Kate Sugden

Multiwavelength generation in an erbium-doped fiber laser using in-fiber comb filters

Simultaneous continuous wave multiwavelength operation of an erbium-doped fiber laser has been demonstrated using two types of recently developed in-fiber grating comb filters. The lasing wavelengths and linewidths were determined by the comb filter, which was inserted in a ring cavity with a single inhomogeneously broadened gain medium.

UV-written in-fibre Bragg gratings

The techniques for fabrication and the properties of periodic and aperiodic fibre Bragg gratings produced by UV exposure in photosensitive optical fibres are reviwwed with an emphasis on applications.

Wide-band Fabry-Perot-like filters in optical fiber

We report the fabrication and characterization of wide-band Fabry-Perot-like resonators in optical fiber. Using Bragg gratings with variable detuning, resonators that operate ever a wavelength span in excess of 140 nm have been produced, with free spectral ranges between 0.09 nm and 11.27 nm. Numerical and experimental results for two typical resonators are presented, showing good agreement between the two.<<ETX>>

All‐fiber femtosecond pulse amplification circuit using chirped Bragg gratings

In‐fiber chirped Bragg gratings are used as stretchers and compressors for distortionless amplification of femtosecond pulses in chirped pulse amplification system. It is shown that using opposite directions of pulse propagation the effects of higher order dispersion and grating irregularities can be eliminated and the original pulse shape and duration can be recovered. Using these gratings a compact all‐fiber system consisting of a mode‐locked fiber oscillator and an erbium‐doped fiber amplifier was built. 330 fs bandwidth‐limited pulses from a fiber oscillator were stretched to 30 ps, amplified and recompressed back to 408 fs. The maximum energy of the pulses after the amplifier was 6 nJ and was at the threshold of nonlinear effects for a 30 ps stretched pulse.

Real-time detection of DNA interactions with long-period fiber-grating-based biosensor

Using an optical biosensor based on a dual-peak long-period fiber grating, we have demonstrated the detection of interactions between biomolecules in real time. Silanization of the grating surface was successfully realized for the covalent immobilization of probe DNA, which was subsequently hybridized with the complementary target DNA sequence. It is interesting to note that the DNA biosensor was reusable after being stripped off the hybridized target DNA from the grating surface, demonstrating a function of multiple usability.

A refractometer based on a micro-slot in a fiber Bragg grating formed by chemically assisted femtosecond laser processing

A liquid core waveguide as a refractometer is proposed. Microtunnels were created in standard optical fiber using tightly focused femtoscond laser inscription and chemical etching. A 1.2(h)x125(d) x500(l) mum micro-slot engraved along a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) was used to construct liquid core waveguide by filling the slot with index matching oils. The device was used to measure refractive index and sensitivity up to 10- 6/pm was obtained.

Point-by-point inscription of first-order fiber Bragg grating for C-band applications

The influence of the fiber geometry on the point-by-point inscription of fiber Bragg gratings using a femtosecond laser is highlighted. Fiber Bragg gratings with high spectral quality and strong first-order Bragg resonances within the C-band are achieved by optimizing the inscription process. Large birefringence (1.2x10(-4)) and high degree of polarization-dependent index modulation are observed in these gratings. Potential applications of these gratings in resonators are further illustrated.

Fabrication and characterization of bandpass filters based on concatenated chirped fiber gratings

Practical, low-loss ( 30 dB out-of-band rejection over /spl sim/25 mm spectral widths. The approach adopted is based on the concatenation of two or more tailored broadband chirped gratings fabricated with low short-wavelength loss to maximize the rejection and stopband width in a filter with /spl sim/1 nm passband. The effect of thermal aging for similar complex structures is considered in the context of three different fiber types: standard telecommunication, high germania (Ge)-doped and boron/germania (B/Ge)-codoped. It is shown that while hydrogenated B/Ge-codoped fiber exhibits excellent photosensitivity, the resulting decrease in guiding strength and thermal stability may make germania-doped fiber the more attractive choice.

High-power soliton fiber laser based on pulse width control with chirped fiber Bragg gratings.

Chirped fiber Bragg gratings control the pulse width and energy in Kerr mode-locked erbium fiber soliton lasers. We create high-energy pulses by providing large amounts of excessive negative dispersion, which increases the pulse width while keeping the nonlinearity of the cavity constant. With a chirped fiber grating of 3.4-ps(2) dispersion, 3-ps pulses with an energy content higher than 1 nJ are generated at a repetition rate of 27 MHz. By controlling the polarization state in the cavity, we obtain a tuning range from 1.550 to 1.562 mu;m.

Transmission characteristics of Sagnac interferometers based on fiber Bragg gratings

We present a comprehensive study of the transmission characteristics of all-fiber Sagnac interferometers (FSIs) based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). Analytic and numerical models have been developed for the design and characterization of FBG FSIs that incorporate gratings of arbitrary fringe structure. The transmission, phase, and time delay responses of several representative configurations that incorporate uniform-period and chirped gratings with and without apodization have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. Excellent agreement between the theoretical results and real device characteristics has been found in all cases. Our study clearly reveals that fiber grating-based FSIs offer potentially significant practical advantages not only for conversion of the reflective response of the grating into a transmissive response without loss but also by providing near-zero dispersion in the transmission bands, which offers attractive prospects for filtering components in high-speed wavelength-division multiplexing transmission systems.