Hongyan Fu

Optical Refractive-Index Sensor Based on Dual Fiber-Bragg Gratings Interposed With a Multimode-Fiber Taper

A new type of optical refractive-index (RI) sensor is proposed and experimentally demonstrated by using a structure of two single-mode fiber (SMF) Bragg gratings with a multimode fiber (MMF) taper in-between. The loss induced by a mismatch of waveguide structure between SMFs and MMFs is amplified by a tapering process, and is utilized for RI sensing through evanescent field. Experimental results show that the sensor possesses a tailorable sensitivity to the change of external RI and has a good linear response in the simultaneous measurement of external RI and temperature

Implementation and Characterization of Liquid-Level Sensor Based on a Long-Period Fiber Grating Mach–Zehnder Interferometer

An optical liquid-level sensor (LLS) based on a long-period fiber grating (LPG) interferometer is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Two identical 3-dB LPGs are fabricated to form an in-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and the fiber portion between two LPGs is exposed to the liquid as the sensing element. The sensitivity and measurement range of the sensors employing different orders of cladding modes are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The experimental results show good linearity and large measurement range. One of the significant advantages of such a sensing structure is that the measurement level is not limited to the length of the LPG itself. Also, the measurement range and sensitivity of the proposed LLS can be readily tailored for a particular applications.

Graphene Enhances the Sensitivity of Fiber-Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor

In this paper, a fiber-optic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor is presented, in which a sheet of graphene acting as a sensing layer is coated around the gold film. A theoretical study of the proposed fiber-optic biosensor has been carried out by applying four-layer modal, which shows that by incorporating a graphene sensing layer, the sensitivity of the proposed SPR fiber biosensor can be greatly enhanced than the conventional gold film SPR fiber sensors. The relationship between resonance wavelengths and sensitivity of the proposed graphene sensing layer-based SPR fiber biosensor with the number of sensing layer has also been studied.

High-Frequency Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing Interrogation System Using Sagnac-Loop-Based Microwave Photonic Filtering

A novel high-frequency fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing interrogation system by using fiber Sagnac-loop-based microwave photonic filtering is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By adopting the microwave photonic filtering, the wavelength shift of sensing FBG can be converted into amplitude variation of the modulated electronic radio-frequency (RF) signal. In the experiment, the strain applied onto the sensing FBG has been demodulated by measuring the intensity of the recovered RF signal, and by modulating the RF signal with different frequencies, different interrogation sensitivities can be achieved.

Transversal Loading Sensor Based on Tunable Beat Frequency of a Dual-Wavelength Fiber Laser

Microwave signal generation by using the photonic beating from a phase-shift fiber Bragg grating (PS-FBG)-based dual-wavelength laser is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The dual-wavelength laser is formed by a linear cavity, in which a PS-FBG is used as a dual-wavelength selective component. Transversal loading on the PS-FBG enhances the birefringence of the optical fiber and consequently makes the transmission peak of the PS-FBG splitting into two sharp transmission peaks of orthogonal polarizations. The wavelength spacing between the two transmission peaks increases with the transversal loading on the PS-FBG, thus making the polarization beating frequency increase. This property is exploited in a transversal loading sensor.

A Simple and Tunable Single-Bandpass Microwave Photonic Filter of Adjustable Shape

A simple and tunable single-bandpass microwave photonic filter of adjustable shape is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The filter is based on multiple sources (spectrum-sliced by a Mach-Zehnder interferometer) and two cascaded incoherent optical structures, namely, a dispersion medium of 50-km single-mode fiber and a fiber ring delay line. In the experimental range from 1.0 to 3.8 GHz, a discretely tunable single-bandpass filter with a high Q-factor or a flat-top response is achieved by carefully matching the transfer functions of the two individual optical structures.

Single- and dual-wavelength switchable erbium-doped fiber ring laser based on intracavity polarization selective tilted fiber gratings

We propose and demonstrate a single- and dual-wavelength switchable erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) by utilizing intracavity polarization selective filters based on tilted fiber gratings (TFGs). In the cavity, one 45 degrees TFG functions as an in-fiber polarizer and the other 77 degrees TFG is used as a fiber polarization dependent loss (PDL) filter. The combined polarization effect from these two TFGs enables the laser to switch between the single- and the dual-wavelength operation with a single-polarization state at room temperature. The laser output at each wavelength shows an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of >60 dB, a side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of >50 dB, and a polarization extinction ratio of approximately 35 dB. The proposed EDFL can give stable output under laboratory conditions.

Raman fiber laser harmonically mode-locked by exploiting the intermodal beating of CW multimode pump source

We report here the first demonstration of a harmonic mode-locked Raman fiber laser using the intermodal beating of a continuous-wave (CW) multiple-longitudinal-mode pump laser. By matching the Raman-cavity round-trip frequency with the intermodal-beating one of a 1064 nm CW pump source, harmonic mode-locking in phosphosilicate Raman fiber laser is stably initiated at the first-order Stokes of 1239.5 nm, and generates rectangular-shape nanosecond pulses with the pulse energy up to 4.25 nJ. Using the new type of mode-locking, the harmonic order can be discretely tuned from 78 th- to 693 rd-order, and the cavity supermode is suppressed up to 51.1 dB with the signal-to-noise ratio of more than 65 dB.

Fiber sensor systems based on fiber laser and microwave photonic technologies.

Fiber-optic sensors, especially fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are very attractive due to their numerous advantages over traditional sensors, such as light weight, high sensitivity, cost-effectiveness, immunity to electromagnetic interference, ease of multiplexing and so on. Therefore, fiber-optic sensors have been intensively studied during the last several decades. Nowadays, with the development of novel fiber technology, more and more newly invented fiber technologies bring better and superior performance to fiber-optic sensing networks. In this paper, the applications of some advanced photonic technologies including fiber lasers and microwave photonic technologies for fiber sensing applications are reviewed. FBG interrogations based on several kinds of fiber lasers, especially the novel Fourier domain mode locking fiber laser, have been introduced; for the application of microwave photonic technology, examples of microwave photonic filtering utilized as a FBG sensing interrogator and microwave signal generation acting as a transversal loading sensor have been given. Both theoretical analysis and experimental demonstrations have been carried out. The comparison of these advanced photonic technologies for the applications of fiber sensing is carried out and important issues related to the applications have been addressed and the suitable and potential application examples have also been discussed in this paper.

Ultralow-threshold cascaded Brillouin microlaser for tunable microwave generation.

We experimentally demonstrate an ultralow-threshold cascaded Brillouin microlaser for tunable microwave generation in a high-Q silica microsphere resonator. The threshold of the Brillouin microlaser is as low as 8 μW, which is close to the theoretical prediction. Moreover, the fifth-order Stokes line with a frequency shift up to 55 GHz is achieved with a coupled pump power of less than 0.6 mW. Benefiting from resonant wavelength shifts driven by thermal dynamics in the microsphere, we further realized tunable microwave signals with tuning ranges of 40 MHz at an 11 GHz band and 20 MHz at a 22 GHz band. To the best of our knowledge, it was the first attempt for tunable microwave source based on the whispering-gallery-mode Brillouin microlaser. Such a tunable microwave source from a cascaded Brillouin microlaser could find significant applications in aerospace, communication engineering, and metrology.