Trevor

Tunable photonic band gap fiber

The ability to change the photonic band gap structure continuously and reversibly by modifying the index thermally allows the band gap features to be sensitively tuned, allowing for a thorough investigation of the various band gap guiding properties. Furthermore, it may be possible to use this type of band gap fiber as a tunable filter. Investigations of the dispersion properties of this fiber have been examined recently in our laboratory showing a change in dispersion > 10/sup 3/ ps/nm km across the band gap region suggesting that controlling the band gap position and width may also provide a sensitive method for tunable dispersion compensation.

Optical fibers by a hybrid process using sol–gel silica overcladding tubes

Abstract We have successfully developed a sol–gel process to produce large silica glass bodies to be used as optical fiber preform overcladding tubes which meet the demands of optical fiber. We have made and tested tubes weighing approximately 4.5 kg, which comprise about 90% of the eventual fibers mass. This sol–gel process uses colloidal silica dispersed in high pH water. The sol is cast, gelled by reducing the pH and dried to a porous tube. The dried body is heat treated to remove organics, to dehydrate and to purify by removing both refractory oxide particles and transition metal ions to the parts/billion range and then sintered to transparency in He. These tubes are competitive with vapor deposited synthetic silica tubes and produce fiber meeting current commercial standards. Net shape formation of large precision glass bodies by gel casting is demonstrated.

Photonic Crystal Fiber IFOGs

We have built and tested an interferometric fiber-optic gyroscope made with photonic crystal fiber. This paper reports the test results and examines the advantages of photonic crystal fiber for this type of gyroscope.

Visible Continuum Generation Using a Femtosecond Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser and a Hybrid HNLF-PCF Nonlinear Fiber

Visible supercontinuum in the fundamental mode is generated in a silica hybrid nonlinear fiber using a femtosecond, erbium-doped fiber laser pump. The nonlinear fiber consists of highly nonlinear, germano-silicate fiber (HNLF) fusion spliced to a photonic crystal fiber (PCF).

The impact of nonlinearity during femtosecond pulse compression in fibers on continuum coherence

Amplified erbium-fiber-laser pulses compressed in large-mode-area fiber show significantly reduced nonlinearity compared to standard-single-mode fiber. Consequently, supercontinuum generated with the pulses compressed in large-mode-area fiber show a 10 dB increase in cross-coherence fringe visibility.